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GOURMET NEWS APRIL 2016 www.gourmetnews.com NEWS & NOTES 8 Cibo California Continued from PAGE 1 Laura Chenel's Chèvre has been recognized by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) for meeting one of the highest levels of food safety standards in the production of its line of fresh plain and flavored goat milk cheeses. The BRC's Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) is an internationally recognized food safety credential becoming a fundamental re- quirement of major food retailers around the world. GFSI certification insures that Laura Chenel's production meets food industry and legislative requirements across the UK, EU and US, including most of the recently en- acted FSMA rules in the US. Laura Chenel's has a history of high level quality production standards in its state-of- the art Sonoma creamery. "Since the plant was completed in 2010, we've worked to es- tablish systems that ensure our products are the highest quality and our facility exceeds food safety regulations," says Eva Guilmo, Quality Director for Laura Chenel's and sis- ter company, Marin French Cheese. "GFSI certification is an external or 'third party' audit that evaluates quality, food safety and operational criteria ensuring that as manu- facturers we meet our legal obligations while providing consumer protection to retailers and our end customers." Retailers com- monly require third-party audits from food Laura Chenel's Chevre Achieves Food Safety Certification producers and by achieving this high-level GFSI certification, Laura Chenel's products will be streamlined for approval by inde- pendent and large retail chains. The certifi- cation is renewed annually. BRC is the leading certification body in the UK, recognized across Europe and the US, with over 23,000 certified facilities in 123 countries. More information can be found at www.BRCGlobalStandards.com. GN with no added water, the Campofilone pas- tas cook in just two minutes. "They make this pasta using just flour and hand- cracked local, fresh eggs. This is what makes the difference," Cannas says. "One by one, the eggs are cracked by a team of ladies. They must be quick." Federico Pavoncelli, Vice President of Cibo Califor- nia, says that one of his favorite recipes for the Decarlonis Maccheroncini di Cam- pofilone IGP is Maccheroncini with lobster. "Very simple, quick to cook and delicious," he says. He makes it with some chopped onion, chili pepper, a whole lobster and some white wine. He cooks the Mac- cheroncini separately for just one minute and then tosses it with the lobster sauce. "All this in no more than a minute. Serve it and enjoy!" he says. Americans are familiar with the name Giuseppe Verdi as the composer of "La Traviata" and "Aida," among other operas, but today's Giuseppe Verdi is making vine- gars at the Acefificio Aretino in Tuscany in the beautiful medieval city of Arezzo. Cibo California is offering the Verdi brand vine- gars in a wide range of products for which it is the exclusive importer into the U.S. These include balsamic vinegar, red and white wine vinegars, organic red and white wine vinegar, red and white wine vinegar made with IGP Chianti wine in Tuscany, apple vinegar, and, very specially, blood or- ange wine vinegar made with blood or- anges cultivated in Sicily. "This is something different, something unique," Cannas says. "I tried it with a smoked salmon carpaccio and very thinly sliced sweet onions, a little radicchio, and a little lemon juice. It's delicious." Cibo California is also importing a range of innovative high-quality products made with white and black truffles from Tartu- flanghe, which is recognized as one of the world's leading producers of truffles from Italy, according to Cannas. "Tartuflaghe is the master. We are talking about a very high-end product, the Louis Vuitton of the truffle industry," he says. The company based in Alba, Piemonte, is recognized as a leader, not just for the quality of its truffles but also for the ele- gance of its packaging, both for its retail and foodservice products. "This is a com- pany that does a lot of research. They are not following the market. They are antici- pating the trends in the food industry worldwide," Cannas says. "It's more expen- sive than the average imported truffle prod- ucts, but in two or three bites, you see the stars, the best expression of an extensive line of truffle specialty products." Tray the Parmiggiano Reggiano Cream with Truffle, or the Truffle Butter or the Acacia Honey with White Truffle! Delizie di Sardegna and Sarda Affumicati are Cibo California's source for bottarga, both from tuna and mullet. Bottarga is salted, cured fish roe, with mullet bottarga traditionally being pro- duced in Sardinia, while tuna is used in Sicily. Most people pre- fer mullet bottarga for its flavor, which is less fishy than the tuna bot- targa, Cannas says. "Bottarga is extracted from the fish and cleaned and covered with salt and put in a special drying cellar for a very slow drying process. In the last century, this