Oser Communications Group

Honey Acacia. BRINS Jam & Marmalade won in the jam and preserve category with its Lemon Saffron Marmalade. In the con- fection category, Katherine Anne Confec- tions won the gold award for Rosemary Sea Salt Caramel. Goodnow Farms Chocolate won the gold award in the dark chocolate category with Ucayali, 70%; Askinosie Chocolate's Coconut Milk Chocolate Bar took the gold award in the category for milk and white chocolates; and Ital- ian Products USA won the gold award for chocolate candy with Croccante al Pistacchio con Cioccolato Bianco-Kant. Goodnow Farms Chocolate also won a new product award in the chocolate candy category with Special Re- serve, 77% Dark Choco- late with Putnam Rye Whiskey. In the cookie category, Douglas Sweets won the gold award with Italian Lemon Rosemary Shortbread. SuperSeedz won the gold award for SuperSeedz in the sweet snack category. In the savory snack category, Noosh Brands took home the gold sofi Award for Keto Coffee Almond Butter, while East Hampton Gourmet Foods had the best cracker with its Lentil Rice Crispbread Turmeric + Nigella Seed. That cracker also won the award for the best new product in the category. The Dessert Table LLC won the gold award in the granola, cereal cate- gory for Roots and Seeds Granola, and Manna Organics LLC won the gold award in the nut or seed butter category with Manna Butter – Dark Chocolate Pecan. In beverage categories, Lettieri & Co. Ltd. won the gold sofi Award in the cate- gory for ready-to-drink cold beverages with Tomarchio Organic Aranciata Rossa, a sparkling blood orange soda from Sicily, and Bittermilk LLC won the gold award for a drink and cocktail mix with its No. 2 Tom Collins with Elderflower & Hops. In the hot beverage category, the gold sofi went to Katherine Anne Confections for Mexican Drinking Chocolate Mix, and Republic of Tea Inc. won the gold sofi for Milk Oolong Full-Leaf Tea in the tea category. Built by Bees Inc. won the gold sofi Award in the vinegar category for its Sour- wood Balsamic Vinegar. The award for the best olive oil went to Henri Mor SL for Pri- vate Reserve Henri Mor, while The Art of Pecan won the award for other oils with its Pure Pecan Oil. In the category for meat, poultry and charcuterie, Tempesta Artisan Salumi, for- merly 'Nduja Artisans, of Chicago, Illinois, received the gold award for its Culatello, made in the traditional manner with sea salt, black pepper and red wine and aged for a minimum of one year. The gold award for the best seafood product went to Acme Smoked Fish Corporation for its Blue Hill Bay Smoked Wild Alaskan Sockeye Salmon, smoked with natural hardwood and packaged for retail sale in 3-ounce plastic envelopes of pre-sliced, ready-to-eat product. Pacific Pickle Works Inc. won the gold award for the best pickled vegetable or preserved fruit or vegetables with its Fenn Shui, a pickled fennel root in a rice vine- gar-based brine accented with ginger, citrus zest and Thai chile. Lotus Foods won the gold award in the category for pasta, rice or grain with its Organic Dehraduni Basmati Rice, and the gold award for the best pasta sauce went to Sundried Red Pesto with Genovese Basil DOP. Nona Lim received the gold award in the pre-made category with Thai Coconut Lime Bone Broth Heat & Sip Cup, a bone broth inspired by classic flavors of Thai cuisine and packaged for retail sale in a 10-fluid ounce cup. It's made from chicken bone broth simmered with coconut cream, lemongrass oil and ginger root. GN GOURMET NEWS JUNE 2019 www.gourmetnews.com NEWS & NOTES 1 2 Disaster Relief Continued from PAGE 1 effort on behalf of Organic Valley. While his day job with the company doesn't in- volve natural disasters, the company stood behind him when he formed and managed a relief kitchen that fed thousands per day after Hurricane Katrina. Since then, Organic Valley has continued to re- spond. "I led Organic Valley to disasters, but Organic Valley has kept responding, disaster after disaster, over the last 14 years," he said. While his and Organic Valley's early ef- forts to provide disaster relief were ad hoc, over the past few years, the company team working on the efforts has gained organi- zational skills and become part of a net- work that works with other disaster relief organizations such as the Salvation Army and the U.S. Federal Emergency Manage- ment Agency to fill in the gaps to meet human needs after a disaster. Now they think they're ready to involve other natural food companies in the effort, Siemon said. "Three years ago, when Organic Valley gave to a disaster, we'd be all alone – it would be us giving directly to one 501(c)3 organiza- tion," he said. "Now we're bringing a lot more resources to the table.... we felt more comfortable inviting the rest of the industry in because, as a cooperative, we believe in collaboration, and because we felt confi- dent that this is something that we can make work." The Grassroots Aid Partnership will continue to work with other or- ganizations, leaving them to take the lead in emergency response but then joining in once the gaps have made themselves felt and then continuing to help for a month or more to help rebuild the affected commu- nities. "We figure out the needs