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OCG Show Daily 2 9 Tuesday, June 12, 2018 Holmstead Fines Chutneys: East Meets West By Lorrie Baumann Rebecca Williamson learned to make chutneys while she was a culinary stu- dent at London's Le Cordon Bleu in the earliest years of the 21st century. Now she's back in the United States making updated versions of some of those chut- neys for sale under her Holmsted Fines brand, which was created four years ago. "When I first moved to England, I lived in a place called Holmsted Manor, and that was my first taste of tomato chut- ney," says the Owner and Creator of Holmsted Fines. "We wanted the brand- ing to reflect something that... you feel comfortable with. It's a product that's been around for a really long time, but we're modernizing it." After Williamson finished culinary school, she moved back to the U.S. to pursue her career as a pastry chef, and she started making a green tomato chut- ney that had been as staple for her when she was living in Britain. "I couldn't find anything like it in the U.S.," she says. "I started making it and giving it as gifts." The friends who received those gifts encouraged her to take her chutney to market, and Williamson responded with a start-up company in 2013 and then her Holmsted Fines Green Tomato Chutney in 2014. Since then, she's expanded the line to include Peach Chutney, Balsamic Red Onion Chutney and, just this past June, Apple Jalapeño Chutney. The Apple Jalapeño is the only one of the range that's spicy. "Balsamic Red Onion is our best seller, but we predict that the Apple Jalapeño will rival it," Williamson says. Chutneys were introduced to England by the imperial officers who returned home after service in India, in those days when the sun never set on the British empire, but they rose to promi- nence as a feature of English cuisine dur- ing World War I, when they were an important source of nutrition in a country subjected to wartime food shortages. "You had to use everything that was in the field, some way. Fruits and veggies were limited. With a short growing sea- son and the need for more – people were eating a lot of bread and butter. They used malt vinegar and green tomatoes as a way to provide some variety," Williamson says. "It was more need- based than it is today." Chutney's prominence in English culinary tradition was reinforced again during World War II, when Britain imple- mented food rationing to ensure that its troops could be fed without starving the civilian population living on an island surrounded by waters patrolled by the German navy. Chutneys used ingredients that could be harvested from home gar- dens, and their vinegar content meant that they could be canned in a water bath to preserve them. "The Ministry of Food educated people with leaflets, radio pro- grams and community demonstrations on the latest and greatest food preserving techniques, to ensure that no food went to waste," Williamson said. Williamson has updated her chut- ney recipes to create flavors that com- bine a respect for the traditional chut- neys with the adventurous tastes of today's consumers. "I think that people will cook with it on a different level, whether in pastry or on lamb. It allows people to go outside their comfort zone, to play with their food, and expand their repertoire, to take something that they're comfortable with and go from there," she said. "Cheese, chutney and wine should be a trio that everyone knows, but often they don't. Once they have the jar in their refrigerator, they can put it on chicken or a piece of salmon. Our chutney, unlike many oth- ers, has a sugar content that's less than anyone else's .... It isn't just for your wine and cheese parties. It's actually pretty beneficial on your turkey sand- wich or to put on your pork tenderloin to make a dinner for your family." The Holmsted Fines products are packed in Georgia. Williamson is han- dling the distribution herself, primarily through grocery stores in the South, but shipping nationwide to Amazon. "Almost every state has gotten an order for us at some point," she says. "We give 10 percent of the proceeds from each jar to International Justice Mission, an organization based in Washington, D.C." International Justice Mission works on human traf- ficking prevention around the world, and it's an organization that Williamson became familiar with through its work in Europe. When she first learned about the organization, she assumed it was based in Europe, and it was only after she began donating that she realized that it's actually based in the U.S., she says. "Modern-day slav- ery or human trafficking happens to poor people in areas where they're not protected by the police," she says. "IJM goes to places to train police forces to protect women and children and to prosecute traffickers." For further information, visit www .holmstedfines.com. Becoming