process was done just under the sun," he adds. "Today, bottarga is made in a drying system that produces an even better quality, flavor and consistency. Then it's vacuum-packed and shipped all over the world." The bottarga is offered as the baffa, the egg sacs which have been extracted and processed whole, as well as grated or pow- dered in 40-gram jars. The baffa is vacuum- packed and sold at weights between 70 and 200 grams, with the best seller at around 100 grams. "Add it to pasta to add a special flavor to any kind of meal. Over pasta, rice or soup, on top of a cioppino, drop a few drops of olive oil infused with grated bottarga," Cannas says. "Or the bottarga is fantastic grated, a little spoon on top of grilled pork chops. This is the Sardinian way. Just use a little sprinkling of the bottarga to finish the meat after grilling." "With the baffa, you just slice the bot- targa very thin, slice fresh artichoke heart, mix those together, add extra virgin olive oil, little bit of salt and two-three drops of lemon. This is all. You are in paradise," he says. "That is a delicious appetizer that is offered in every restaurant in Sardinia. In- stead of artichokes, you can use celery and add some cherry tomatoes." For dessert, Cibo California is importing biscotti and cookies from Grondona Pastic- ceria Genovese, a very traditional baker- biscottificio in Genoa since 1820. The pastries are made with simple ingredients of the highest quality, including, Cannas says, a lot of butter. Grondona products are made with La Madre Bianca, the company's mother yeast, in which baker's yeast and beneficial bacteria have been nurtured for almost two centuries. The process for feed- ing, tending and dividing the yeast has been kept a secret through four generations of the Grondona family – the art is rare today even in Italy, according to Cannas. "They are starting right now to enter the U.S. market, and we have been able to be- come exclusive importer for western U.S.," he says. Likewise, Grondona recipes are based on almost 200 years of tradition. Today, the company is operated by Orlando Grondona and his family. His son, Andrea Grondona, is in charge of the export division. "I took the airplane, I go to Genoa and I spent two days with Orlando and Andrea, the son. They are two wonderful human beings. Or- lando is a lovely person, a genius, a master in the biscotti and cookie industry, not just in Italy but in the world. He is also a master wine expert and collector," Cannas says. He is importing four Grondona products: the Baci di Dama in 100-gram packages, super- delicate and rich with real butter, honey, 14 percent chocolate and 17 percent hazel- nuts; Canestrelli Antica Genova in 100- gram packages, in the shape of stars, 25 percent butter, lemon juice, Madagascar vanilla pods and packaged with a small packet of icing sugar intended to be sprin- kled onto the cookie just before eating; Cuori Mori, heart-shaped and rich with butter, 9 percent chocolate and 3.5 percent cocoa; and Pandolcini Antica Genova, a miniature version of a cake that's tradition- ally bought on the way home from church on Sunday to be served with Sunday's lunch. It's made from wheat flour, butter, 30 percent sultana raisins, orange peel, ap- ples, pears, pineapples, 2.3 percent pine nuts, fresh eggs and lemon juice. Cibo California is currently seeking ac- count executives and distributors for southern California and other areas in the western U.S. Anyone interested in evaluat- ing local distribution agreements for both foodservice and retail products is invited to contact Cannas at 949.230.6866 or email m.cannas@cibocalifornia.com. GN The Kroger Co. has reported fourth quarter net earnings of $0.57 per diluted share and identical supermarket sales growth, without fuel, of 3.9 percent. Including six weeks of Roundy's results, identical supermarket sales growth without fuel was 3.7 percent. Identical supermarket sales growth, without fuel, for fiscal 2015 was 5.0 percent on net earnings of $2.06 per diluted share. Kroger completed its acquisition of Roundy's in mid-December, 2015. "2015 was an outstanding year for Kroger. We delivered on our performance targets, grew market share, created 9,000 new jobs, supported our communities, and continued to expand our use of technology to drive growth," said Kroger Co. Chairman and CEO Rodney McMullen. "And we're not done. In 2016, we will continue making a difference for our customers and associates, growing our business, and delivering value for sharehold- ers." Total sales, excluding fuel, increased 6.5 percent in the fourth quarter over the same Kroger Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2015 Results period last year. Excluding Roundy's, total sales without fuel increased 4.4 percent in the fourth quarter. Total sales including fuel and Roundy's increased 3.8 percent to $26.2 bil- lion in the fourth quarter compared to $25.2 billion for the same period last year. Net earnings for the fourth quarter totaled $559 million, or $0.57 per diluted share. GN

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