and pitch in," Siemon said. "We've been building kitchens and doing distributions for years. The formation of the Grassroots Aid Part- nership is to support those efforts." The new organization's focus – at least for now – is disasters within the U.S., but Siemon expects that the partnership will begin working on an international scale within a few years, since some of the vol- unteers who are involved with Grassroots Aid Partnership are already also involved in international disaster relief efforts. "We're trying to start humbly," Siemon said. "But we're growing to meet the need." While each disaster presents its own challenges, the human need for safe, healthy food is a constant, and both Or- ganic Valley and Dr. Bronner's already had resources that they could put to work help- ing out in an emergency. Organic Valley has shipped dairy products into the Camp Fire area for months to help. "Dr Bronner's sends sanitation materials. Patagonia Pro- visions, Nancy's Yogurt, Lotus Foods, Clif Bar and others have also com- mitted to sending goods," Siemon said. Both Dr. Bronner's and Or- ganic Valley have mobile kitchens that are ordinar- ily used for event marketing, but in disasters, the companies are sending them out for relief efforts. "Dr. Bronner's owns a big kitchen that can feed 10,000 people a day," Siemon said. "They built the kitchen to feed people at Burning Man, but the rest of the year, it does disas- ter relief on request. Organic Valley has a smaller kitchen that will feed about 1,000 people a day." Sanderson Farms has also helped out when refrigeration is needed, he added. "Sanderson Farms has been very active and will often send a semi with chicken in it, and they'll leave the semi for the disaster to use," he said. "It's a great example of how we break down borders. When it comes to disasters, everyone's in it to give." The new organization has gone first to the natural foods industry as it puts to- gether the resources to make this an ongo- ing effort, Siemon said. "We were well connected there.... In this time of rebuild- ing, it's really important to give people the healthiest foods they can have to renourish them.... We are also try- ing distinctly to find food companies with healthy products, but we're not picky about whether they're or- ganic. It just happens that we started with the natural foods sector." There's also room for food retailers to get in- volved by cross-loading goods or lending refrigerated trucks, Siemon said. "Often we just need a parking lot to set up in," he said. "We're big fans of everyone trying to help out." For more information, visit the GAP part- nership's website at www.grassrootsaid partnership.org or email info@grassrootsaid partnership.org. To sign up to help, email help@grassrootsaidpartnership.org. GN Summer Fancy Continued from PAGE 1 to make a bigger impact on climate change. Maker Space, new to the summer show, will focus on programs for producers. Clara Park, Corporate Chef of Culinary Innova- tion for Chelten House Gourmet Products, will speak on product development for new ideas. Lisa Curtis, Founder of Kuli Kuli and winner of the association's 2019 Leadership Award for Citizenship, will speak about how new food brands can build brand awareness on a low budget, like telling a good brand story and building partnerships with larger brands. Specialty food producers looking for growth opportunities can also look to the Incubator Village in the River Pavilion. Featured incubators include Common- wealth Kitchen, Chobani Incubator, Cor- nell Food Venture Center, The Entrepreneur Space, Food Innovation Cen- ter at Rutgers University, The Hatchery, OSU Food Innovation Center, Hot Bread Kitchen, and Hope & Main. The association will also celebrate the in- dustry's established leaders with a cere- mony on Sunday, June 23 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. on the River Pavilion for the Lifetime Achievement Awards honorees and in- ductees to the Hall of Fame. The Lifetime Achievement Awards recognize two leg- endary leaders in the industry who pushed the industry forward and pioneered new paths for specialty foods. Exhibit space is expected to sell out. Reg- istration is open for the show at www .specialtyfood.com. GN Specialty Food Continued from PAGE 1 Olive Oil Brownie Kit won the gold award in the baking mix category. Atalanta Corp. won the gold award for a dessert topping or sauce with Deca & Otto Dulce de Leche. Wildly Delicious Fine Foods won the gold award for its Korean BBQ Grilling Sauce in the barbecue sauce category, while Wozz! Kitchen Creations took the gold award for its Vietnamese Green Tea & Mint in the condiment category, and Bitchin' Inc. won the gold award in the salsa and dip category for its Original, while RealStuff Inc. won the gold award in the hot sauce category for Organic Sriracha. In the cooking sauces and marinades category, Spicemode LLC won the gold award for its Vindaloo, and India Spice Palette LLC won the award in the seasoning and spice category with its All-Nat- ural Indian Spice Blend. Sweets are well represented in this year's sofi Awards categories, and Rigoni di Asi- ago USA LLC won the gold Award in the honey category for its Mielbio Italian

• Cover