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Restaurant Daily News Marketplace Sunday, May 22, 2016 F JEFF ASHER TO LEAD ASHER'S CHOCOLATE CO. Asher's Chocolate Co. is bringing a number of exciting new items to this year's Sweets and Snacks Expo, led by a new Chief Executive Officer. Jeff Asher represents the fourth generation to lead his family's business, and is ushering in a number of important developments in the company's pro- duction and packaging capabilities. Based in Pennsylvania, with facil- ities in Souderton and Lewistown, Asher 's Chocolate Co. produces a broad line of both regular and sugar free chocolates, fudge and an assort- ment of non-chocolate confections. Bulk chocolates have been its core business, but branded and private label packaged items are a growing and important segment for the company. With 30-plus years of experience in all facets of his company's operation as Co-Owner, Asher speaks both to the history and the future. "Our business, for 124 years now, has focused on pro- ducing high-quality confections. That focus remains, while the biggest change is the ever-evolving challenge of how to package and position our product to reach and fulfill consumers. "This is an exciting time for our company, as we're seeing real benefits from recent reinvestment in several areas of our operations," Asher contin- ues. "We're excited about our next generation of development. We have earned a reputation with our customers for consistent quality, and our commitment to match that quality to efficient manufacturing options will ensure we remain a valuable supplier to them." Additional automation in Asher's production and packaging departments has allowed for substantial reduction in use of packaging materials while increasing the operation's overall capacity. "We've been able to take on projects in the past two years that pre- viously wouldn't have been feasible, allowing us to increase production hours year-round," notes Asher. Asher credits his associates with maintaining the consistency that cus- tomers have come to expect while driving innovation forward. "There's no denying the value of our genera- tions-old recipes, but truly vital to our success is the collection of Asher's associates that bring decades of experi- ence throughout our business," he said. "It's that experience, and the collabo- rative energy amongst our associates, that ensures our customers can depend on us for those traditional favorites as well as new and exciting pieces." For more information, go to www .ashers.com or email dbruno@ashers .com. BELLWETHER FARMS RINGS THE BELL WITH BLACKSTONE By Lorrie Baumann Bellwether Farms' Blackstone was released to the market in small quanti- ties just this January, and despite the very limited release it's had so far, the cheese already has a small but growing fan base. It's a mixed milk cheese that's made from two-thirds Jersey cow milk and one-third sheep milk, with black peppercorns incorporated into the paste and a hand-rubbed black rind that combines rosemary and black pepper with vegetable ash. The three-pound wheel has the elegant eminence of Patrick Stewart declaiming Shakespeare. When it's cut, slices from the wedge have a thin black border that lends a satisfying weight to even the thinnest of slices and a color contrast that adds beauty to their arrangement on the cheese board. Blackstone's flavor is strongly influenced by the tang of the sheep milk – think Manchego – with extra zing and texture from the peppercorns along with caramel notes and a rich and satisfying mouthfeel that come from the Jersey milk. It pairs beautiful- ly with a wide range of beers, and the peppery/herbal notes make a nice com- plement to a pinot noir or Syrah. The black rind was part of cheese- maker Liam Callahan's original inspi- ration for the cheese, he said. "There aren't that many aged cheeses that have a rind that actively contributes interesting flavor notes to it. It's more common for washed-rind cheeses, but with aged cheeses, it's just protecting it from the environment," he said. "For this cheese, the rind is more than something to nibble up to and throw away, more than a board-flavored musty component. The rosemary does- n't taste of rosemary, but it helps give a savory element to the rind. Plus, it looks cool. As soon as you put it out there, people say 'What's that?' They are drawn to the look of the cheese." The vegetable ash/rosemary/black pepper mixture is hand-rubbed onto the cheese in several stages as it ages over about 10 weeks. The ash helps control the acidity at the cheese's sur- face, but it also melds together the dif- ferent particle sizes of the rosemary and black pepper, Callahan said. "The very powdery