Judy Franzoy

The Franzoy Legacy

Since 1917

Judy Franzoy's story begins not with her, but with her grandfather — Giuseppe \"Joseph\" Franzoy, an Italian immigrant who arrived in the tiny village of Salem, New Mexico in 1917 with his wife Celestina and a dream of owning land. After twelve years of working in American mines, the Franzoys purchased 60 acres of wild, uncleared land just outside what would become the village of Hatch.

That first summer, the family lived in a tent while Joseph cleared brush and marshland with his own hands. He didn't just farm chile — he created the commercial chile industry in Hatch Valley. As chile historian Dave DeWitt has written: \"The Hatch chile has a family farm image that can be traced back to the Franzoy family — Italian immigrants who arrived in the Hatch Valley about 100 years ago.\"

Joseph's son Joe — Judy's father — continued the family tradition, expanding the operation and deepening the Franzoy name's connection to the valley. Joe raised seven children on the farm, all of them steeped in the rhythms of chile country: planting in spring, harvesting in late summer, the smell of roasting chile drifting across the fields every August and September.

Growing Up in the Valley

Judy grew up immersed in the rhythms that have defined Hatch Valley for over a century. As one of Joe Franzoy's seven children, she learned the craft of chile farming from the ground up — literally. She watched her father tend the fields, helped during harvest, and absorbed the knowledge that every generation of Franzoys has passed down: how to read the plants, how to time the roast, how to coax the most flavor from the Hatch Valley's unique combination of high desert sun, Rio Grande water, and volcanic soil.

Junie — one of Judy's aunts — married Jim Lytle, the plant breeder who would go on to develop the Big Jim chile variety in partnership with New Mexico State University. Big Jim set a Guinness World Record at 17 inches and became the most widely planted Hatch chile cultivar in the world. The Franzoy family's influence, through Judy's generation, branched into both sides of Hatch Valley's chile legacy: the farming tradition and the breeding innovation that defined the industry.

In Her Own Words

As told by Judy

Judith Franzoy was born at home in Salem, NM on Easter Sunday morning, April 6, 1947. My mother hadn't decided on a middle name. Aunt Vie Franzoy, who had helped with the delivery, said, "Well, she's got a good set of lungs. and it's blowing a gale out there, so why not Gail? Mom Neoma Franzoy loved it, so I was named Judith Gail Franzoy.

I was the 8th child. My oldest sibling, Louie Joe, drowned at the age of 3. My mom had twin daughters prematurely. They were so small and died the same day of birth.

Then, there were three boys: John, Gene, and Earnest; a girl Francis, and then me!

I said my parents tried until they got it perfect. My brothers claim they were getting worse, so our parents quit! Who knows?

Growing up on our farm, we all worked together in the fields. We sat around the round oak table for all of our meals and worshipped together on Sunday.

Oh, the meals my mom cooked for our family of seven. We had a large garden full of vegetables, we raised chickens, and had milk cows. We took turns milking the cows. Francis and I would charge the boys a quarter to milk the cows when they were not able to take their turns. I enjoyed giving the barn cats squirts of milk to quiet their crying. Sister Fran - not so much.

We all worked on the farm. Whether that meant picking cotton, chile, or working with the animals - even dealing with farm machinery.

Berridge Farms

Judy married Bob Berridge — himself a farmer and the son of Ed Berridge, known locally as \"The Old Gringo.\" Ed's legend lives on as the namesake of the Ol' Gringo salsa company. With Franzoy heritage on one side and Berridge heritage on the other, Judy and Bob's union brought together two of the Hatch Valley's most storied chile families. Their descendants carry chile royalty on both sides of the family tree.

Together, Judy and Bob built Berridge Farms into a beloved institution, roasting and selling Hatch green chile at their location on Cerrillos & Baca in Santa Fe for over 60 years. For generations of Santa Fe residents, Berridge Farms was synonymous with the smell of August: the irresistible, smoke-tinged aroma of freshly roasted Hatch green chile spinning in a propane roaster.

The Culinary Voice

National Media Features

The Berridge Farms tradition drew national attention — and Judy's expertise placed her at the center of the story every time. Publications and broadcasters recognized what Hatch Valley locals already knew: that Judy Franzoy represents something rare — three generations of lived knowledge, expressed through food.

Mountain Living also highlighted the Santa Fe roasting tradition in their coverage of seasonal Southwest food culture.

Judy Today

Today, Judy serves as the matriarch and culinary authority of the Hatch Chile Store. She is the reason our chile has the flavor it does — her knowledge of roasting temperatures, chile varieties, and preparation techniques is three generations deep, informed by both her grandfather's pioneering work in the valley and a lifetime of cooking for family, customers, and a growing national audience. It is that roasting know-how that makes the fresh Hatch green chile peppers we ship each harvest taste the way they do.

Many of the recipes on this site trace back to Judy's kitchen. When she's not at the stove, she's teaching — sharing the techniques and flavor principles that have made Hatch chile a staple in New Mexican homes for over a century.

Preston Mitchell — Judy's grandson and the founder of the Hatch Chile Store — has said that Judy's influence is present in everything the store does. \"She's the reason we know what good chile tastes like,\" he has noted. The sixth generation — Preston's children, Luke and Emma — are growing up learning the same lessons Judy grew up learning from her own father and grandfather.

Taste Three Generations of Tradition

Explore Judy's recipes and the family story behind the chile.