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Gourmet Goodies The Pantry Confections CocoaPlanet Opens Craft Manufacturing and Tasting Room CocoaPlanet opened a craft manufacturing facility and chocolate tasting room in the heart of California's wine country. Situated on Broadway just blocks from the historic Sonoma Plaza, visitors to a region famed for artisanal food and wine will now have the opportunity to see CocoaPlanet chocolates being made and sample the company's award-winning chocolates at their freshest. The elegant, mid-century modern tasting room features a glass-walled observation area where visitors can see the all new craft manufacturing line while enjoying French bistro style small plates, hot or cold drinks and a variety of desserts based on CocoaPlanet chocolate. CocoaPlanet will also host wine and chocolate pairing events each month with local wineries from the region. Pearls of Flavor Give You More Taste, Less Sugar CocoaPlanet distributes drops, or "pearls," of flavored fillings throughout premium dark chocolate (64 percent cacao), giving More Taste, Less Sugar™ than traditional filled chocolates. The chocolate's structure is designed to readily deliver flavor throughout your palate using much less filling. The result is that each single serving chocolate has less than 100 calories, eight grams of sugar or less and net carbs of nine grams or less. Flavors include Salted Caramel, Deep Dark Truffle, Vanilla Espresso, Mandarin Orange and CocoaMint™. CocoaPlanet chocolates are made with all natural and mostly organic ingredients, including Fair Trade Cocoa certified by Fair Trade USA. They are Non-GMO Project Verified, gluten-f ree tested and Kosher OU-D certified. Three of the flavors (Vanilla Espresso, Mandarin Orange and CocoaMint) are vegan. How Did it Come Up with This Idea? Founder Anne McKibben was inspired to provide a new taste experience along with fewer calories and sugar. No one in the industry could think of how to realize her vision for a new way of combining flavored fillings with chocolate. After much research and prototyping, she invented the new technology used to create CocoaPlanet chocolates. Her patent-pending invention suspends pearls of flavor within premium dark chocolate. The result has only 15 percent filling versus the 60 to 80 percent of sugar-based filling found in most flavor- filled chocolates. The perfect balance of flavors means more taste, less sugar – a better, healthier experience that evolves the concept of flavor-filled chocolates. A superb eating chocolate, CocoaPlanet can also be prepared as a hot chocolate. Simply steam or microwave four to six ounces of milk or milk-substitute, drop in the chocolate and stir. Voila – the chocolate melts along with the flavored filling to create a splendid hot chocolate. About CocoaPlanet Based in Sonoma, California, CocoaPlanet Inc. uses ethically sourced chocolate produced using sustainable practices, enabling cocoa farmers a better quality of life. For more information, visit www.cocoaplanet.com, call 707.721.1275 or email info@cocoaplanet.com. KN THE PANTRY 2 0 KITCHENWARE NEWS & HOUSEWARES REVIEW n JUNE 2016 n www.kitchenwarenews.com TORCHONS & BOUCHONS FRANCE PANORAMA TEA TOWEL FROM THE FRENCH FARM Depicting many things to love about France, this Torchons & Bouchons France Panorama Tea Towel is made from 100% cotton. This towel displays a rooster atop an antique car, the Eiffel Tower, a couple kissing and even the famous French saying, "C'est la vie!" Each tea towel is 19 inches by 28.5 inches, making this tea towel larger than regular kitchen linens. Customers can be encouraged to use this tea towel as a unique and environmentally friendly way to gift wrap items, a quick way to change up their kitchen decor, or as an easy way to add flair to an appetizer plate. This tea towel is printed with durable, eco-friendly water based ink, which provides the user long lasting, vibrant colors. The French Farm 713.660.0577 FFinfo@frenchfarm.com. www.TheFrenchFarm.com Simple Ingredients, Purely Bodacious Twice-Baked Potato Sticks are quickly becoming the gold standard for sweet and savor y snacking in the USA. The Geraldine's® brand, which was born in Atlanta, Georgia more than two decades ago, is gearing up for exponential growth through a partnership with a large and ver y successful food marketing/manufacturing group, also based in the Southeast. The company is built on a foundation of exceptional product quality, outstanding fulfillment capabilities and a strong promotional platform. In conjunction with its new partnership, the Bodacious Foods retailer partners can expect even stronger advertising and PR support, which will drive new consumers to the brand. As part of the new business relationship, retailers who feature the Geraldine's products will benefit f rom cutting edge product innovations which will catapult the brand forward to create a "must have" assortment of products that will reach every consumer who enjoys simply natural and flavorful snacking. In addition to offering savory cheese straws, the company 's cookie line-up includes Key Lime, Italian Wedding Cookies and the now famous Pecan Cini- Mini's. Each of these flavorful morsels is lightly dusted with just the right amount of confectioners' sugar and are the perfect pairing to a f resh cup of tea or coffee. Bodacious Foods also produces a gluten-f ree line of Geraldine's & Jaxn's® Twice-Baked Potato Sticks in a variety of delicious flavors, including Sweet Potato and Sea Salt & Cracked Pepper. These products are providing snack lovers with a healthful, gluten-f ree choice that is fun to eat and is naturally low in calories. They have become exceptionally popular with natural and specialty shoppers alike. These unique additions to the assortment have grown out of the consumer demand for a tasteful and indulgent treat that is competitively priced and can be enjoyed as an everyday snack. For more information, go to www.bodaciousfoods.com or call 800.391.1979. KN Chef's Cut Real Jerky Adds Sizzle to Premium Line Chef 's Cut Real Jerky is answering the calls of all meat lovers with the launch of its Real Bacon Jerky line, which includes Maple, Applewood and Sriracha varieties. Whether sweet, smoky or spicy, there's a variety sure to please any flavor palate. Each piece of smoked bacon is thin and crispy, with a perfect chewy crunch. "Bacon has been one of the most popular foods for decades, and it 's only becoming more of an obsession," says Bart Silvestro, Chief Executive Officer of Chef 's Cut Real Jerky. "Launching the new line of bacon jerky was a natural and exciting next step for Chef 's Cut Real Jerky, as our goal is to provide customers with the flavors they love, the quality they desire and the only jerky they'll ever need." Smoking and marinating meats throughout his entire life, Co-Founder of Chef 's Cut Real Jerky, Chef Blair Swiler, lives and breathes jerky. Growing tired of finding poor quality jerky on the market, Chef Blair teamed up with fellow jerky lover Dennis Riedel and together they decided they could re-invent how consumers view and experience jerky. In 2009, the two made their partnership official and set out on a mission to introduce high-quality jerky to the market. "Jerky has been a part of my life ever since my father taught me the art of perfectly smoking and marinating meat at a young age," says Blair Swiler, Chef and Co- Founder of Chef 's Cut Real Jerky. "For our new bacon varieties, I wanted to pair uncured bacon with bold flavors I love like Sriracha, maple syrup and Applewood smoke." The Chef 's Cut Real Jerky product line also features chef-crafted, flavorful varieties such as the Real Steak Jerky Original Recipe that is slowly marinated in a horseradish, Worcestershire and proprietary soy sauce and Real Chicken Jerky Buffalo Style, which packs the same kick and taste found in a buffalo wing at a restaurant, without the fat or mess. Chef 's Cut Real Jerky is currently available at select retailers, the Chef 's Cut Real Jerky website www.chefscutrealjerky.com and Amazon.com. KN

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