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NATURALLY HEALTHY www.gourmetnews.com n SEPTEMBER 2015 n GOURMET NEWS N H 9 8 An interview with Pam Skea, Managing Di- rector of Flying Olive Farms GN: Why Greek- Region Specific Olive Oils? PS: Like wine, the terrain influences every- thing about oil, namely the flavor. Generally speaking, the more specifics on the label re- garding the oil, the more likely it is to be au- thentic. Look for a specific region within a specific country. If mass produced from dif- ferent countries, shipped to and from, stored then bottled, it will not show the region. Our Greek "Bold" label is from Lakonia – pungent & peppery. Our "Delicate" label is from Messenia – Herbal & Buttery. GN: Why do you test for Polyphenols? PS: We test for polyphenols so that we can prove the honesty of our Olive Oils. All oils come to us with a blueprint which is indicative of the particular region in which it was pressed. Polyphenols are the health attributes of the oil, and higher the phenols the more multi-facets of flavor. This is a customer's proof. GN: How did you get your brand name Vrisi 36? PS: FOF owner, Lou Moshakos is from Glykovrisi outside of Sparta. This farming community is situated on the 36th Parallel and translates to 'sweet running water'. Diane Kochilas tells it best- "Lou was doing what so many Greek immigrants to the US do each time they visit [home]… bringing back a suitcase full of edible goodness: olive oils, local wines... Lou put his business acu- men to work on the goods in those proverbial suitcases! He parlayed his love of great re- gional Greek food products into a vibrant im- porting…" GN: Balsamic Vinegars from Greece? PS: Yes, the most divine sundried grapes are morphed into sweet yet pungent balsamic, using age old methods, zero added sugar, zero caramels, zero colorants & sulfite free. GN: What is Mastiqua, for those who don't know? PS: There is nothing like Mastiqua, that I am aware of. Mastiha is a tree resin which has been used for centuries in Greece by the likes of Hippocrates. Modern studies show that Hippocrates was correct, proving benefits for digestive disorders, antimicrobial, anti-in- flammatory properties and a natural antioxi- dant. GN: Who is Diane Kochilas? PS: We met Diane Kochilas at the Mediter- ranean Diet and Workplace Health Confer- ence at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston in September, 2014. We formed a friendship as we discussed our passion for Greek culinary philosophies and as Extra Virgin Olive Oil is the emollient of the Greek Diet, it just felt natural for us to collaborate. Diane is one of the world's foremost au- thorities on Greek cuisine, authoring 18 books on the subject. She is a collaborating chef at various restaurant's and runs an acclaimed cooking school on her family's native island, Ikaria. She has collaborated with Harvard, Yale and UMass to develop healthy Greek menu items for student dining, has taught far and wide on Greek cuisine, from the C.I.A. to the Hattori School of Nutrition in Tokyo. Flying Olive Farms (Cont'd. from p. 1) with bits of onions, garlic, and the perfect blend of spices, will quickly make Bone Suckin' Steak Sauce Chophouse Style your favorite sauce! A good steak doesn't need a lot to be great, just the right sauce. Great for steaks, burgers, meatloaf, fries, chicken and more. Visit our booth #653 for a taste. GN: Tell us about your company. PF: Ford's Gourmet Foods is a fourth gen- eration, Raleigh, North Carolina-based fam- ily business that creates some of the world's greatest tasting all-natural, gluten-free foods including the internationally acclaimed Bone Suckin' Sauces, Earth Family ® , Fire Dancer ® , Southern Yum ® and Wine Nuts ® . GN: Where can we get a jar of Bone Suckin' Sauce? PF: Made in North Carolina for over 20 years, Bone Suckin' Sauce is now sold in over 70 countries around the world. Check out our new online store locator at Bone- Suckin.com to find a store near you. GN: What separates you from the competi- tion? PF: Bone Suckin' Sauce is the only barbe- cue sauce rated number one by Newsweek, A+ by Health Magazine, Food & Wine and many others. All of our branded lines are gluten-free, all-natural, no HFCS, no canola oil, no added MSG, no preservatives, no ar- tificial flavors and non-GMO. (The whole Bone Suckin' product line is non-GMO with the exception of our mustards and steak sauce and we're working on those now). GN: Tell us about your customers. PF: We have many loyal customers (young and old). Once they try our sauce they are customers for life. In recent celebration of 20-plus years in the business, we found that some of our cus- tomers really have grown up on our products. They love to cook (or grill) and appreciate great quality. They pay attention to what's on our label. We sell healthy, premium products that live up to their names and prove their money's worth. Many first time buyers have a sense of humor and are lured in by our aisle stopping names. And