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BY LORRIE BAUMANN The conventional supermarket may be doomed by competition with online retailers and delivery services and by Americans' search for authenticity in the foods they eat, according to An- thony Bourdain, a featured speaker at this year's Dairy-Deli- Bake Seminar & Expo. Dairy-Deli-Bake is a produc- tion of the International Dairy, Deli and Bakery Association, and the trade show was held June 5- 7 in Houston, Texas. Next year's event is scheduled for June 4-6 in Anaheim. Bourdain pointed out the rapid BY LORRIE BAUMANN Stonewall Kitchen is known across the U.S. as the maker of a range of specialty foods products that runs from mixes for break- fast classics like blueberry muffins and chocolate chip scones to dessert sauces and con- fections, but in the Northeastern United States, the brand also be- longs to 10 retail stores that have become recreation destinations for New England tourists as well as local shoppers. "It's just a neat part of our business. As we think about food businesses in general, there are not a lot who can go to customers with the empathy that Destination Stonewall Kitchen Continued on PAGE 8 Continued on PAGE 13 comes from operating stores themselves. We can say things to other retailers like, 'We know that this pricing can work for you be- cause it works in our retail stores,'" said John Stiker, Stonewall Kitchen's Chief Execu- tive Officer for the past 18 months. With his background in consumer packaged goods rather than in re- tailing, he came to Stonewall Kitchen un- sure about how the re- tail operation fit into Stonewall Kitchen's overall business, but he's come to appreciate the role it plays in keep- ing the company in sympathy both with its customers and with consumers. Consumers, in turn, have given the Stonewall Kitchen stores a role in their weekend and vaca- tion plans, their social media posts and the recipes in their lifestyle blogs. "It's a big part of how guests get to know the brand," Stiker said. Mornings start at the Stonewall Kitchen stores with the opening of up to 100 jars to be sampled that day. "If you want to try some- thing that's not open, we'll open it for you," Stiker said. That sampling yields not only enthusiastic customers but also a wealth of market research that the company uses in its product Specialty Food Producers Take Home the Gold Anthony Bourdain Advises Grocers to Find Ways to Offer Authenticity evolution of Americans' interest in their food, which has helped propel his career into the strato- sphere. "Eighteen years ago, I was dunking French fries for a living, more or less," he told a packed theater. "Life was relatively good, but I was quite certain that I would never see Vietnam, for in- stance." Today, Bourdain is better known as a best-selling author, television host and executive pro- ducer of CNN's "Parts Unknown" than as the chef he was before "Kitchen Confidential," his mem- oir of his young days in restaurant kitchens, became an unexpected best-seller. He is currently devel- oping a New York City food hall modeled after a Singapore street market, a collection of small mar- ket stalls, where shoppers will buy fresh and freshly prepared products from a variety of ven- dors. The project is now projected to open in 2018, and in prepara- tion, Bourdain has been giving a lot of thought to the kind of food Americans want to eat and how they want to shop for it. He pointed out in his talk to the Dairy-Deli-Bake attendees that the American culinary tastes are evolving rapidly and pointed BY LORRIE BAUMANN Guilt is not among the ingredi- ents for this year's introductions of specialty chocolates. Along with interesting flavors, choco- latiers are bringing products to the market that have a good story to tell to consumers with a wide range of concerns about which chocolate treat they can enjoy in good conscience. Chuao Chocolatier's new En- amored line of organic Fair Trade chocolates in three fruit-forward flavors with floral notes: Rasp- Continued on PAGE 17 Chocolate Companies Do Good Deliciously berry Rose, Coconut Hibiscus and Blueberry Lavender. As their names suggest, Raspberry Rose is made with radiant raspberries sugared with rose petals, Blue- berry Lavender is made with blue- berries lightly infused with lavender, and Coconut Hibiscus offers creamy coconut with a hint of hibiscus. The line was created by the brand's Master Chef and Co- Founder Michael Antonorsi as a tribute to women. "With the En- amored Collection, we wanted to create a product that celebrated 'you,' because who you are is enough," said Antonorsi. "Spread- ing joy is the intention behind everything we do, and with this new collection we hope to bring a moment of joy to every person who experiences it." The Enamored line launched in June, and a percentage of sales goes to Girls, Inc., which shares the brand's ideals of empowering women. "Girls Inc. is focused on empowering girls to discover their BY LORRIE BAUMANN La Pasta's Radicchio, Parsnip & Apricot Ravioli has won the 2016 sofi Award for Best New Product. Radicchio is sauteed with a little bit of balsamic vine- gar to bring out the sweetness of the vegetables and then folded into ricotta, parmesan and moz- zarella cheese together with roasted parsnips and dried apri- cots. The filling is then enclosed in La Pasta's signature pasta with black pepper pasta stripes. "We got lucky. It happens," said Alexis Konownitzine, Pres- ident of La Pasta, "Our chef Kristen made the product and will be at the Fancy Food Show." La Pasta already had several sofi Awards for products includ- ing its Marinara Sauce and Beet, Butternut Squash & Goat Cheese Ravioli. This year's win- ner was selected from among 23 finalists in the Best New Product category by the sofi judging panel of culinary experts in a blind tasting. Overall, 28 prod- ucts were named winners and 100 named finalists from among 3,200 entries this year. This year's judging diverged from the methodology used for the past couple of years, in that the judging was completed VOLUME 81, NUMBER 7 JULY 2016 n $7.00 SUPPLEMENT n Holiday Update PAGE 15 NEWS & NOTES PAGE 5 RETAILER NEWS n The Pot Rack PAGE 12 SUPPLIER BUSINESS n New Line From Emmi Roth PAGE 10 NATURALLY HEALTHY n Organic Trade Booming PAGE 14 CALENDAR n Baking Expo PAGE 23 News & Notes.................................5 Smorgasbord ................................23 Ad Index .......................................23 www.gourmetnews.com G OURMET N EWS T H E B U S I N E S S N E W S P A P E R F O R T H E G O U R M E T I N D U S T R Y ® Continued on PAGE 6 RETAILER PROFILE: Proper Meats & Provisions SEE PAGE 13 SPECIAL FEATURE: The Art & Science of Tasting Tea SEE PAGE 11 FEATURED SUPPLIER: Blackberry Patch SEE PAGE 10

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