Press
Recipe: Brandon Pettit’s Vegetarian Noodle Bowl with Chili Crisp
February 25, 2022
Seattle Met
Full of vegetables. Ready in 10 minutes.
“FEW YEARS AGO, Delancey and Dino’s owner Brandon Pettit discovered packets of Portland-based Umi Organic’s fresh ramen noodles at PCC. Then he got busy—as one does running two pizza restaurants…”
アメリカ・ポートランド生まれの「ラーメンウイスキー」とは？
February 1, 2022
Drink Planet
オレゴン州ポートランドで毎年開催されている「焼きそば」交流プロジェクト。3度目を迎える今年は、なんと「焼きそばパン」と、麺をアップサイクルした「ラーメンウイスキー」の組み合わせ。この摩訶不思議なイベントの立役者たちに話を聞いてみた。
Ramen Whiskey? Limited Release Portland Spirit Highlights A Zero-Waste Philosophy
January 21, 2022
The Whiskey Wash
Portland-based distillery Stone Barn Brandyworks partnered with noodle maker Umi Organic to make a spirit in the style of whiskey, actually made from the Portland company’s first batches of organic ramen noodles from back in 2015.
PODCAST: Rufina Garay interviews Lola Milholland
February 12, 2021
FoodLove Podcast
In Episode 1 of FoodLove: The Space between Terroir and the Tao of Food, host and former chef Instructor, attorney, executive leadership coach, strategic consultant, and food writer, Rufina Garay, talks with Lola Milholland. Lola is the maker and creator of Umi Organic, an organic Japanese noodle company based in Portland, Oregon. Lola has disrupted a curious and circuitous food export-import system in which U.S. wheat “boomerangs” across the world only to return from Japan in the form of ramen and yakisoba noodles. She has created a U.S. grown and produced ramen and yakisoba noodles that feature organic grain from her home state. We talk about everything from school lunch to Filipino diaspora cooking to major food media blunders.
States formed pacts to reopen together. Will they last?
May 5, 2020
PBS News Hour
The regional alliances that governors formed last month to coordinate the process of reopening from stay-at-home orders are facing their first big test, as some states in the pacts begin to move forward with plans to restart their economies while others are holding back until there are more signs the coronavirus is under control.
Where to Order Your Favorite Pantry Staples Online
April 8, 2020
Bon Appetit
Your local grocery store is out of flour. The internet isn’t.
PODCAST: #45 From Farm, to Noodle, to You - Lola Milholland, Umi Organic
Early March 2020
Meaningful Marketplace
Born and raised in Portland, Oregon, Lola Milholland of Umi Organic joined Sarah Marshall and Sarah Masoni in conversation. Umi’s fresh ramen noodle dishes started with a week-long noodle making workshop with other ramen noodle companies from around the world. Lola was hooked on the idea of providing the best noodles people could get. Most people don't realize what a creative space ramen can be, and the organic angle is very new. Lola and the Sarahs talk about how Umi grew to the business it has become.
VIDEO: Portland Public Schools' yakisoba lunch voted one of the nation's best school meals
January 15, 2020
KGW8
The national recognition comes from Food Management magazine which voted on meals based on taste and nutrition.
Portland schools have nation’s best cafeteria noodles
November 23, 2019
The Oregonian
The 1977 Trail Blazers, the 2017 Thorns and the city’s views of Mt. Hood fill much of the Venn diagram where Portland and excellence intersect.
Now, you can add noodles to the list. (Or, specifically, noodles served in public schools.)
VIDEO: Oodles of noodles: New school lunch is a big hit in Portland Public Schools
November 19, 2019
KATU
A locally developed and sourced yakisoba noodle is getting a big thumbs up from children in Portland Public Schools, and it's garnered a national award.
Yakisoba hits the spot: Lunch dish at Oregon school district named among best in U.S.
November 18, 2019
CBS/Fox/KPTV
A Yakisoba plate served district-wide in May by Portland Public Schools was named the top pasta dish served at schools by Food Management, a news organization dedicated to noncommercial food service.
Noodle Dish at Portland Public Schools One of Best School Meals in US
November 18, 2019
The Skanner News
Food Management, a news organization dedicated to noncommercial food service, has named PPS’s yakisoba noodles the nation’s top school meal in the pasta category. A meal that started as a cultural celebration at one of Portland Public Schools’ dual language immersion schools has now gained national recognition as one of the best meals served at a K-12 school in the United States.
Who’s serving the best K-12 school meals in America? Portland Public Schools!
November 12, 2019
Food Management
School meal programs don’t often get the kudos they deserve, so Food Management teamed up with sponsor Bush’s Beans to host the first Best K-12 Meal in America contest. Child nutrition professionals nominated their best offerings in 11 categories (breakfast, beef, bowl, chicken, pasta, pork, sandwich, seafood, soup, taco/burrito and vegetarian/meatless). Cutting right to the chase: Our Umi Yakisoba with Chicken and Vegetables served won for best pasta lunch!