of course, they all have great taste. GN: How can our readers find out more about your company? PF: Visit us online at BoneSuckin.com. You'll find info on our history, brands, prod- ucts, store locations, social media and up- coming events … everything from how to pick the perfect steak to grillin' tips and over 300 Bone Suckin' recipes. For more information, visit booth #653 at Natural Expo East and after the show, call 919.833.7647, email sales@bonesuckin.com or go online and visit www.bonesuckin.com. Ford's Gourmet Foods (Cont'd. from p. 1) An interview with Steve Schirripa, Uncle Steve's Italian Specialties. Steve Schirripa is a lot of things – an actor, an author and a pasta sauce entrepreneur. Best known for portraying Bobby Baccalieri on The Sopranos, he was the host of two In- vestigation Discovery Series and was a regular cast member of The Secret Life of the American Teenager. Later this year, he will be starring in a new hockey comedy series on the IFC network, called Benders. Schirripa is also a published writer, with the New York Times Bestseller, "A Goomba's Guide to Life" published by Clarkson Potter, his first in a series of three Goomba guidebooks. Recently, we sat down with Schirripa to talk about his latest venture, Uncle Steve's Italian Specialties. GN: What made you decide to get into the sauce business? SS: After my mother passed away a couple of years ago, I decided to pay tribute to her by sharing her sauce with the world. GN: What a great way to memorialize your mother. She must have been a great cook. SS: She was. My fondest memories are from my days growing up in Brooklyn. Waking up on Sunday morning to the aroma of tomatoes, garlic and olive oil simmering on mom's stove as she prepared the sauce for Sunday dinner. My aim was to put that memory of those Sunday din- ners – of my Italian heritage, and the com- fort of family – into every jar of Uncle Steve's sauces. GN: What makes your products different than the other pasta sauces out there? SS: Just like Mom's recipe, Uncle Steve's sauces are cooked, not processed. Our products are USDA certified organic, gluten free, dairy free, vegan and contain no added sugar. With no GMOs, no pesti- cides, and nothing artificial, you can be confident you're feeding your family not only great tasting products, but nourishing them as well. My mother cooked her sauce for many hours and unlike the others, we are doing the same. GN: Could you tell us a little about the in- gredients you use? SS: Uncle Steve's uses only the best ingre- dients. We start with organic, imported Ital- ian whole peeled tomatoes, fresh organic garlic and onions. There are more ingredi- ents, of course, and they're all on our label. We're so proud of the ingredients that we put them right on the front of the jar. GN: What varieties of sauces do you cur- rently have available? SS: We currently have classic marinara, tomato basil and spicy arrabiata, with more to come. GN: Where can consumers find your sauces? SS: You can find Uncle Steve's at ShopRite, Uncle Steve's (Cont'd. from p. 1) A New Era for Calbee North America By Steve Kneepkens, V.P. of Sales and Mar- keting, Calbee North America For over 60 years, Calbee Inc. has made de- licious snacks with natural ingredients. Our focus is to "Harvest the Power of Nature" by using whole ingredients such as whole pota- toes, whole peas and whole lentils. For Calbee North America, 2014 was marked equally by enormous success and challenges. Our dramatic growth and de- mand for our products far outpaced our ex- pectations and this impacted many of you. We have invested tens of millions of dollars in a new 200,000 square foot, state-of-the - art manufacturing facility in Mississippi. Each year we aim to transform the snack- ing experience that keeps your Calbee crav- ings coming. For more information, visit www.calbeena.com or call 707.427.2500. Don't Miss Out on Healthy Profits from the Healthy Juicer The Healthy Juicer is the perfect product for the natural food store, health practitioner (those of you who aren't selling products are missing out!), holistic healer and juice bars. Weighing only three pounds, the manually operated Healthy Juicer is by far the most popular on the market due to its lightweight, compact design and 30-second cleanup. With only three main parts to clean and no internal screen, cleanup is a cinch. It is a spe- cialized juicer meant for wheat- grass and leafy greens, which common juicers are unable to handle. With a retail price of $49.95, the Healthy Juicer boasts a high turn rate while preserving mar- gins. Because of it's small size your prized shelf space remains open for other valuable SKUs. Call for more information and mention this editorial and receive Tier 3 pricing on a first order, re- gardless of size. For more information and product demo videos, go online to the web- site at www.HealthyJuicer.com, email info@healthyjuicer.com or call 877.539.3611.

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