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Kitchenware News & Housewares Review Show Daily 5 1 Tuesday, March 13, 2018 StoreMaxx Appoints New President StoreMaxx, Inc., a Hackensack, New Jersey-based manufacturer of food stor- age products, is pleased to announce the appointment of Carolyn LeFavour as President. Carolyn had previously been Senior Vice President at Lifetime Brands from 2000-2017. While at Lifetime Brands, Carolyn was responsible for managing sales at all national customers based in the Midwest while overseeing the devel- opment of multiple businesses in the Food Prep, Tabletop and Home Décor categories. As President of StoreMaxx, Carolyn will direct all facets of company mandates and directives, shaping future company policy and procedure. "I'm excited to join StoreMaxx and honored to be leading such a talented group of people," said LeFavour. "StoreMaxx has proven to be an innovative force in the disposable/reusable segment of the food storage category in both product quality and merchantability. I plan on continuing the positive direction by continuing to have the best development team, cus- tomers, projects and partners while investing in the community and having fun." Ed Spitaletta, who has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the company since its inception in 2008, will maintain his role as Chief Executive Officer. "I am thrilled to pass the torch to Carolyn, who I know to be talented and thoughtful," said Spitaletta. "She was the unanimous choice of the StoreMaxx team. While I will continue a very active role at the company, I enthu- siastically welcome Carolyn as our new leader. I am confident in her abilities and excited for the future of StoreMaxx." Spitaletta has also announced sever- al key additions to the management team. Jason Izon has joined StoreMaxx as Director of Marketing and E- Commerce. Jason brings a new level of expertise to StoreMaxx, most recently serving as Marketing Director for MDX, a New York area ecommerce supplier of gaming services. Jason's initial responsi- bilities will include oversight of all branding opportunities, the ecom- merce platform and all aspects of social media. About StoreMaxx Founded in 2008, StoreMaxx is a North American GFSI certified manufacturer of food storage products based in New Jersey. Its 170,000 square-foot facility is in Toronto, Canada. All StoreMaxxx prod- ucts are manufactured utilizing an injec- tion molded process with 100 percent vir- gin FDA-approved polypropylene for food contact under the Snap Pak™, FoodMates™, Quick Pak™ and Disposabowls™ brands To learn more, go to www.storemaxx.net or stop by booth #N6138. The World Is Your Oyster Knife By Greg Gonzales Zora Neale Hurston wrote that she doesn't weep at the world; she's too busy sharpening her oyster knife. A spectacu- lar oyster dinner is sure to drive worries away for the night, but shucking those oysters requires the right tools for the job. I've heard of people using screw- drivers to pry open those tight little shells, but a good oyster knife speeds things up and requires less force than MacGyver-style tools. Paired with the right accessories, the right oyster knife will show those who are new to shucking that it's safe, easy and a bit of an art. With a renewed interest in oysters among Millennial home cooks, retailers carrying high-quality oyster knives and acces- sories have the opportunity to tap into a growing market. When it comes to oyster knives, an informed consumer looks for a blade style that fits their needs and tastes. There's an oyster knife for every kind of technique, and for every kind of oyster. In fact, oyster knife styles get their names from the locations where they're most often used, or the location for which they were designed. For example, many peo- ple prefer the New Haven oyster knife, a classic and familiar design with a shorter blade that hooks on the end. The French style has a short, sharp blade; the Providence is a straight blade with a medium width and length; and the Boston is a short, sharp blade used for a technique called stabbing. "There's hinge shucking, bill shucking — a lot of people come in straight from the bill, which is the opposite side from the hinge — and some people go right after the abductor muscle, which is two-thirds of the way from the hinge down toward the bill on the righthand side if the hinge is by you," said Mimi Younkins, co-Owner of R. Murphy Knives. "That's called stabbing, but that's a messy method." She said stabbing is reserved more for meat pro- cessing plants that freeze or can oysters, where appearance doesn't make much difference to the end user. "You would never do that in an oyster competition because you'd lose points for having a messy shell," said Younkins. Grand Central Oyster Bar Executive Chef Sandy Ingber said some people come in from the hinge, "which makes it a lot eas- ier. When we're showing someone how to shuck, that's usually what we show them, to go in where the hinge is and pry it open." Oyster tools are all about taking the pain and unnecessary work out of the shuck. "With these pointy blades, you don't need a lot of pressure," said Younkins. "That's probably what hap- pens a lot, people think they need to push too hard. If you just let the point do a lot of the work and don't put a lot of pres- sure on it, it's going to drill in there. Just keep pushing