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GOURMET NEWS MAY 2016 www.gourmetnews.com SUPPLIER BUSINESS 1 3 The Olive Press' Picual (Sonoma) and Coldani Olive Ranch's Calivirgin Bountiful Basil (Lodi) have been named the best of show winners in the 2nd Annual San Joaquin Valley Olive Oil Competition. The competition, open to all olive oil producers in the state of California with products made from their most recent olive harvest, received a total of 61 entries from 18 differ- ent olive oil producers from throughout the state. Entries were received in two classes, extra virgin olive oils and flavored olive oil, with nine subcategories in total. Gold and silver medals were awarded, as well as an overall best of show selected for each of the two classes. In total there were 39 EVOO and 22 flavored olive oil entries that were judged by a panel of seven judges from the Califor- nia Olive Oil Council Taste Panel. The judg- ing took place on March 8 in Pleasanton, California. Extra Virgin Oil Class Gold Medals Gold medals in the extra virgin oil class went to Enzo Olive Oil Company's Tyler Florence Test Kitchen EVOO (Clovis) and Rosenthal Olive Ranch's Arbosana (Madera), which both won in the category for Spanish blends. Gold medals for Spanish single variety oils went to Coldani Olive Ranch's Calivirgin Premium EVOO (Lodi), Calolea Olive Ranch's Calolea Mission (Marysville) and The Olive Press' Picual (Sonoma). Gold Medals for Italian Blends Gold medals for Italian blends went to Win- ter Creek Olive Oil's Winter Creek Olive Oil (Winter Creek), Winter Creek Olive Oil's Ruscello d'Inverno (Winter Creek), Coldani Olive Ranch's Lodi Olive Growers Blend (Lodi), The Olive Press' Italian Blend (Sonoma), Coppetti Olive Oil's Harvest Blend (Modesto), Bava Family Grove's Bava Monticelli Estate Napa Valley (Escalon), San Miguel Olive Farm's Tuscan Nectar of the Gods (San Miguel) and San Miguel Olive Farm's Tuscan Gold (San Miguel). Coldani Olive Ranch's Lodi Olive Oil As- colano (Lodi) won the sole gold medal awarded for an Italian single variety oil, and Bozzano Olive Ranch's A2 (Stockton) won a gold medal for other blends. Gold Medals for Flavored Oils Gold medals for flavored oils went to The Olive Press' Lime (Sonoma) and The Olive Press' Limonata (Sonoma), which competed in the citrus-flavored category. Coldani Olive Ranch's Calivirgin Bountiful Basil (Lodi) won the gold medal for an herbal- flavored oil, and Coldani Olive Ranch's Calivirgin Jalapeno Garlic (Lodi) and Coldani Olive Ranch's Calivirgin Extreme Heat Serrano (Lodi) won gold medals for oils with other flavorings. Extra Virgin Oil Class Silver Medals Silver medals in the extra virgin olive oils class went to Fandango Olive Oil's Fiesta (Paso Robles), a Spanish blend; Italian blends, Frog Hollow Farm's Frog Hollow Farm Organic EVOO (Brentwood), Boz- zano Olive Ranch's Toscana Organic (Stock- ton), San Miguel Olive Farm's Tuscan Pristine (San Miguel) and La Ferme Soleil's La Ferme Soleil (San Francisco); and other blends, Rancho Azul y Oro's Estate Blend (San Miguel) and Rosenthal Olive Ranch's Koroneiki (Madera). Among the single va- riety oils, The Olive Press' Arbosana (Sonoma), The Olive Press' Arbequina (Sonoma), The Olive Press' Sevillano (Sonoma), Fandango Olive Oil's Elegante (Paso Robles), Enzo Olive Oil Company's Delicate Ranch 11 (Clovis) and Coppetti Olive Oil's Fall Harvest (Modesto) won sil- ver medals for Spanish single-variety oils; Coldani Olive Ranch's Lodi Olive Oil Fran- toio EVOO (Lodi) and Alta Cresta Olive Oil's Alta Cresta Premium Coratina (Paso Robles) won silver medals for Italian single- variety oils, and Enzo Olive Oil Company's Bold Ranch 11 (Clovis) and The Olive Press' Mission EVOO (Sonoma) won silver medals for other single-variety oils. Silver Medals for Flavored Oils In the category for citrus-flavored oils, Olive Ranch's Meyer Lemon (Marysville), Coldani Olive Ranch's Calivirgin Lusty Lemon (Lodi), The Olive Press' Clementine (Sonoma) and Rancho Azul y Oro's Estate Blend Orange (San Miguel) were awarded silver medals. Coldani Olive Ranch's Calivirgin Rustic Rosemary (Lodi) and Coldani Olive Ranch's Calivirgin Oh! Oregano (Lodi) were awarded silver medals in the herb-flavored oils category, and The Olive Press' Jalapeno (Sonoma) and Coldani Olive Ranch's Calivirgin Hot Virgin Jalapeno (Lodi) were awarded silver medals for oils with other flavors. Planning is already underway for the 2017 SJVOOC, which will be held April 4. More information will be available on the organization's