Oser Communications Group

GOURMET NEWS www.gourmetnews.com n JANUARY 2018 n GOURMET NEWS 4 4 Salsa God Salsas Now Non-GMO Project Verified With a name like Salsa God, you can rest as- sured that the company's line of restaurant- style salsas is as fresh and tasty as the name is bold and provocative. Launched in 2016, its mission is and has always been to bring the fresh, authentic flavors of salsas found at Mexican restaurants to your local grocery store or specialty food store shelves. Fresh, amazing ingredients are the starting point for Salsa God's salsas. Salsa God uses only the simplest, best ingredients for the most delicious salsas on the planet, and it takes its salsas seriously. That means it uses lime juice instead of vinegar. Salsa God sal- sas use fresh herbs. It doesn't water the prod- uct down. Looking for something sweet? You'll never find any added sugars in Salsa God salsas. The company is proud to an- nounce that Salsa God salsas are now Non- GMO Project Verified. That's because the company likes nature and natural foods. Salsa God is a new and emerging brand with the passion, energy and fire to reinvig- orate your taste buds. Whether you are look- ing for fire-roasted tomatoes or tangy tomatillos, hot jalapeños or herbalicious cilantro, Salsa God has a salsa for you. The company currently makes a Fire Roasted Red Salsa with fire-roasted tomatoes in Medium and in Hot, a classic Salsa Verde in Medium and in Hot and a salsa verde with dill called Dill-icious Verde Salsa in Medium. Its Dill- icious Verde Salsa is a truly unique product and was a happy mis- take. A very sleep de- prived co-Founder was making a batch of salsa verde for his wife to take to work with her and accidentally used dill instead of cilantro. The result was Dill-icious! With six amazing salsas, Salsa God is sure to be a hit. Salsa God's Fire Roasted Red Salsa (available in Medium and Hot) delivers a rich, smoky flavor from the fire-roasted tomatoes. The classic Salsa Verde (available in Medium and Hot) is tangy and fresh and can be used as a salsa, as a starter for gua- camole or as a cooking sauce for enchiladas, chicken, eggs, steak, shrimp – you name it. Salsa God's Dill-icous Verde Salsa is the only salsa on the market with dill. It works fantasti- cally with seafood or on its own with chips. R e c e n t l y launched, Salsa God's Smoky Garlic Chipotle Salsa delivers a burst of smoke and garlic that will leave you craving more. Taste the delicious Salsa God salsas for yourself. Bring some to your next party, and be a Salsa God! Salsa God Salsas are proudly Made in America. For more information, visit booth #633, call 646.359.0573, email salsagod@ salsagod.com or go to www.salsagod.com. Amano Chocolate Wins Gold at International Chocolate Competition Amano Artisan Chocolate won a gold for its Raspberry Rose chocolate at the Interna- tional Chocolate Awards, the most presti- gious chocolate competition in the world, with numerous fiercely competitive regional competitions located throughout the world followed by a worldwide final competition. Chocolate maker Art Pollard said he was inspired by one of Pierre Herme's cakes while visiting a Herme's pastry shop in Paris. "Since then, I have wanted to create a choco- late bar in homage to such a wonderful cake from a craftsman as incredible as Pierre Herme." Amano's Raspberry Rose bar uses Amano's Guayas chocolate it makes from di- rectly traded beans from a small village in Ecuador. "Guayas is special to me because we were able to hold a chocolate launch party with the farmers, even before we sold any of this chocolate to our retailers," said Art. "I always try to take the finished choco- late back to the farmers who grew the cocoa. I couldn't do what I do without them. Be- sides, so few cocoa farmers have had choco- late made with their very own beans. It really instills them with a sense of pride when they taste chocolate they helped create." Amano is no stranger to awards. With over 200 first place awards since launched in 2007, it is an amazingly impressive accom- plishment in so short a time. Art said the trick to creating truly great food is to start with really great ingredients and then "don't screw it up." To do this, Art flies to the coun- try of origin, works directly with the farmers and helps train them to im- prove the quality of their cocoa. He said it is a "win-win" because it al- lows Amano to get better quality cocoa, and it helps the farmers be- cause they can then charge a pre- mium for their high quality cocoa that they would not have been paid otherwise. The raspberries that are part of the Rasp- berry Rose bar are ground into the chocolate as the chocolate is produced. This creates a chocolate that has a deep taste of raspberry, but doesn't exhibit any grittiness. Art also said it was very difficult to find raspberries to include in the bar that had that