a little bit, a little bit, the blade slips in there and it pops open!" Both Ingber and Younkins said per- sonal preference is what knife choice really comes down to, and the multiplici- ty of oyster knives on the market means consumers have plenty of options, but Younkins had a tip for what makes a good oyster knife. "The higher-end ones have a nice heft to them because there's steel in the handle," she said. "A full-tang knife, like a good chef's knife, the steel goes all the way through the handle – instead of a little tang that's inserted into a pre-made handle." Full-tang knives feel sturdier in the hand and reduce the chances of a knife snapping off mid- shuck. Oyster knives also come with a choice of materials, including different woods and plastic. R. Murphy Knives offers its New Haven Elite in rosewood, weighted and contoured to fit the hand. HiCoup Kitchenware offers an oyster knife with a wood handle in pakka wood, with a 420-stainless steel blade, full tang, mirror finish, with an oversized hand guard in case of slips and a leather sheath. Restaurant owners and con- sumers who prefer a dishwasher-safe handle might choose a plastic handle, which are plenty sturdy and provide an inexpensive alternative for consumers who aren't necessarily regular shuckers. Dexter-Russell offers a line of knives with textured, slip-resistant polypropy- lene handles in multiple styles, ranging from $17.25 to $18.95. Another plastic option includes the Shucker Paddy Universal Oyster Knife, a pistol grip oys- ter knife designed by world shucking champion Patrick McMurray. It's an ergonomic design with a finger guard for added safety that sells for around $20. With all of these new hands on oys- ter knives come new safety concerns and new opportunities to extend sales. A chainmail or kevlar glove, for example, can help consumers avoid the worst of injuries familiar to even the best shuck- ers, such as a knife straight through the palm. Microplane's Cut Resistant Glove protects against most injuries with a seamless, wire-free knit. The glove fits either hand, is FDA compliant for food and sells for $14.95 from Microplane. Consumers seeking more protection, like from stabs and chops, might seek out mesh and wire gloves, like US Mesh's USM-1105, a mesh glove made from sur- gical-grade stainless steel with a sewn-on polypropylene adjustable strap. Mesh gloves are a little more expensive. Consumers looking for some added ver- satility might opt for a Kevlar towel, too. Plenty of these safety accessories, like gloves, tow- els and shucking boards, come packaged in sets. Oyster knives might be a tough product to sell in a market where there aren't fresh oysters present, but they do pair well in gift sets. "Those do really well. We sell them with and without a nice little leather rollup you can keep all your shellfish knives in," said Younkin. "That's a popular thing; a cou- ple of clam knives, a clam knife and an oyster knife, a clam knife and a crab meat knife, which sells well in the Chesapeake area where there are a lot of crabs." Oyster knives might seem a tough sell in markets without fresh oysters pres- ent, but they pair well with serving and safety accessories, and the experts who make them find oyster knives work well in gift sets. "Those do really well. We sell them with and without a nice little leather rollup you can keep all your shellfish knives in," said Younkin. "That's a popu- lar thing; a couple of clam knives, a clam knife and an oyster knife, a clam knife and a crab meat knife, which sells well in the Chesapeake area where there are a lot of crabs." If shucking the oysters is an art, serving them is equally or more so. The Oyster Bed, originally a Kickstarter proj- ect, offers the Stella Pro Package, a set that features a serving platter shaped to mimic ocean life with a center-bowl reservoir for au jus, soups, dips or gumbo. It also includes a spoon, and what they call The Dock, a serving plat- form made from reclaimed wood. BBQ Oyster Grill is known for its Shellfish Cooking Racks, a stainless steel BBQ accessory that keeps shellfish in place and upright, to prevent spillage. The racks are available from the manufactur- er for $79. New Greek Inspired Herbs & Olive Oil Hummus from Sabra Sabra Dipping Company has introduced a limited-edition flavor, Greek Inspired Herbs & Olive Oil, to its line of 16 fla- vors of hummus. "In the past, our consumers have really enjoyed our limited-edition releas- es and we are thrilled to introduce Greek Inspired Herbs & Olive Oil Hummus today," said Eric Greifenberger, Vice President of Marketing at Sabra. "Everybody loves the fresh taste of Mediterranean foods, and in fact, this is one of the most delicious we've ever had." Greek Inspired Herbs & Olive Oil hummus is an explosion of flavor from a simple mix of traditional Greek herbs, including oregano, thyme, mint and black pepper with a strong punch of lemon. "Limited edition flavors help us to understand reactions to our culinary creations by both loyal consumers, as well as new consumers," said Sara Braca, Marketing Director at Sabra. "One third of those who have never tried hummus find familiar flavors very compelling." Greek Inspired Herbs & Olive Oil hummus launched nationwide in September. The limited-edition flavor is vegan, non-GMO and gluten free. The suggested retail price is $3.99 for a 10- ounce container.