Seafood Soups from Virginia

The cold winter weather is a good time to enjoy seafood soups. The Virginia Marketplace offers seafood soups from two companies: Chincoteague Seafood Co., Inc. and Blue Crab Bay. We hope you enjoy the seafood soups, chowders or bisques that you select as much as we do. This is a three part blog:
Part 1 Who the companies are
Part 2 Blue Crab Bay Soups
Part 3 Chincoteague Seafood Soups, Chowders and Bisques

Chincoteague Seafood Co., a local family-owned business has sucessfully operated boats and processing facilities in Chincoteague and Atlantic, Virginia, located just south of the Maryland line. Chincoteague is nationally known as the home of quality seafood, particularly clams, crabs and oysters.

The company was started in 1955 when Bernard Rubin, the founder and current Chairman, began selling their clam chowder to restaurants in New England under their originial Cape Cod label. In 1969, as a result of a clam supply problem in the northeast, he searched for a new location and opened a processing facility in Atlantic, Virginia to take advantage of the area's abundant supply of high quality clams. In 1974, as a result of of company growth, the second processing facility was opened in Chincoteague, Virginia and also became the corporate headquarters. Their newest venture, completed in May 2001, was the acquisition and move into a brand new office facility and distribution center in Parsonburg, Maryland (outside of Salisbury, Maryland).

Their product line can best be described as a "gourmet" quality line that is competitively priced and is "Naturally Sea-Licious". They cut no corners on quality and the results can be seen in their finished products. Today, they sell their products to restaurants, colleges, hospitals, other institutions, and retail customers throughout the United States. Their uncompromising recipes are based on fresh, high-quality ingredients, and provide a home-made authentic taste and presentation. They use no MSG, preservatives, artificial preservatives, artificial colorings or artificial flavorings in our soups. They have expanded their product line over the past few years, including their newest items, Crab and Cheddar Soup, Shrimp Bisque, and Lobster and Cheddar Bisque, in order to meet the growing demand for diversity in consumer tastes.

They have been awarded the American Taste Award of Excellence certificates on their New England Clam Chowder, Manhattan Clam Chowder, Lobster Bisque, Cream of Crab Soup, and Vegetable Red Crab Soup. Check out all the Chincoteague Seafood Soups, Chowders and Bisques: She Crab Soup, Cream of Crab Soup, Vegetable Red Crab Soup, Crab and Cheddar Soup, New England Clam Chowder, Manhattan Clam Chowder, Corn Chowder, Lobster Bisque, Shrmp Bisque, Clam Bisque and Lobster and Cheddar Bisque.

In 1985, Blue Crab Bay founder Pamela Barefoot had an inspired vision of what a business could be. From her seaside farmhouse kitchen she imagined a company that would put the tastes of the Chesapeake region on the map, be a protector of the environment and provide stimulating and fun employment for citizens of her rural community. Surrounding herself with foods from the Chesapeake, a functioning stove, a list of contacts and boatloads of imagination and determination, Barefoot got to work. Sales exploded, awards rained plentiful, and the number of employees mounted. Barefoot began distribution of other products, including foods and gift items.

Her first brand, Blue Crab Bay, Co., featured original products like seasonings for crab dip and gift packs wrapped in weathered fishnet with seashells. In the late 1980's, on the strenght of the addictive "Clam Dip Blend", the customer base escalated geographically and her small company began exhibiting at national trade shows. Blue Crab Bay offers an extensive product line of specialty foods and gifts, internationally recognized for their signature blue labeling, handsome packaging and unrivaled taste. The handsome packaging even gained the attention of Hollywood set directors. Kitchen cabinets were stocked full in an opening shot of Julia Roberts' film "Sleeping with the Enemy."

Blue Crab Bay Co.'s coporate culture continues to demonstrate a strong commitment to the environment to the environment and its rural Eastern shore community. Each year, employees energetically plan and execute charity events. The company supports various organizations including the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Citizens for a Better Eastern Shore, and The Nature Conservancy.

Check out Blue Crab Bay Soups and Chowders: She Crab Soup, Cream of Crab Soup, Crab Norfolk Chowder, Eastern Shore Clam Chowder and New England Clam Chowder