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Special Feature GOURMET NEWS JUNE 2014 www.gourmetnews.com SPECIAL FEATURE 2 2 C O N D I M E N T S Ketchup. Mustard. Relish. Mayonnaise. When it comes to what goes on your dinner table every night, few things are more quotidian than the requisite everyday condiments we use to accent the meal's main dishes. Enter California sun-dried tomato ketchup, salted caramel mustard sauce, spiced raspberry walnut chutney and habanero mango aioli. Here are ten companies putting their positively gourmet spin on the classic condiments we all know and love. 1. Carolyn Saucier Carolyn Saucier offers five, all-natural, gourmet sauces and marinades that are bold yet versatile: Tornado Dijon, Earthquake Garlic, Monsoon Chinese, Volcano Italian and Wildfire Hot Sauce. Use Carolyn Saucier's products for almost anything, including as a dip or topping for vegetables, potatoes, burgers and more. And the company's five-sauce variety pack makes a great foodie gift. www.carolynsaucier.com 2. Date Lady Date Lady's recently introduced vegan, organic, nut- free chocolate spread, naturally sweetened with date syrup, makes a great sweet complement to bread, fruit, ice cream, pretzels and more. The chocolate spread gets its luxurious texture and satiny spreadability from date syrup, coconut oil and cocoa butter. The chocolate spread joins Date Lady's date syrup and caramel sauce. www.ilovedatelady.com 3. Fischer & Wieser Specialty Food scion Fischer & Wieser is reimagining mustard, offering innovative takes on the classic condiment, such as Salted Caramel Mustard Sauce, Hickory & Cracked Black Pepper Mustard Sauce and Raspberry and Wildflower Honey Mustard Sauce. The company also offers an extensive selection of gourmet cooking sauces, salsas, jams, jellies and more. www.jelly.com 4. The French Farm Produced in Meaux from a secret recipe dating back to 1632, The French Farm's Meaux Mustard from Pommery features a thick, grainy texture, exquisite piquant and nutty flavors and a subtle aroma. The mustard makes a wonderful addition to a charcuterie or cheese board or you can rub it onto fish or poultry. www.frenchfarm.com 5. Gourmet du Village Gourmet du Village offers a wide range of exciting condiments from aiolis to bread dipping oils to seasoned butters. The company's Country Style Ketchup features large chunks of tomato, onions, garlic and a special seasoning blend. Available in Chunky Country and Spicy Chipotle varieties, it is great with barbecue, chicken, steak, burgers and fries. www.gourmetduvillage.com 6. Robert Rothschild Farm Transform a simple sandwich into a mouthwatering meal with unique mustards from Robert Rothschild Farm. Layer cheese, salami and pickled vegetables with Anna Mae's Smoky Mustard for a New Orleans- inspired muffuletta. Update the classic bratwurst with Cilantro Jalapeño Mustard. Or transform a simple ham and cheese with Raspberry Wasabi Dipping Mustard. www.robertrothschild.com 7. Sir Kensington's A 2014 sofi Award nominee in the Condiments category for its chipotle mayonnaise, Sir Kensington's has worked to perfect two condiment staples: ketchup and mayonnaise. The company offers two ketchups, classic and spiced, as well as two mayonnaises, classic and chipotle, and it has received numerous accolades for its gourmet take on these two mealtime staples. www.sirkensingtons.com 8. Tortured Orchard Tortured Orchard Seasoning Sauces are a line of five distinct flavor combinations that will become a staple in your kitchen. The company's sauces include Sweet Apple Blush, a New England compote, Lemon Ginger Twist, a reduction, Spiced Pineapple Zinger, a chutney, Garlic Balsamic Drizzle, an aromatic seasoning sauce and Golden Sauce, a spiced mustard sauce. www.torturedorchard.com 9. Traina Foods Traina Foods' California Sun Dried Tomato Ketchup takes traditional ketchup to the next level. The sofi Award-nominated product is a celebration of the tomato with over four pounds of fresh tomatoes packed in every 16-ounce bottle. Rich and zesty, this gourmet ketchup elevates burgers, eggs, pasta, grilled cheese, marinades, dressings and more. www.trainafoods.com 10. The Virginia Chutney Company Winner of the 2013 sofi Award for Outstanding Condiment, The Virginia Chutney Company celebrates the American South with its line of unique, regionally inspired chutneys. Varieties offered include Spicy Plum, Mango, Balsamic Fig, Green Tomato, Cranberry, Peach and more. The company's gift packs make a great gift for the holidays. www.virginiachutney.com 10 Companies Taking Condiments in a Positively Gourmet Direction BY LUCAS WITMAN