Issue link: http://osercommunicationsgroup.uberflip.com/i/300987
H a rd wa re & H o u s e wa re s Re vi e w 4 7 W e d n e s d a y, M a y 7 , 2 0 1 4 HHR: What are your top three BBQ tips? Your top three kitchen tips? GD: My top three BBQ tips are: 1) Always keep two sets of tongs when cooking raw meats. Use one when the food is raw, and when it's cooked use the other one. 2) Add barbecue sauce at the very end of cooking, otherwise the sugar in the sauce will burn easily. 3) Have a spray bottle of water while you grill for flare-ups, unless you're using a COOKINA Barbecue Reusable Grilling Sheet. My top three kitchen tips are: 1) Keep your knives sharp! The duller the knives, the more prone you are to cutting yourself. 2) Prep your ingredi- ents before starting to cook. Being organized guarantees your dish will cook perfectly. 3) Remember that if you clean as you go, your dishes will never show! HHR: What do you enjoy most about cooking with COOKINA products? GD: With COOKINA Reusable Grilling Sheets, I'm able to finally cook foods on the grill that I've never been able to before. Plus, no more fallen asparagus and veggies down the grill grate! Also, the COOKINA Cuisine Reusable Cooking Sheet is the perfect non-stick surface that guarantees less oil use and no more scraping off my baking sheets, too! HHR: What is your favorite meal to cook on the BBQ? GD: I'm loving breakfast on the grill these days. Imagine cooking scrambled eggs next to a stack of grilled pancakes! HHR: Do you have a signature go-to sauce for your meats? GD: Yes! I make a Venezuelan sauce called "Guascaca" that tastes better than it sounds! It's green peppers, onions, gar- lic, cilantro, parsley, vinegar and olive oil, all blended together and slathered on anything that's off the grill! HHR: What is the most unique meal COOKINA ( Cont'd. from p. 1) you've ever made on the BBQ? GD: Making eggs sunny-side up was a unique experience for me. Burgers topped with eggs are finally easy to accomplish on the grill. HHR: What's your favorite place to eat in your hometown, and what dish do you order? GD: There is a fantastic restaurant called "Red Rooster" in Harlem, just around the corner from me, and I have to say I'm in love with their "yard bird" fried chicken. Often, however, you'll see me ordering in Thai food! HHR: What's your go-to breakfast and favorite lunch? GD: I love "leftover" breakfast burri- tos. It's as simple as scrambling eggs and adding leftover veggies from last night's dinner, and wrapping it in a tortilla wrap. Breakfast is served! My favorite lunch has got to be grilled cheese sandwiches, and I love adding a bit of fruit preserves to make it sweeter! HHR: What advice would you give to aspiring chefs? GD: Intern at a restaurant for two straight weeks. Live through the hard work and grueling hours, and if you still love it, then you're on the right path! HHR: Describe your cooking style in three words. GD: Twisted comfort food. HHR: What five ingredients are staples in your kitchen? Which one is your must- have favorite? GD: My must-have favorite is Hunt's Tomatoes, but I also must have my chipotle hot sauce, my freeze dried herbs, Pam non-stick spray and butter (I'm talk- ing sweet grass fed butter). Visit COOKINA at booth 12402, or go to www.cookina.co for more information. come up with new products. Whink developed the first rust stain preventative and cleaner for the toilet bowl with Whink RUSTGuard toilet tabs. Whink has also created a "better" grout-friendly and food-friendly Whink Cook-Top Cleaner, along with its sister product, Whink Counter-Top Cleaner. Why risk a food preparation sur- face by using a corrosive acid when you can use something as safe as a piece of chalk? The two rust products previously mentioned are ranked as number one sell- ers in supermarkets that do over $2 mil- lion in sales (AC Nielsen), and Whink Cook-Top Cleaner is ranked number two. In 2014, Whink is introducing two new products: a convenient drop in septic Whink ( Cont'd. from p. 1) pouch, Whink Septic Treatment, for clip strips and tray placement, and its exciting Uniform Pre-Wash. There's been nothing like this pre-wash innovation for many years, with three state of the art enzymes and a big dose of good old Borax to create action ingredients which go along with the surfactants. This product is not inexpen- sive, and isn't intended to be. It cuts down costs by eliminating the need for second or third washings to remove those pesky blood and body fluid stains. Whink gives the consumer a real value, and keeps the GMROI where it needs to be for the retailer. Time will tell, and so far time has been good to Whink. Stop by Whink booth 3832 to see its full line of highly effective household clean- ing products. We are extremely selective in the prod- ucts that we deliver, taking our time and combined expertise to fully develop the product from 'good idea' to retail place- ment. HHR: What would you say