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GOURMET NEWS JANUARY 2016 www.gourmetnews.com Supplier Business SUPPLIER BUSINESS 1 2 BRIEFS Pinnacle Foods Elects New Board Member On December 7, 2015, Pinnacle Foods' board elected Mark Jung, current consultant to ABRY Partners and the former chief executive officer of OnLive, as an independent director of the company and a member of the board's audit committee and nominating and corporate governance committee. He replaces Prakash A. Melwani, Senior Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer of Blackstone's private equity group, who stepped down from the board in light of Blackstone's exit from its equity stake in Pinnacle Foods. ITO EN's Matcha LOVE Awarded BEVNET Best Of Year 2015 Best Tea Matcha LOVE, the innovative green tea line created by Brooklyn-based beverage company ITO EN (North America) INC., has been awarded BEVNET's "Best of the Year 2015" –Best Tea Based Beverage. The award was presented at BEVNET LIVE on December 7, 2015 in Santa Monica, California. Award winners are selected from thousands of products. Bunge Donates $1 Million to New Saint Louis Science Center GROW Agriculture Exhibit Ingredient supplier Bunge North America announced a significant gift in support of the Saint Louis Science Center's recently announced permanent exhibit on agriculture. Bunge is contributing $1 million over five years to the exhibit titled "GROW," which will teach visitors about food from farm to fork. In addition to financial support, Bunge employees will offer industry expertise to the Science Center team developing the exhibit, which will include more than 40 exhibits about agriculture and economics, chemistry, culture, technology and life sciences – all in a permanent one-acre site that includes indoor and outdoor experiences. Bunge employees will also provide ongoing volunteer support to the exhibit, the first major addition of a permanent exhibit by the Saint Louis Science Center since 1991. Perky Jerky and Aspen Snowmass Team Up for Event Partnership Perky Jerky and Aspen Snowmass, owner/operator of Aspen Mountain, Aspen Highlands, Buttermilk, and Snowmass, have entered a multi-year event partnership. The collaboration will place Perky Jerky throughout the world-class resort, including: on-mountain, at the base at each of Aspen Snowmass' four mountains and in resort restaurants and company-owned rental/retail locations. In addition to the resort distribution, Perky Jerky will sponsor major on-mountain events throughout the year, including the Aspen Freeskiing Open presented by Perky Jerky on February 18-20, 2016. Authentic Greek Freshness in an Extra Virgin Olive Oil made from just one variety of olives—the Koroneiki. The Koroneiki olive, known as the "queen of olives" for its fine taste, also produces oil with high antioxidant levels, which are responsible for the health benefits for which extra virgin olive oil is lauded. "It's a Greek taste," Bassett says. He launched the Kiklos brand in American stores in June, 2014. Kiklos Greek Extra Virgin Olive Oil from olives harvested this fall will be arriving in stores this winter. Olives for oil production are harvested in Greece during the months of October, November and December. The olives whose oil will be bottled for Kiklos are harvested just before they reach the peak of ripeness to maximize their antioxidant content. Kiklos olives are picked without using big machinery to shake the olives out of the trees, as is done in many olive groves. That hurts the trees and hurts the olives, and the effects ultimately show up in the oil's flavor, so the Kiklos olives are harvested gently, then transported quickly to the mill and cold-pressed within a day or so at a temperature below 27 degrees C. "Since we're a small com- pany, it's easy for us to do that because we have full control over our process," Bassett says. "But even as we grow, we'll continue to process the same way and always in small batches." The result is a yel- low-green oil with a characteristic grassy flavor and a peppery finish that Bassett calls the "Kiklos kick." "With the kick, you feel a warm sensation at the back of your throat, which signifies that you're getting the antioxidants and a natural anti-in- flammatory," he says. "It's not blended. It's not deodorized. It's not infused. What we're offering is olive juice – it's just pressed olives without any other chemicals." "In Greece, when you order a salad, there's no dressing; there's just olive oil, vinegar, pepper and salt. That's it," he adds. "It's the perfect dressing, not only for your salad, but also if you want to cook chicken or fish or grilled vegetables – it just makes it that much better." Kiklos