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GOURMET NEWS JULY 2016 www.gourmetnews.com NEWS & NOTES 6 Anthony Bourdain Continued from PAGE 1 to the growing importance of organic pro- duce in today's supermarkets and to the popularity of kale as an example. "Kale, who used to eat kale? It was garbage," he said. "Mario Batali was among the first to har- ness the power of television celebrity. He opened Babbo and started serving hooves and snouts, brains and kidneys, which is to say authentic Italian food the way they made it in Italy. No one was asking for this in America. Mario created a market for that," Bourdain said. "Everybody wants that now. This was entirely a chef-led thing. We care about who's making our food now, for the first time in history. We also care about where our food comes from. We never cared about that before." "It's been good for your industry. I well remember supermarkets and delis of the past where you walked in and there was two types of bread – Wonder Bread and some other stuff. Fresh herbs were never to be seen," he noted. Now, though, supermarket chains can't keep up with the speed of this evolution, challenged as they are by the rapid develop- ment of options in the food marketplace such as meal kit delivery services and on- line grocers. In New York City, for instance, his grocery store shopping is already limited primarily to fresh ingredients, since he can have anything nonperishable that's heavy or awkward to carried simply delivered to his apartment. "If it's not perishable, and I don't need to squeeze it, I'm buying it online," he said. "I'm not trusting anyone to pick out my cheese for me. I want to poke that.... Can you keep up? I think you're going to have to change and specialize." Bourdain predicts that supermarkets may even- tually continue to exist only as either a virtual space or as a collection of specialty shops within stores – the concept behind his market. American consumers will always want to shop for their meat, their cheeses and their fish in person because they'll want to be sure that they're getting fresh product, but they'll want to buy their meat from a spe- cialty butcher who will sell them organ meats and specialty cuts rather than just the muscle cuts that supermarket meat coun- ters typically offer today and that offer very little challenge to a cook eager to impress friends with demonstrations of culinary skill, Bourdain predicted. "I can train a rea- sonably intelligent poodle how to cook a filet mignon. I would rather be compli- mented on a cheek or a hoof," he said. Young people in particular are now following the lead of a new generation of rising celebrity chefs who aren't so much interested in easy preparations of lux- ury ingredients. These chefs are in- creasingly likely to have come from an Asian or Hispanic fam- ily background and to have grown up in an ethnically diverse neighborhood, and they're now often celebrating simple bowls of noodles or street tacos with interesting flavors rather than the traditional American dishes – the foods they grew up eating in their homes and neighborhoods. He noted that 78 percent of Houston residents under the age of 30 are not of Anglo-Saxon family origin. "That's a hell of a lot of people who grew up eating something other than meat loaf," he said. The young people who are following these young chefs are driven by an intense search for authenticity in their food, accord- ing to Bourdain. "What are people looking for in food now? What are they valuing? It has changed. I think what people are look- ing for more than anything else is perceived authenticity. They want that sense that they're getting the real thing, the real deal," he said. For today's grocer, the key to remaining relevant in the face of this rapidly evolving food marketplace might be to emulate the traditional cooks who spend their whole culinary lives doing one kind of food, some- times through more than one generation, and, through practice, learn how to do that food very well, he said. "Find the thing you do better than anyone else.... Ask yourself what you're good at first. That's the way to relevance – asking yourself what you can do that the person across the street can't do or won't do," he said. "Swim against the current," he advised. "Decide you're not going to do what every- one else is doing just as well.... A certain level of fearlessness is required here – and confidence in yourself." GN New England's oldest and longest operating food retailer remains committed to helping end hunger in towns and cities across Mas- sachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, Ver- mont and Rhode Island. As part of this commitment to hunger re- lief, Shaw's and Star Market stores will work with local food banks to implement Fresh Rescue, a food donation program in conjunction with Feeding America. Through Fresh Rescue, Shaw's and Star Market stores will donate wholesome, nu- tritious products most needed by food banks, including meat. Shaw's and Star Market stores in Massachusetts and Maine will be the first stores in the division to begin the rollout of Fresh Rescue. After a successful rollout in these two states, store locations in Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Vermont will also launch the program. "At Shaw's and Star Market we remain committed to battling hunger so that no child or family goes without a meal. The Fresh Rescue program is one more way that we are working to help make a difference," said Shaw's President, Paul Gossett. "We are proud to partner with Feeding America on our rollout of the Fresh Res- cue program. Their expertise, dedication, and passion to helping end hunger will help us ensure a successful program. In addition to Feeding America, we are also working closely with our friends and part- ners at the Greater Boston Food Bank, Worcester County Food Bank and the Good Shepherd Food Bank on this first phase of the program rollout in Massachu- setts and Maine," added Gossett. "Albertsons Companies is a longstand- ing food donor to the Feeding America network. They continue to support food banks across the nation through a broad range of donation initiatives. Feeding America is grateful for our partnership with Albertsons Companies and its New England Shaw's and Star Market Divi- sion," said Matt Knott, President, Feeding America. GN Shaw's and Star Market Stores Roll Out Fresh Rescue Program The transition of Frontier Soups™ to the second generation of the family owned business is now complete. Company founder Tr- isha Anderson's sons, Matt and Jon Anderson, have assumed ownership of the company as part- ners, Trisha Anderson said, while she will re- main active in product de- velopment for the company, which cele- brates its 30th anniver- sary this year. Financial details of the ownership transfer were not dis- closed. Both Jon and Matt Anderson will be at Sum- mer Fancy Food Show booth #4121 to greet cus- tomers and show atten- dees. "I'm not sure I could have envisioned this day 30 years ago when I was filling orders by hand at home, but it is so sat- isfying for business owners to see what they built move into the hands of the next generation," Trisha Anderson said. "Matt and Jon both have strong business backgrounds and bring the dynamism and initiative of a younger generation to Frontier Soups, which I have every con- fidence will lead to even greater growth in the future." Matt Anderson began his career with Frontier Soups two years ago, and he has since taken over responsibility for business opera- tions, including fi- nancial oversight, strategic planning, and production. He brought to the com- pany 15 years of ex- perience in the financial services industry, where he began at Lehman Brothers before joining Goldman Sachs in 2010. Matt's mother, company founder Trisha Ander- son, instilled in him a love of cooking and he is eager to carry-on a second gen- eration of family ownership. Matt is a graduate of Gettysburg College in Get- tysburg, Pennsylvania. Jon Anderson joined Frontier Soups in the summer of 2015 and has spent his time over the past year learning the nuts and bolts of the specialty food business while focusing on strategic sales and marketing. Growing up in the Anderson family, soup has played a big part in Jon's life from a young age, and he has watched the company evolve from sell- ing through local craft markets to na- tional distribution. With over a decade of experience in financial services, work- ing for Credit Suisse and Knight Capital Group, Jon understands how to be suc- cessful in a competitive industry. He is a graduate of Colgate University in Hamil- ton, New York. More information about Frontier Soups is available at www.Frontier- Soups.com or by calling 1.800.300.7687. GN Ownership of Frontier Soups Transferred to Next Generation

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