makes your company unique? SS: At InvenTel, we truly take a hands- on approach to every product that we develop and market. We're a vertically integrated company, keeping all of our services 'in house' in order to directly control the quality of every aspect of product development: sourcing, commer- cial production, editing, graphic design, packaging, Direct Response marketing, media, sales and fulfillment. HHR: Describe your company's current marketing strategy. SS: DRTV is essential to our strategy. It allows you to get immediate feedback from viewers, enabling you to track and measure results quickly so that you can make efficient, fast decisions when it comes to your advertising campaign. By using DRTV, we learn how not to only improve our campaign, but also the product. Our retail partners also like that InvenTel ( Cont'd. from p. 1) we use DRTV because by the time it gets to them, we've already generated public awareness and demand. HHR: What particular product will you be showcasing at the National Hardware Show? SS: We have two awesome products that will be showcasing. One is called GRIPEEZ, and the other is Liberty Lantern. GRIPEEZ is the clear, double- sided gripping pad that makes it fast and easy to hang or secure any object, anywhere! Each GRIPEEZ can hold up to five pounds and is washable and re- usable up to 1,000 times. They're real- ly unlike anything available on the market today. Liberty Lantern is a three-in-one rechargeable LED lantern that functions as an ultra-bright emergency light, deco- rative candlelight and mobile device charger. It recharges with a built-in solar panel, quick charge hand crank, USB cable and AC/wall adaptor. At a suggest- ed MSRP of $19.99, it's an incredible value that can't be beat. Visit InvenTel at booth 4520. For more information, go to www.inventel.tv, call 862-437-1111 or email stephanie@inventel.tv. to offer three different sizes (250W, 400W and 600W) with heat reflectors. Since last year, we have been thinking about how to improve the product further and are now getting some results due to all the activity. HHR: Tell us more about the improve- ments planned for your heaters. PV: Most of our improvements are driv- en by customer feedback. Some of the following are already implemented and some are in the pipeline and will be ready for launch by next season: built-in ther- mostat for all three sizes; pizza style box – easy for product removal; sturdier packing with reinforced corner protec- tion; Cozy-Mount (patent pending) – drill-less mounting system; aesthetics improvement; and a performance enhancer concept is being patented and will be made public as soon as the patent is accepted. HHR: What would you say makes your company unique? PV: We are not just distributors, but also hold major interest in the manufac- turing company. Also, we are owned by engineers and not just salesmen. Therefore, we are interested in develop- ing the best product and are always looking for ways to improve the prod- uct. We can supply the two larger size heaters with or without thermostat and also have safety wings (patent pending) that are optional. We have also come up with a new mounting system that is a game changer in this category of heaters. Finally, the performance enhancer concept that will be revealed after acceptance of patent. HHR: What distinguishes your products Cozy-Heater ( Cont'd. from p. 1) from the competition? PV: In addition to the enhancements and improvements described above, each and every point below distinguishes our com- pany and products. We are the only com- pany to offer three different sizes (250W, 400W and 600W), the only company to have patented wing technology (option- al). We are the first to offer heat reflector for all sizes, and the first to introduce thermostat control. Each and every panel is hand finished and heat-tested, and triple insulated for electrical safety. HHR: Is there anything else that you want to tell us? PV: I can keep talking about our heaters, but we found another product that is very unique being manufactured in India, and have decided to bring this product here to the U.S. This product is called "AERO- LITE," and are low density calcium sili- cate ceiling tiles manufactured by Andhra Polymers Pvt. Ltd., in Hyderabad, India. HHR: What is so unique about these "AEROLITE" ceiling tiles? PV: At present, most commercial light- weight ceiling tiles are made of mineral wool. It is not uncommon to find a build- ing with these ceilings tiles that have sagged, warped or patched areas. Replacements are expensive, cause work disturbance and poor aesthetics and results in color variations. At present there is no low density (lightweight) ceil- ing that is able to withstand all weather conditions and which is noncombustible. "AEROLITE" fills this void. Visit Cozy-Heater at booth 3928. For more information, go to www.cozy heater-us.com, call 407-421-7440 or email pvangala@cozyheater-us.com.