Greek Extra Virgin Olive Oil re- tails for around $29 for a 500 ml bottle. For more information, visit www. theolivefruit. com. GN BY LORRIE BAUMANN You won't see a lot of clutter on the label of a bottle of Kiklos Greek Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Instead of a lot of extra text, the bottle's white label is simple and clean, suggesting the purity and elegance of the product inside. That's intentional, says Jonathan Bassett, Co-founder of The Olive Fruit, which makes the Kiklos product. "A lot of olive oils, and partic- ularly specialty olive oils, say a lot on the label, and then when you purchase them and taste them, you're asking, 'What did I just buy?'" he says. "We wanted to show in the brand image that we're taste perfectionists." The Kiklos brand was started by Bas- sett after he grew frustrated in his search for the authentic tastes he remembered from when he traveled to Greece on fam- ily visits when he was young. "I fell in love with the country and the food," he says now. One of the flavors he missed most was the characteristic taste of Greek olive oil. "It's such a staple taste that influences the taste of the food that's made with it." He finally decided that the best way to get that flavor in the United States was to start a company with a Greek col- league and import high-quality extra vir- gin olive oil from the Peloponnese region BY LORRIE BAUMANN When Rowena Montoya decided to turn her little sideline of making caramel candies for her husband to give away at trade shows into a real business of her own, she named it after the two aunts who gave her her real start. Julie and Ann not only raised Mon- toya after her mother died when she was 15, they provided her with their recipes. Montoya started making caramels when her husband was traveling to trade shows all over the western United States to hustle up business moving heavy equipment. He needed something that would bring people to his table, so he asked his wife for ideas. Montoya thought a homemade treat would do the trick and went back to her family for some recipes. "They are just wonderful cooks and are not afraid to do anything or try anything, and they gave that spirit to me," she says. The caramels went over so well that peo- ple started asking where they could buy them. Eventually, Montoya got a little tired of telling people, "Nowhere," and she got a little bored making just plain caramels and she started pureeing fruit and layering in chocolate. Thinking about Jelly Belly gave her the idea that people like a multiplicity of flavors, and JulieAnn Caramels grew from there. "People aren't used to what I'm doing, so they're excited about it. It's some- thing new," she says. Last year, she built a 1,500-square-foot commercial kitchen, and she already has plans to expand the operation again within the next few years. Despite the growth, the JulieAnn Caramels are made with the same quality they had when Montoya was mak- ing them in her cottage kitchen. They're still made in Salt Lake City with milk from a local dairy, quality fruit, real butter and cane sugar. "I'm such a stickler," Montoya says. "Everything in it is high end. I want it to be real whole foods that our bodies can digest." For more information about JulieAnn Caramels, call 801.783.8324 or email Rowena@julieanncaramels.com. GN Sweets from Salt Lake City MontAmoré, a Sartori original, was a win- ner at the 2015 World Cheese Awards held in Birmingham, England. Sartori was awarded seven medals, competing with the best cheeses from around the world. The World Cheese Awards welcomed a record- breaking 2,727 entries in 2015, and 250 global experts shared their expertise to judge the entries in front of a live, consumer audience. "MontAmoré is a favorite among our team members because of its unique flavor profile. This cheese combines our world class Parmesan notes with the finest of aged Cheddars, delivering a unique tanginess with a creamy, crumbly texture," said Pam Hodgson, one of Sartori's four Master Cheesemakers. "We are delighted that in- ternational judges have discovered its charm." MontAmoré is delicious on its own, but there are many recipes that take it up a notch. For some of the most popular uses of MontAmoré, including the popular Mon- tAmoré Mac n' Cheese, visit www.sar- toricheese.com/recipes. Sartori also took home three gold medals with Merlot BellaVitano ® , Balsamic BellaV- itano and BellaVitano Gold along with two silver medals for Limited Edition Extra- Aged Goat and Classic Parmesan. A second bronze medal was awarded for Limited Edi- tion Pastorale ® Blend. GN Sartori MontAmoré Wins at 2015 World Cheese Awards

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