vegetable ash just helped to hold it all together." Blackstone starts its aging on wood shelves, and then it's moved to wire shelves and then back to the boards, with the transitions timed to respond to the moisture levels at the rind. "We're still playing with the tim- ing of those transitions to get the right moisture on that rind at the key moments when it needs it," Callahan said. Distribution for the cheese is still ramping up, and it's currently avail- able almost exclusively in California, where it's selling readily for prices between $25 and $30 per pound. "It's a difficult cheese to make, and at retail, it's an expensive cheese that demands the right attention to it," he said. "But restaurants love to feature something that's so visual on the cheese board." "I never make more than about 120 wheels at a time. All of our vats are small, and it's hands-on," he added. "It's been figuring out how to ramp up production in a way that maintains the quality and consistency. It's really been a fun cheese to work on." Callahan expects Blackstone to reach a wider audience once more peo- ple have had the opportunity to taste it and as his production increases. "We're ramping it up through the sum- mer and expect to see it in wider distri- bution by the end of the summer," he said. "We are actively talking about it now, and samples are getting out there, and people are hearing from folks – they're really liking it so much.... We really do expect this to be a major cheese for us. It's so good, and we like it so much, and it's unique in the marketplace." QUALITY CANDY CONTINUES GROWTH WITH KING LEO, GILLIAM BRANDS Quality Candy Company is a leading manufacturer and distributor of both high-quality hard and soft sugar candy. In addition to being a leader in the foodservice market, Quality Candy now markets three distinct lines of branded products: King Leo ® , the old- est continuously sold brand of pepper- mint candy, dating back to 1901; and Gilliam ® , a brand of colorful stick candy and high-quality hard candy dat- ing back to 1927. The company now introduces its newest brand, Gilliam Organics, which was launched in January 2016. Combined, the three brands make Quality Candy a leading manufacturer of stick candy in North America. Quality Candy also provides contract manufacturing services to leading marketers of both mass and niche product lines. Additionally, the company produces all-natural sugar candies and its plant is GFSI Compliant, with an SQF Level 2 Certification. Quality Candy manufactures and markets the King Leo brand, featuring soft peppermint in both puffs and sticks as well as in a variety of flavors, both in retail-friendly packs as well as bulk. Since 1901, King Leo, originally from Nashville, Tennessee, has been synonymous with the word pepper- mint. The renowned soft peppermint sugar sticks are still made from the original recipe: pure King Leo pepper- mint oil, and old-fashioned care. This year, King Leo introduced ChocoMint Soft Sticks and Soft Puffs to its collec- tion. These delicious peppermint and chocolate candies are made with the finest cocoa powder and are also avail- able in both retail-friendly and bulk packaging. Commencing in 2009, King Leo crushed peppermint bits became available to the ingre- dient market and quickly estab- lished itself as a market leader. In 2003, Gilliam brand candy, established in Paducah, Kentucky in 1927, was added to the already impressive roster of fine quality confections. Gilliam is a premier brand of old time nostalgic hard candy, and can be found across the United States. The Gilliam line fea- tures brilliantly colored, hand-striped artisanal candy sticks, as well as discs, lollipops and nostalgic sanded drops in old time flavors. Gilliam Organics makes its debut this year with Organic Lollysticks in exciting new Tropical and Very Berry flavors. Quality Candy, based in Henderson, Nevada, is a privately held business managed by its owner Laurie Redmond, Co-Chief Executive Officer and President. The manufacturing plant, which has just been expanded to accommodate sales growth, operates 24 hours a day. Now the 100,000-plus square foot factory is producing more than 20 million pounds of candy annu- ally, maintaining vigilant attention to high food safety standards and quality assurance programs. Quality Candy Company, founded in 1986, has always maintained its commitment to quality manufacturing, superior ingredients, exceptional personnel and the ability to keep costs competitive. It is this combination that has contributed to its fast paced growth and success over the past 30 years. For more information, call 702.565.4711 or go to www.qcandy. com. To email the sales team, email sales@qcandy.com.