Parr for the nutrition course
Foscoe man cooks up alternative to energy bars

By Scott Nicholson

A new local culinary creation is serving up a healthy alternative to sweets and energy bars.

Jay Parr of Foscoe is marketing his locally produced Parr Barr, a concoction of natural and organic ingredients designed to be a healthy treat that can also serve as a meal alternative. While the popularity of outdoor sports caused a boom in food products touted as “energy boosters,” Parr veered away from that image while embracing nature’s bounty.

“It’s such a saturated market, I’m trying to steer away from the ‘energy’ bar,” he said. “I’m calling it a ‘whole-food bar.’ There’s no caffeine in it.”

Jay Parr cooks his homemade energy bar in his Foscoe kitchen. Photo by Scott Nicholson

Parr developed his interest in cooking from his stepfather. “He brought us in the kitchen, and there was always something going on. It was a good place to meet.”

Parr moved to Boone from Florida to attend Appalachian State University. He worked at Mel’s Diner and Linville Ridge as a cook, and decided he wanted to attend culinary school. He went to Le Cordon Bleu, a cooking school in Orlando, Fla. After graduating with honors, he moved to Aspen, Colo. He worked at a five-star hotel for a while, then decided he didn’t want to be a restaurant worker. He returned to ASU to study sustainable development, with a minor in entrepreneurship.

“I didn’t like the energy bars that were out there, so I decided to make my own, “I’d rake them on backpacking trips with friends and family, and they’d say, ‘You have to make these and get them out there.’”

Last year, he bought a vacuum-sealing machine and began making and sealing his own bars, cutting each package by hand. He started selling them through beansTalk in Boone and created Parr Barr LLC as a limited-liability company.

He had his home kitchen certified by the health department so he could sell his products, buying used commercial equipment from a supply store. None of his ingredients are refrigerated before being used in cooking, and he uses no chemicals or preservatives.

“I’ve not spent that much money,” Parr said. “I kind of roll my profits into the next thing.”

His bars are now in three stores, adding Green Mother Goods and Bare Essentials of Boone.

He said his packaging sets him apart from the competition, since the bar is visible and it has two small labels to show the logo and list the ingredients.

“The idea is that it’s a handmade bar,” he said. “It’s not mass produced.”

He usually creates a batch of 22 bars at a time. He has five different flavors, and he will usually make a batch of each about once a week. As a full-time student, he said demand is about to exceed his ability to keep up, though his goal is to continue expanding.

When he graduates after three more semesters, he hopes to build the company and broaden his market. “I’m studying sustainable development, which is about the local community and local food supplies,” he said. “I keep that in mind. I buy the ingredients locally and I try to get them as close as possible. Sometimes that’s just not possible.”

His bar flavors are dark chocolate banana, walnut cranberry, apricot sunflower, carrot ginger vegan and coconut almond. While all his ingredients are listed on each bar, he hasn’t conducted a nutritional analysis.

“The feedback’s been wonderful,” he said. “I’m moving toward some gluten-free bars. A couple don’t have peanut butter, and I’m open to evolving. I’m working with Bare Essentials to hear what customers are wanting. For example, some people don’t like honey being heated so I’m looking at agave nectar.”

He said he would love to build the company into a career, possibly growing some of his own ingredients. “I love food and producing things in a sustainable manner,” Parr said. “I would like to have employees who I pay a living wage and who care about what we’re doing instead of just producing. People who share my passion.

“Shipping food is not really sustainable, but maybe you can do it in a more sustainable manner,” he said. “As of right now, I’d like to make it regional and expand into Asheville. There’s a lot of potential. People are asking for it. I’d like to make this work and maybe make Parr Foods, maybe some homemade pastas and keep the ideals I started out with. Keep it healthy, no preservatives, and no refined ingredients.”

Parr said he wants to keep a sustainable vision as he explores different visions. “Business and money and all this stuff, what it really comes down to is ‘Are you happy?’ It all comes down to doing something I love.”

More on the ingredients can be found at www.parrbarrllc.vpweb.com.