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www.gourmetnews.com n JANUARY 2020 GOURMET NEWS 5 4 Seasonings and Garden Kits for Enjoying the Outdoors By Lorrie Baumann Retirement was getting old for husband and wife Clyde and Sherri Hutchison in 2010, so the couple decided that, recession or no, it was time to start a new company. "There's never a good time to start a company – you just have to do it," Clyde said. They called it Backyard Safari Company, and its initial mission was to make and sell grilling rubs that reflected Clyde's love of entertaining around his backyard grill. "I've always had an interest in grilling and flavors for meat and such," he said. "The Backyard Safari is adventure and fun in your back yard." Since then, they've expanded their product range to reflect Sherri's love of gar- dening and their shared love of hanging out with family and friends around the dining table. The Grill. spice rubs from Backyard Safari Company are offered in four flavors packed in tin metal tins. Grill. Grilled Corn Rub is a sweet chipotle spice blend; Grill. Steak & Burger is a peppered garlic rub; Grill. Chicken & Veggies is made with lemon zest and garlic; and the fourth is Grill. Seafood, a blend of rosemary, lemon and dill that can be added to melted butter to make a dipping sauce for shrimp, crab or lobster in addition to its use as a grilling rub. All four spice blends are all natural and gluten free. In addition, Backyard Safari Company of- fers a Dinner Tonight! line of meal starters, three seasoning mixes for nuts, and two lines of garden starter kits. "We're in a variety of stores – we are in meat counters, but we have gift shops, any kind of tourist attraction – a lot of gift shops around the country," said Clyde, who is the company's Vice President. "We're in quite a few upscale grocery stores and corner markets as well." Small-batch blended, all natural and gluten free, Backyard Safari's Dinner Tonight! meal starters allow the home cook to turn out a family meal for up to eight peo- ple in about 30 minutes. Two of the varieties have won gold sofi Awards from the Spe- cialty Food Association. White Bean Chili Seasoning won a gold sofi Award in 2014, while Black Bean Tortilla Chili won the gold sofi Award in 2016. Other varieties include Southwestern Chipotle & Lime Fajita Sea- soning, Salmon with Angel Hair Pasta Sea- soning and Burger Seasoning. Packaging includes the whole shopping list for the meal on the back, so that a shop- per can pick up the meal starter package and then collect everything else that's needed for the recipe on the same shopping trip. For the ingredients to make the chili from the sofi Award-winning Dinner Tonight! Black Bean Tortilla Chili seasoning mix, for instance, the package lists a pound of chopped, cooked chicken breast and suggests a rotis- serie chicken as an option; butter or oil; an onion; a quart of chicken broth or stock; a can of whole kernel corn; a can of black beans; salsa and heavy cream along with the seasoning mix and optional toppings that might include sour cream, shredded cheese and cilantro. Each of the meal starters retails for $3.95 to $4.95. The company's gardening kits are adorably packaged in egg cartons that con- tain seeds and planting medium as well as in- structions. "It's got everything that you need – you only have to add water and love," Clyde said. They retail for $11.99. The gardens are offered as two product lines: Sunny Side UP Gardens, which are intended for children, and GROW. Gardens, which offer the opportunity to "grow hap- piness in small spaces" and include a Tran- quility Garden, Chili Pepper Garden, Cocktail Garden; Colors Flower Garden, Herb Garden, Honey Bee Habitat, Pizza Garden, Salsa Garden and Sunflower Gar- den. The Pizza Garden, for instance, in- cludes six packages of heirloom seeds for sweet basil, Heirloom Rut- gers Tomatoes, green bell peppers, Greek Oregano, parsley and scallions along with everything else needed to start the garden plus grow- ing instructions and even the recipes to make the pizza. The Tranquility kit comes with seeds for chamomile, holy basil, laven- der, peppermint, wild bergamot and sage and includes recipes to make oil infusions, teas and a smudge stick. The egg carton planters are made from 100 percent recy- cled fiber, and the seed envelopes are made from FCS certified paper that contains 30 percent post consumer waste and was pro- duced in a plant powered by wind. The Sunny Side UP garden kits for chil- dren come in a range of seven products: Kaleidoscope Flower Garden, Little Bunny Garden, Little Fresh Veggie Garden, Little Good Night Garden, Little Pizza Garden, Little Summer Fun Garden and Little North Pole Garden, which includes six packages of non-GMO heirloom seeds for a spruce Christmas tree and five cool weather blooming flowers along with the planting medium, wooden plant identification stakes, growing instructions, growing jour- nal, pencil and 100 percent recycled fiber egg carton planter. For more information, visit Backyard Safari Company at www.backyardsafarico.com. New Spreadable Cured Meats from La Quercia La Quercia has launched new spreadable cured meats: Ground Pancetta and Pesto Bianco. Available in tubes for easy use, sim- ilar