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FOODIE FOCUS www.kitchenwarenews.com n JUNE 2018 n KITCHENWARE NEWS & HOUSEWARES REVIEW 1 5 Date Lady Wins Gold, Silver and Bronze Awards sofi Award Goes to... Chocolate with Roasted Almonds and best new product for Swiss White Chocolate with Blue Potato Chips and Sea Salt. Neuchatel Chocolates won the gold award for a vegan product with its Vegan Dark Chocolate with Hazelnut Nectar, Honey Mama's won gold in the sweet snack category with Honey Cocoa Bar Nibs and Coffee and Bissinger's Handcrafted Chocolatier won the gold award in the confection category for its Strawberry Mango Gummy Pandas. Mouth Foods received the gold award for the best cookie with its Smart Cookie Orange Pistachio Shortbread, and That's How We Roll, LLC, won in the cracker category for its Kitchen Table Bakers Parm Crisps Original. The award for the best ice cream or gelato went to Humphry Slocombe Ice Cream for its Black Sesame Ice Cream, while the award for the best dessert sauce or topping went to Mount Mansfield Maple Products for its Single Malt Barrel Aged Organic Pure Vermont Maple Syrup. There were two categories for cold beverages, one for a drink and cocktail mix and the other for a ready-to-drink beverage. Improper Goods LLC took home the gold award in the cocktail mix category for its The Bitter Housewife Cardamom Bitters, while Brands Within Reach took the gold award for a ready-to-drink beverage for Belvoir Fruit Farms Cucumber & Mint Lemonade. The gold award for the best hot beverage went to Dick Taylor Craft Chocolate for its Drinking Chocolate Belize Toldeo. Date Lady won the gold award for the best condiment for its California Date Syrup as well as the silver award in the dessert sauce or topping category for its Pure Date Syrup and the bronze award in the category for vegan products with its Coconut Caramel Date Sauce. Cafe Spice Global Cuisine won the gold award in the gluten f ree category for its Cafe Spice Vegetable Bhajias with Chutneys. In the granola category Cucina Classica Organic Italian 10 Minute Farro won the gold award. It's imported to the U.S. by Atalanta Corporation. The French Farm received the gold award in the honey category for L'Abeille Occitane Pure Lavender Honey, and Blake Hill Preserves won the gold award in the category for jams and preserves with its Cardamom- infused Meyer Lemon Marmalade. In the nut and seed butter category, Manna Organics won gold with Manna Butter Coconut Cashew and silver with Manna Butter Hazelnut Cocoa Truffle. In the olive oil category, Planeta Extra Virgin Olive Oil f rom Italian Products USA won gold, and the winning vinegar was Villa Manodori Dark Cherry Balsamic Vinegar of Modena, imported by De Medici Imports, Ltd. KN Date Lady has won a gold award for its new California Date Syrup in the category for outstanding condiments, a silver for Date Syrup in the category for dessert toppings and syrups and a bronze award for Coconut Caramel Sauce in the categor y for vegan products in the Specialty Food Association's 2018 sofi™ Award competition. The California Date Syrup, original Date Syrup and Coconut Caramel Sauce were three of 150 winners selected by a national panel of specialty food experts from more than 3,000 entries across 39 awards categories. Products were judged on taste, ingredient quality and innovation in blind tastings by a panel of food professionals. " We are in shock and overcome with gratitude! It 's one thing to believe yourself that you have a good product and another thing to get confirmation f rom chefs and other food professionals that have been leaders in the industr y for years," says Colleen Sundlie, Founder of Date Lady. "A sofi Award is one of the ultimate stamps of approval and we're very grateful. To win three in the same year is truly more than we ever imagined!" KN K+M Extravirgin Chocolate Bar Honored with sofi K+M Extravirgin 75% Dark Chocolate Ecuador was among the sofi™ Award winners announced by the Specialty Food Association on April 11. Winners were selected f rom more than 2,650 entries in a blind tasting by a national panel of culinary experts. The K+M Extravirgin 75% Dark Chocolate Ecuador features flavors of ripe mango combined with spice and sweet nectar. It also exhibits low acidity and offers secondary notes of wood and earth, delivered with a signature smooth-satin mouth feel. "We are thrilled to be recognized by The Speciality Food Association with this sofi Award. With its incomparable texture and boost of antioxidants, our K+M Extravirgin Chocolate represents a true innovation in bean-to- bar chocolate," said Thomas Keller, co- Founder of K+M Extravirgin Chocolate. This is the first honor in the specialty food industr y for K+M Extravirgin Chocolate. In addition to the award winning 75% Dark Chocolate Ecuador, K+M Extravirgin Chocolate offers three other single-origin bars: Madagascar, Nicaragua and Peru. The brainchild of Chef Thomas Keller and Tuscan olive oil producer Armando Manni, K+M Extravirgin Chocolate uses a unique production methodology to preser ves the antioxidants commonly lost in the chocolate- making process. K+M then adds a small amount of heart-healthy, organic MANNIextra- virgin olive oil in place of the traditional cocoa butter, giving the chocolate an antioxidant boost. The entire process is super vised by Head Chocolatier Chi Bui, who has worked in some of the finest kitchens in New York City – including Le Bernadin, Union Square Café, Gotham Bar and Grill and Daniel – before joining the team at K+M Extravirgin Chocolate. The bar retails for $14.95 and is currently in limited retail distribution. KN (cont. from Page 14) The Specialty Food Association has named Los Angeles-based and woman- owned SALSAOLOGY among the winners of the prestigious 2018 sofi™ Awards, taking the gold in the cooking sauce, marinade category for its Ancho Chile & Tamarind sauce. "We're humbled and honored to receive this tremendous recognition; and I'm proud to represent my family's Mexican heritage, women-owned businesses and the city of L os Angeles among the honorees," said SALSAOLOGY Founder L ori Sandoval, who created SALSAOLOGY 's cooking sauces as an ode to her family's Mexican roots and the diversity and richness of Mexico's regional flavors and culinary traditions. SALSAOLOGY is one of 156 sofi Award winners selected f rom 2,600 entries representing 39 categories, f rom cookies to cooking sauces. Awardees were chosen by a panel of expert judges through a blind tasting evaluating for taste, and quality and creativity of ingredients. This is the second prominent honor in the specialt y food industr y for SALSAOLOGY 's award-winning Ancho Chile & Tamarind sauce, which was named a Good Food Awardee in 2016. The best-seller among SALSAOLOGY 's lineup of Mexican cooking sauces, Ancho Chile & Tamarind, celebrates the flavors of the western Pacific Mexican state of Jalisco, featuring a specially craf ted blend of z est y and smoky flavored chiles with roasted peanuts, aromatic ground spices and the tangy sweetness of tamarind. KN SALSAOLOGY's Mexican Cooking Sauce Wins Gold

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