Food Cravings

Food Cravings Denise and Robert Goga dreamed of working as a team to bring people together to experience exquisite meals in an atmosphere of style and warm hospitality.

Their partnership started with their successful South Padre Island, Texas, restaurant and continues through their specialty food company, Food Cravings. Robert is an award-winning chef known for his unique ability to intuit the exact taste of fresh and rarely combined ingredients. He created his salsa as a signature appetizer at the restaurant and featured it in many popular dishes. The demand was

so strong that Food Cravings was established to satisfy the community of customers, colleagues, and friends who gathered over this extraordinary salsa. The Food Cravings Story

Robert’s childhood in the border town of Brownsville, Texas, introduced him to a variety of cultural cuisines at a very early age. His Croatia-born father took him on frequent trips to Eastern Europe, where he tasted authentic regional foods. At home, he enjoyed the freshest seafood from his father’s shrimp boats accented by the distinctive flavors of Mexico, just across the river. Inheriting his mother’s impressive cooking skills, he enrolled in a restaurant management school. His professors encouraged him to apply to the Culinary Institute of America, where he completed one of the world’s most rigorous and respected chef training programs. Denise grew up on a family farm in rural North Carolina, relishing the fresh taste of hand-picked tomatoes, corn, potatoes, melons, and strawberries, and homemade molasses. After she completed graduate school, her career as a Speech–Language Pathologist took her to a job in Dallas where she met Robert—at a restaurant, of course! Denise and Robert opened the Lantern Grill in 1998. She managed the front of the house, while he created the exceptional dishes with the incomparable taste of the freshest natural ingredients. With an early win in the prestigious Texas Hill Country Wine and Food Festival for a chicken wonton appetizer garnished with his signature salsa, the restaurant quickly built a loyal clientele of foodies, friends, and celebrities. They were extremely busy until the day they closed eight years later to return to North Carolina to be closer to her family. Denise and Robert continue to work together through Food Cravings, fulfilling their passion for creating fresh, authentic specialty foods to share with friends.

Attention, Food Lion shoppers! If you are looking for a delicious salsa which combines heat and sweet, then check us out...
11/06/2025

Attention, Food Lion shoppers! If you are looking for a delicious salsa which combines heat and sweet, then check us out in the “Local” section! 🍅🍅

Here's news that will knock you out🥊! Our salsa is now being sold at Knockout Butchery in Roebuck, SC. It is a family o...
09/22/2025

Here's news that will knock you out🥊! Our salsa is now being sold at Knockout Butchery in Roebuck, SC. It is a family operation with such a modern facility and such kind people. If anyone is going near Spartanburg, SC, stop by this place and check out their selection of meats and other products.

Thanks to all those salsa lovers out there who have been buying our salsa at select Lowes Foods stores from Mebane to Ba...
08/29/2025

Thanks to all those salsa lovers out there who have been buying our salsa at select Lowes Foods stores from Mebane to Banner Elk. We are happy to share with you that now we have expanded into the Triangle area. Look for it in the "Local" section.

We had a great time at the Got to Be NC Festival! We enjoyed talking to other amazing vendors who had such delicious pro...
05/19/2025

We had a great time at the Got to Be NC Festival! We enjoyed talking to other amazing vendors who had such delicious products. Thank you to everyone who came out to this event to support North Carolina businesses! 🍅

05/15/2025

We are so excited for the Got to Be NC Festival this weekend! See you there! 😀

I was happy to speak to legislators about NC specialty food products at the Got To Be NC Products Reception last night. ...
03/12/2025

I was happy to speak to legislators about NC specialty food products at the Got To Be NC Products Reception last night.

We turned back the clocks and lost an hour! That was one less hour for me to dream about salsa...and sliced avocado driz...
03/09/2025

We turned back the clocks and lost an hour! That was one less hour for me to dream about salsa...and sliced avocado drizzled with salsa...and scrambled eggs topped with salsa...and nachos with salsa😴 💤

Thank you berry much for having us Swamp Rabbit Cafe and Grocery. We always enjoy it! 😀
03/03/2025

Thank you berry much for having us Swamp Rabbit Cafe and Grocery. We always enjoy it! 😀

Happy Holidays!
12/25/2024

Happy Holidays!

Exciting News! Our salsa is now being sold at Publix! Look for it in the “Local” section. Swipe to see select locations....
11/20/2024

Exciting News! Our salsa is now being sold at Publix! Look for it in the “Local” section. Swipe to see select locations. 🍅

We enjoyed our recent visit to Swamp Rabbit Cafe and Grocery in Greenville, SC!
10/23/2024

We enjoyed our recent visit to Swamp Rabbit Cafe and Grocery in Greenville, SC!

Chatham County, are you craving salsa? Now you can find our salsa at Fair Game Beverage Company in Pittsboro! Check out ...
09/05/2024

Chatham County, are you craving salsa? Now you can find our salsa at Fair Game Beverage Company in Pittsboro! Check out their selection of specialty food products!

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4285 Trinity Road
Raleigh, NC
27607

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