to La Quercia's Nduja spread, these meats are ready for creative cooking in the kitchen. They embody what La Quercia is known for: delicious cured meats from hu- manely raised and responsibly sourced pork. The spreadable Pancetta features Pancetta Americana, La Quercia's antibiotic-free pork belly, dry-cured with sea salt and spices. The company's pancetta is beloved by chefs around the country for its flavor and versatil- ity. The finely ground pancetta kicks any dish up a notch or three – cooks and novices alike can use it in place of butter on the stovetop or in place of bacon in a sandwich; in grilled cheese, crostino and pizza; and in ragu, meat- balls and meatloaf. La Quercia's pancetta can be used with or without cooking. Pesto Bianco is a savory Lardo spread that begins with delicious cured fat from La Quercia's prosciutto – a rich and creamy fat from vegetarian fed, antibiotic-free and fam- ily-farm raised hogs. The 9-12 month aged Lardo is blended with sea salt, black pepper, rosemary and red chili flake. It can be used in place of shorten- ing in biscuits or tart crust, melted over a juicy steak or rubbed on chicken before roast- ing, stirred into warm pasta or simply spread over warm bread. Both new products offer the same versatility as La Quercia's popular Nduja Americana, the spicy prosciutto spread that's gained popu- larity since launching in 2015. Nduja is a blend of cured pork, three types of dried New Mexico red chilies and sea salt – it packs an umami punch and has developed a cult following from chefs and home cooks around the country. The spreads have no ar- tificial additives, just organic spices, and present an innovative addition for any dietary lifestyle or flavor desire. "Cooking should be fun and food should be delicious – these spreads deliver on both counts," says La Quercia co-Founder Kathy Eckhouse. "Add a dollop to sauteed vegetables or soup, use any one of them instead of mayonnaise or mustard on a meat or cheese sandwich. Try a crusty baguette, split and 'buttered' with any of the spreads, to fuel your next hike!" This trio of spreadable cured meats can be found online at www.mondofood.com and at supermarkets and specialty retailers around the country, including Eataly and Hy-Vee. A Dutch Masterpiece Announces Brand Redesign The classic but unique A Dutch Masterpiece is a collection of four premium mature cheeses that have won excellence awards around the world, including overall World Champion at the World Championship Cheese Contest in Madison, Wisconsin, for both Rembrandt (2004) and Vermeer (2012). Thanks to the exclusive recipes and a com- mitment to the art of traditional Dutch cheesemaking, A Dutch Masterpiece pro- duces premium cheese in a classic, tradi- tional Dutch way and ensures that every Dutch Masterpiece cheese delivers a taste experience like no other. A Dutch Masterpiece varieties are works of art, with each variety named after a great Dutch artist. Each cheese has its own unique recipe and ripening process. This results in a distinctive and refined texture, taste and flavor. The packaging redesign, launching during the first half of 2020, will help make the award-winning collection more accessible to consumers. Distinctive in flavor like their artists, the new brand identity and package design showcases the distinctive features of each painter, their formative work, and the unique age and tasting notes of each of the awarding winning cheeses in the masterpiece collection. A Dutch Masterpiece collection of four premium mature cheeses is available in both wheels and wedges. Rembrandt: Traditionally ripened for one year, this award-winning Extra Aged Dutch Cheese has a firm texture, a robust flavor and an exceptional taste. Vincent: Where Gouda meets Parmesan, this rich, sweet tasting, fully ripened Dutch Cheese releases pleasant characteristic bursts of flavor with every bite. Frans Hals: A rich aged Dutch goat cheese that is naturally matured up to six months. Frans Hals is made from 100 percent goat's milk to create a unique full-bodied taste and delicate aroma. Vermeer: Traditionally ripened for six months, this award-winning aged Dutch Gouda cheese has a delicate fruity taste with a delightful flavor. Of course, this work of art is created by the biggest producer of Dutch Cheese in the world, FrieslandCampina. FrieslandCampina Consumer Dairy US, based in Paramus, New Jersey, is the world's largest producer of Gouda and Dutch cheeses and one of the largest im- porters of specialty cheeses to the United States. Visitors to the Winter Fancy Food Show will be able to experience a diverse showcase of exciting cheese brands from the Netherlands, UK, Denmark, Australia, Ire- land and other countries in its exhibit. FrieslandCampina's rich portfolio in- cludes over a dozen cheese brands, including UK brands Wyke Farms ® and Organic King- dom ® and Dutch made Kroon ® , Melkbus ® , Parrano ® , GayoAzul ® , Frico ® and A Dutch Masterpiece ® . FrieslandCampina is a com- pany rich in heritage, with deep roots in Dutch culture, and a history of selling prod- ucts across the globe for a century and serv- ing U.S. consumers for over 50 years. Visit FrieslandCampina at booth #2151.

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