PODCAST: Stringing Together a Community with Noodles
October 23, 2019
Mouthy Podcast
Piper mouths off about the hidden costs of cheap, crappy food. Then she sits down with Umi Organic co-founder Lola Milholland to talk about her best practices for food production including using local ingredients, paying employees a livable wage and producing delicious fresh ramen.
MOUTHY COOKS: Umi Noodz
Piper gets into the kitchen with Lola to cook up Umi Organic’s noodle and miso- sesame sauce kit with roasted vegetables. Flipping delicious!
RADIO: Farm to School
October 16, 2019
KBOO Food Show
It's our Back to School, Farm to School episode of the Food Show. We hear about what schools, the department of agriculture, and local businesses are doing to improve school lunches and support local economies. With guests: Amy Gilroy, Farm to School Manager at the Oregon Department of Agriculture; Lola Milholland, CEO of Umi Organic; and Lucy De León of Tortilleria Y Tienda De Leon’s. Among many other things at the Oregon Department of Agriculture, Amy helps entrepreneurs navigate the school food market and bring their products into school cafeterias. Both Lola and Lucy run food businesses that have figured out how to adjust their products to meet school nutrition guidelines and get them in the hands and stomachs of school kids.
VIDEO: Learning to 'noodle luge' with Umi Organic
October 2, 2019
KGW8 Tonight with Cassidy
On live TV, we shared our Noodle Luge on set so Cassidy and her crew could test their chopsticks skills and we announced the launch of our brand new Noodles with Miso Sesame Sauce kits!
PODCAST: V H US
July 16, 2019
Tampopo (featuring Lola Milholland)
Lola Milholland (Umi Organic CEO and co-founder) joins Dirk Marshall of Marshall’s Haute Sauce in the studio to talk ramen. Umi Organic makes many delicious things but their start was an organic ramen noodle made right here in Portland. Lola brings a lot of heart and knowledge to this episode which is all things Tampopo. So grab a bowl of noodles and dig in! Listen here or by searching V H US wherever you listen to podcasts.
Each episode of 'V H US' features host Dirk Marshall having an in-depth talk with various guests about that week's cult film and what it is like to have the profession portrayed (sometimes very loosely) in the film.
Photo by Betty Izumi
RADIO: Think Out Loud
May 15, 2019
School Lunch
Oregon’s school lunches are wholly paid for by federal dollars. At least they were until 2011 when Oregon passed legislation creating the Farm to School Grant. That established a state fund for schools to purchase fresh, locally-produced food. That law is now up for renewal and expansion. For 12 years, Whitney Ellersick, the senior director of nutrition services at Portland Public Schools, has been working to keep students fed and ready to learn every day. We hear from her and Lola Milholland, the CEO of Umi Organic, which has developed a new organic yakisoba noodle specifically to meet USDA requirements to be included in school lunches.
Photo by Shawn Linehan.
Good Stuff Northwest
April 29, 2019
Organic Noodles Go To School
What comes to mind when you think of school lunches?
Once a week the cooks in my high school cafeteria served fresh cinnamon rolls baked onsite, as well as a lusciously gooey mac'n'cheese that can still make me drool when I think of it.
Willamette Week
December 12, 2018
Umi Organic Is Making Restaurant-Quality Instant Ramen
It's like a glo'd-up Cup o' Noodles.
Image courtesy of John Valls
Readers Digest
Winter 2018
6 Delicious Ramen Noodle Recipes That Have Been Missing from Your Life
While a steaming bowl of ramen is always comforting, these spins will bring your favorite comfort food to a whole new level. Eg: Noodles in beef bone broth with fish sauce
PODCAST: Don't Think Twice
March 2018
Come along on our deep dive into riveting noodle politics with Umi Organic founder, Lola Milholland. We also cover the nightmare of "audience participation", and Andrew's figure skating dreams.
Illustration courtesy of Meredith McGee
In Good Tilth
Winter 2018
Perspectives: 3 Questions for Changemakers
Hear from some of the leading changemakers and visionaries helping create a brighter food future. In this issue, we ask Umi Organic CEO/co-founder Lola Milholland about supply chains.
Edible Portland
November/December 2016
The Better Noodle
Umi Organic releases the first-ever U.S.-made fresh organic ramen noodle for the grocery.
"As the ramen craze hits Portland hard, fans can find a new local organic product on grocery store shelves later this month. Umi Organic, which debuted at Hollywood Farmers Market this spring, is the first fresh, organic ramen noodle to be made in the Pacific Northwest. Tasty, with the perfect springy texture, the noodles are made in North Portland with just six ingredients... 'There was a big hole in the marketplace, so I sought to fill it,' says Lola Milholland, a food writer-turned entrepreneur who launched the startup after digging into the complex politics of the wheat industry..." Read on.
Portland Mercury
8/14/2016
Umi Organic Noodle Luge
"It's one thing to enjoy a nice bowl of ramen. But have you ever caught your ramen with chopsticks, fresh off a bamboo flume, as they luge into existence? Have you harvested the soul of your soup by hand? Umi Organic provides you ramen-lovers the opportunity to do just that by bringing the popular Japanese pastime Nagashi Somen to Portland. Once you've caught your noodles, take them to Umi's salad bar to add sauce and veggies from market vendors."