Environmentally Friendly to Help Customers with Plastic Bans An interview with Alan Yu, Chief Executive Officer, Lollicup ® USA, Inc. OSD: Tell our readers about your compa- ny and its main line of business. AY: We manufacture domestically and distribute Karat ® paper and plastic disposable foodservice products and Tea Zone ® coffee and beverage sup- plies for thousands of retail and distri- bution business accounts, including several Fortune 500 restaurant fran- chises. OSD: What made you think of creating a new eco-friendly product line? AY: I saw the need in the disposable food industry, and how these products could lessen our carbon footprint. That is why we started producing products that were responsibly sourced and could be recy- cled or composted in commercial facili- ties. With all of the plastic bans springing up, the industry is now ready for the line we have been carrying for almost a decade. OSD: How are you preparing for new plastic bans? AY: We have anticipated the bans, so our customers will have a solution and not have to scramble when they are finally imposed. The bans will continue and we are prepared and have been informing our dis- tributors and cus- tomers about the products they can use that will serve their needs, comply with the bans, and most importantly, be better for our envi- ronment. OSD: How do you feel about making the change to eco-friendly products? AY: We are proud to offer these items because both of them are better for the environment, made from renewable resources and are industrial compostable. We plan to become leaders in eco-friend- ly disposables. As part of this initiative, we will con- tinue to add to our line. OSD: What do you feel is the most important attribute to the success and the future of your company? AY: The key to our success is our satisfaction-guaran- teed approach to each and every one of the thousands of customers we've worked with across the nation. As a leader for paper and plastic food packag- ing, we have become a one-stop solution for all beverage and foodservice needs. For more information, call 800.857.1988, email marketing@lollicup.com or info@lollicup.com, or visit www .lollicupusa.com or www.lollicup.com. Meatball Mania The secret to a good meatball? Authentic ingredients and a family recipe that's made with love. Fontanini Italian Meats has been providing its meatballs to some of the country's finest Italian restaurants for over 40 years. Made with premium meats, a special blend of seasonings, ricotta and Romano cheese, and based on a time-tested family recipe, Fontanini's meatballs look and taste like no other. The meatballs are easily reheated in an oven for a beautiful caramelized tex- ture, providing all the taste without the work or the time it takes to make this oth- erwise labor-intensive recipe. Break one apart right out of the oven and you can see the cheeses oozing out and smell the wonderful aroma of garlic and spices. For an instant favorite, the fully-cooked meatballs can be dropped into marinara sauce to be ladled over pasta or tucked into a roll for a hearty sandwich. Meatballs are a versatile product for today's foodservice menus. Adding ¼- ounce meatballs to minestrone or a gumbo is a great way to give your soups an Italian flair. They work great with pep- peroni to top pizzas, too. As an appetizer, Fontanini's meatballs can be served with a choice of sauces, including barbecue, sweet and sour, mustard or other favorites. Just as a meatball is the result of a savory combination of different ingre- dients, Fontanini offers a variety for different sizes and tastes ranging from wedding soup size to jumbo 8-ounce meatballs. Mamma Ranne Cooked Meatballs are the time-honored signa- ture variety, with a homemade appear- ance and authentic Italian flavor cour- tesy of beef and pork, two types of Italian cheese, garlic and a special sea- sonal mix of Italian seasonings. An all- beef Mamma Ranne meatball product is also available, made with select cuts of beef, fresh parsley, Romano and ricotta cheese and Italian seasonings. Fontanini also offers gourmet raw meatballs as well as a line of cooked American Dinner Balls, beef meatballs seasoned with a mild onion flavor that make the product suitable for dishes like stroganoff, kabobs or barbecue meals. Asian Style Meatballs are available as well, featuring subtle hints of ginger and green onion made with pork that make them great over noodles, in miso soup or as part of stir- fry dishes. Additionally, Fontanini offers a Chicken Verdi meatball made with chicken, and a vari- ety of Latin seasonings. Perfect in a queso sauce or served as an appetizer on skewers topped with scallions and a chili aioli sauce. No matter how they are served, Fontanini's meatballs are bound to get the good taste rolling and will have cus- tomers coming back for more. For more information, go to www .fontanini.com or call 800.331.MEAT.