When it comes to summer entertaining, no outdoor get-together is complete without some well-executed backyard barbecue. In fact, barbecue is often the centerpiece of the summertime soiree. Guests gather around the grill, collectively contributing to the preparation of the meal, while a sweet, smoky aroma guides hungry revelers to the spot where they will enjoy richly seasoned, charred meats and vegetables. Whether it is a meal of tangy, vinegar-sauced pulled pork in North Carolina, molasses-tinged ribs in Chicago or dry-rubbed brisket in Memphis, one can be sure that if she is on her way to a summertime party, barbecue will most definitely be served. Without question one of the most classic American cuisines, and a part of nearly every home cook's repertoire, barbecue cooking has gotten decidedly gourmet in recent years, with some of the country's best chefs directing their talents toward the grill. "Barbecue is something I love. It's something that's dear to me. It's something that I always get ex- cited about no matter how beat I am, no matter how tired I am. If there's a barbecue going on, the chances are I'm gonna' be back there grilling," said Sharone Hakman, professional chef and President/CEO of ar- tisan barbecue sauce company Hak's BBQ. "I did all fine dining as a chef. But when I went to open [my own] concept, I wanted to open something fun that people could eat at all the time—three times a week even," said Charlie McKenna, Chef and Owner of Chicago barbecue eatery Lillie's Q. "That's how we sort of turned this into a restau- rant." McKenna's signature sauces are now sold nationwide as the Lillie's Q product line. When it comes to barbecue sauce today, industry leaders agree that what is most in de- mand among 21st century con- sumers are bigger and bolder flavors. Whether it be the spicy kick of chilies, the sharp tang of apple cider vinegar, the smoky sweetness of Kentucky bourbon or the assertive bite of mustard, consumers today want a sauce that stands out and delivers a kick of flavor. Lillie's Q, for example, has garnered sig- nificant consumer acclaim with its Hot Smoky Barbecue Sauce, a 2014 sofi Award finalist in the Outstanding Cooking Sauce or Flavor Enhancer category. The company promises that while the sauce might start out smooth and sweet up front, it finishes with plenty of heat. The Hot Smoky Barbe- cue Sauce is a vinegar-based sauce, featur- ing garlic, lime juice, mustard, brown sugar and cayenne. "I think more probably the Carolina style [is trending]—the vinegar based. We're kind of trending away from the sugar-based barbecue sauces," said McKenna. "People are really getting into the different vinegars." Hak's BBQ offers its own assertively fla- vored barbecue sauces, featuring vibrant in- gredients from around the globe. The company's Thai Chili Tamarind sauce was a sofi Award finalist in 2013. The unique, spicy sauce features the bright Asian-in- spired flavors of lemongrass and galangal com- bined with the lingering heat of Thai chilies. "What you'll find with our sauces is that we're taking inspiration, we're taking fla- vors from around the world," said Hakman. "The flavors are really dynamic." Of course Hak's BBQ and Lillie's Q are not the only specialty food companies working to take barbecue sauce in a partic- ularly assertive direction. Barbecue sauce companies across the country are offering consumers a bevy of products with bold- new flavors designed to appeal to those hungry for dynamic, modern tastes. Stonewall Kitchen, for example, offers sauces for grilling featuring a variety of big flavors from Roasted Peach Whiskey to Garlic Rosemary Citrus. The company won 2014 Scovie Awards for its aggressively spiced Anna Mae's Smoky Sweet Chipotle Sauce and sweet-tart-hot Cherry Pome- granate Habanero Sauce. Hungry barbecue aficiona- dos can choose to serve their grilled meats and veg- etables with any number of bold sauce options from Smackers BBQ's Smack Me Hard Hot Smackin' Sauce to G Willy BBQ's Hole Lotta Hotta Sauce to Southwest Specialty Food's Habanero BBQ Sauce from Hell. The conclusion industry leaders seem to have reached is that when it comes to picking up a bottle of barbecue sauce, consumers today are simply no longer content with the same-old staples that have been gathering dust on grocery store shelves for decades. "People are looking for some different and creative ideas," said Hakman. "What we've done with the barbecue sauce world is get people excited about doing other things with bar- becue … having fun with it." GN Barbecue Sauce, the Ultimate Summertime Condiment, Heads in a Bold New Direction