ultra-fresh taste found in fresh raspberries. "They were very expensive, but com- pletely worth it." The rose flavor comes from real rose extract, one of the world's most expensive flavors. What's on the horizon? Amano has several new flavored bars it is work- ing on perfecting as well as a few new single origin bars. There is a whole world of flavor to explore, explained Art. "We will continue to explore fla- vor and through that, improve the lives of the farmers we work with. Perhaps we can bring a little bit of happiness to people along the way. In my mind, that would be a very good thing." For more information, go to www.amanochocolate.com, email amano@amanochocolate.com or visit booth #6218. Simple Mills Helps Redefine Healthy Food Simple Mills is playing a leading role in the clean food movement with natural baking mixes, crackers, frostings and cookies that have earned 11,000+-store distribution and in some cases No. 1 market share in the nat- ural channel in just a few short years on the market. All products are free of grain, gluten, soy, GMOs, excessive sugar and artificial flavors and fillers, with alternative ingredi- ents and unique formulations that have set an example for the industry and are helping re- define the term "healthy food." In the past year alone, Simple Mills has added 10 SKUs, including two organic frost- ings, four sprouted seed crackers and four cookie varieties to its portfolio. Simple Mills Organic Frostings are made with just eight whole-food ingredients and 8 grams of sugar compared to as much as 20 grams for both natural and conventional frosting brands. Simple Mills Sprouted Seed Crackers are made from a base blend of sprouted sun- flower, flax and chia seeds that increases nu- trient absorption by removing the outer layer of the seeds that limits vita- min and mineral availability to the body. Simple Mills Ready-to-Eat Crunchy Cook- ies contain just 40 calories, 6 grams of sugar, and a natu- rally gluten-free base-flour blend of almonds, coconuts and tiger nuts. Recent honors for Simple Mills products range from a 2017 Chicago Innovation Award and a "Fab Five" rating on Instacart as one of the top trending food products for 2017 to accolades from Good Housekeeping, Prevention, Self, Clean Eating, Delicious Living, Paleo Mag- azine and Yoga Journal. That's because they're made of simple, wholesome ingredients – and also simply delicious. With distribution from Whole Foods to Target and Meijer and more products scheduled to hit store shelves in 2018, Simple Mills continues to grow, in- novate and establish its rep- utation as one of the top brands in the "new natural" space. Eat better, feel better, find the energy to live your life passionately. It's that Simple. For more information, visit booth #1284 or go to www.simplemills.com. Paradigm Foodworks: Specialty Sauces and Foods For 37 years, Paradigm Foodworks has been a manufacturer and distributor of specialty sauces and foods. Its own line of manufac- tured products include chocolate sauces, pizza sauce, dressings and a complete line of regional barbecue sauces. This past year, Paradigm has added sev- eral new products and line extensions to the brand; Bourbon & Butter Caramel Sauce was introduced this year along with Orange Curd, Raspberry Curd and Marionberry Jam. In addition, Paradigm provides private label products, and over the years has helped many businesses launch and get a foothold in the specialty food world. Co-packed prod- ucts include ketchup, mustard, salsas, teriyaki sauce and mushroom sauce. Para- digm is a certified Organic Processor for those that are looking for organic manufac- turing. Lynne Barra is Founder and Chief Execu- tive Officer. She has been cooking since she was a little girl at her Nana's knee and pos- sesses a unique ability to taste a product's fla- vor profile. When a co- packer's R&D of their product is not up to the taste required, it is often Lynne who through her experience and taste will suggest the ingredients to add or increase. As a one time math teacher, she understands and can quickly formulate the conversion of a recipe to com- mercialism. Dave Schultz, holding a PhD in food sci- ence, is in charge of quality control and food safety. He helps in the R&D process and la- beling to make sure all FDA regulations are met. On the distribution side is Lynne's son Judson Barra, who has over 15 years of knowl- edge and experience in food distribution. He is in charge of the Resale Di- vision, which specializes in the distribution of spe- cialty food and candy. Located in Lake Os- wego, Oregon, Paradigm sees 2018 as an exciting year of expansion. To meet the growing de- mands of its customer base and its own lines, it will be adding larger and more efficient equipment to its production facilities. For more information, visit booth #870.

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