website in November. GN San Joaquin Valley Olive Oil Competition Winners Announced BY MICAH CHEEK When Alison Barshak tried to sell the idea of microwavable whole lobster tail to seafood companies, the concept was met with some resistance. "At first I just wanted to license it to lobster companies, they kind of just thought I was nuts. So I said, 'Fine, I'll do it myself,'" says Barshak. Now, Bar- shak's Absolutely Lobster has become a fi- nalist for the Seafood Excellence Awards, has been featured on QVC and is being pre- pared for distribution to large chain retail- ers. The idea behind Absolutely Lobster is rooted in Barshak's culinary pedigree. She had made a name for herself in Philadelphia restaurant scene with the restaurants Striped Bass and Alison at Blue Bell. "I was a chef, and I made a conscious decision that it would only be seafood in the restaurant. I learned a lot about seafood through that process, just the logistics of it," says Bar- shak. Because of her location, all the seafood Barshak served was very fresh. But when she moved to Atlanta, Georgia, and became a home cook, she encountered a problem. "When I moved to Atlanta I just realized that it was very difficult to get that North- eastern lobster experience," says Barshak. While she had access to previously frozen lobster tails, the thawing process had had an effect on the meat. "Everyone who buys a lobster tail is buying a previously frozen tail," says Barshak. "It's defrosted for the convenience of the customer so they don't have to defrost it, but every store and restaurant does the same thing." Barshak discov- ered that when a frozen lobster tail is defrosted, it loses five to eight percent of its moisture content in the process, making it more difficult for a cook to get the juicy texture that is the hallmark of a well-prepared crustacean. Barshak's an- swer was to skip the thawing step entirely. "You take the lobster tail and mi- crowave it from frozen, and you capture all the juices," says Bar- shak. "There's a lot of hype about lobster, and it's true, but if you're not getting the juices and the texture, you're missing out." The idea was to package lobster tails indi- vidually in plastic to capture juices, with the tail split and a pat of Vermont butter en- closed. "We split the tail, so that the meat bastes in the butter, and so it's easy to pop right out of the shell. It makes it so easy," says Barshak. After three minutes in the microwave and one minute to rest, the six ounce portion is firm, yet juicy. The melted butter mixes with re- leased lobster juice to form a thin sauce that Barshak recommends putting over pasta or other sides. "You can do surf and turf; each of you can have half a lobster tail," she adds. Barshak finished developing Ab- solutely Lobster in Maine, where she had local lobster suppliers taste the product. "What's really great, the lobster guys, when they taste it, they say, 'This is what a lobster should taste like,'" Barshak says. After extensive testing, Barshak tried to license her product to a number of seafood companies. "It's challenging, because I'm selling something people haven't seen be- fore," says Barshak. "Most people don't want to be bothered with something new, or try something different." Unable to find a company that would use her methods, Bar- shak decided to find a lobster company and a copacker, and go into business for herself. From there, Barshak put a strong focus on sampling to promote her business. "We would go to stores, and we would do the demos and the tasting." says Barshak. "We have incredible sell-through when people taste it." In fact, a taste test by Ray Rastelli III last year has resulted in wider distribu- tion and investment from Rastelli Foods Group. With Absolutely Lobster, Barshak hopes to reduce the anxiety some consumers have over serving seafood. "Seafood's an expen- sive protein; you want to be able to put it on your plate and say, 'Wow that's really good,'" says Barshak. "The microwave really controls it and takes care of it for you. It takes out all the guess work." The meat for Absolutely Lobster is also sustainably farmed, free of antibiotics, and is not pounded, meaning the lobsters are not kept in holding pens for long periods of time. "When people talk about farm to table and sustainable sources, this is one of our great resources," says Barshak. "Here's something that's indigenous, and I feel like more peo- ple should be enjoying it." GN Innovation in Crustaceans

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