Kitchenware News • March 2021

PHOTO FEATURE:

THE PANTRY:

FEATURED PRODUCTS:

New for 2021

Zoup!

Franmara

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Vol. 27 • Issue 2 March 2021 • $7.00

The Chopping Block Goes Online from Chicago

Advertiser Index . . . . . . . . . . .22

BY LORRIE BAUMANN

When Shelley Young opened The Chopping Block 24 years ago in Chicago, Illinois, she envisioned her business as a recreational cooking school with a sideline in antiques sales. “I didn’t carry any retail other than the antiques,” she said. “It didn’t go over well with the customers that I didn’t have the products they needed.”

Cont. on page 10

Tabletop Insights from Rosanna

Casual Elegance for Outdoor Entertaining

Jars Céramistes Presents a Fresh New Green: Vuelta Nori

SEE PAGE 9

SEE PAGE 7

SEE PAGE 8

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KITCHENWARE NEWS & HOUSEWARES REVIEW • MARCH 2021 • www.kitchenwarenews.com

from the

PUBLISHER Kimberly Oser

editor in chief Dear Friends: As I write this letter, I’m sitting outside in my backyard in front of a smoky fire that I lit in the fireplace on what I call my winter patio, and with the sun shining down on me, I’m just a little too warm in the sweatshirt I’m wearing. A pair of mourning doves are perched on the mesquite tree from which I have hung a bird feeder, and a few minutes ago, a couple of roadrunners strutted by. They are most likely the mother and son that I spent the summer watching as the mother came by first to steal kitty kibble out of the bucket I keep on the patio just outside my back door to feed wandering cats and the occasional skunk or raccoon. A few weeks after the mother roadrunner had become a regular visitor, she showed up along with a younger bird that she led up to the bucket and fed while he crouched down beside her and fluttered his wings. Through the course of the summer, they just kept coming back, and I watched as he started coming alone sometimes, first to wait by the bucket until his mother showed up to feed him and then eventually just to take care of himself.

Roadrunners are said here to be a sign of good luck, and having them include my home in their everyday lives has been a blessing. I have seen them almost every day through the winter, and I note with a peculiar gratitude that I wouldn’t have known about any of this if it hadn’t been for the pandemic lockdown that has kept me at home for their visits.

It was around this time last year that I came outside one morning to investigate the source of strange noises on the patio to be surprised by a pair of javelinas with their snouts buried in the bucket of the expensive bird seed I buy to keep a pair of cardinals happily in residence.

I chased them out, and the next morning, I emailed my handyman to come and repair the fence they’d squirmed through.

As I was waiting for the handyman to work me into his schedule, I was also watching the news and seeing the pandemic rising around the world like Noah’s flood. I did what we were all doing, watching the waters rising, knowing there was nothing that I could do to hold them back, saying some prayers and preparing as best I could. Like many others, I desperately wanted to believe the predictions that the virus might go away when the weather got warmer, and I was taking comfort in the thought that Arizona’s summer heat might end the virus’ reign over us sooner rather than later even though I was also watching news reports that pointed out that the virus was flourishing in the Southern Hemisphere, which was already in the tail end of its summer. I would not have believed you if you’d told me that we’d still be in the midst of this horrifying pandemic a year later.

Now, though, I know that many of us have taken this past year to think deeply about the futures of their businesses. You can read some of that thinking in this month’s issue of Kitchenware News. Others of us have used the time to recommit themselves to being friends to their neighbors and brothers and sisters to strangers, and some of those stories are on the front page of this month’s issue of Gourmet News. Still others have celebrated their wins in the annual Good Food Awards, which honor those food producers whose products are both delicious and made with respect for the planet that nourishes us all. You can meet two of those in this month’s Gourmet News as well. I hope that you’ll all enjoy whichever magazine you’re holding as you read this letter, and if you’d like to read the stories in the other, you can easily do that by visiting us at www.gourmetnews.com or www.kitchenwarenews.com. Just click the cover images that you’ll find on the home page.

We hope to see you there. Each of the websites has a contact link for you to reach out to us if you’d like, and I assure you that we read our email, and suggestions about what you’d like to read in our magazines are always very welcome.

Until next month, I wish for you all some of the peace and joy that I find as I’m sitting in the sunshine watching my wild birds and hoping that the roadrunners will call. KN — Lorrie Baumann Editor In Chief

EDITOR IN CHIEF Lorrie Baumann editor@oser.com SR. ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Jules Denton-Card jules_d@oser.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Anthony Socci anthony_s@oser.com ART DIRECTOR Yasmine Brown ASSOCIATE EDITOR Jeanie Catron jeanie_c@oser.com CUSTOMER SERVICE MANAGER Susan Stein customerservice@oser.com CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Tara Neal CIRCULATION MANAGER Jamie Green jamie_g@oser.com ADVERTISING SALES Joe Bellon Alisha Dicochea EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT Heather Albrecht heather_a@oser.com

Kitchenware News & Housewares Review is a publication of Oser Communications Group Inc. 1877 N. Kolb Road • Tucson, AZ 85715 520.721.1300 www.kitchenwarenews.com

FOUNDER Lee M. Oser Periodicals postage paid at Tucson, AZ and additional mailing office. Kitchenware News & Housewares Review (USPS012-625) is published 7 times per year (Jan., March, May, July, Sept., Nov. and Dec.) by Oser Communications Group, 1877 N. Kolb Road, Tucson, AZ, 85715 520.721.1300.

Publisher assumes no responsibility for unsolicited material or prices quoted in newspaper. Contributors are responsible for proper release of proprietary classified information. ©2021 by Oser Communications Group. All rights reserved Reproduction, in whole or in part, without written permission of the publisher, is expressly prohibited. Back issues, when available, cost $8 each within the past 12 months. Back issue orders must be paid in advance by check. Kitchenware News & Housewares Review is distributed without charge in North America to qualified professionals in the retail and distribution channels of the upscale kitchenware and tabletop trade. For subscriber services, including subscription information, call 520.721.1300. Printed in the USA. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Kitchenware News & Housewares Review, 1877 N. Kolb Road, Tucson, AZ 85715.

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www.kitchenwarenews.com • MARCH 2021 • KITCHENWARE NEWS & HOUSEWARES REVIEW

for

casual elegance

outdoor

entertaining

BY LORRIE BAUMANN

Blue Pheasant has debuted a spring collection for 2021 that offers casual dinnerware and natural fiber placemats and cloches perfect for those who will be entertaining this year in their backyards or on their patios. “One of the things that we talk a lot about with the brand is that it is a European style dining with a Californian kind of vibe,” said Pamela Burke, the brand’s Sales Director.

“Outdoor, casual, but with very, very beautiful, luxe textures and materials.

Nothing formal, nothing stuffy.”

While the items are beautiful, they have more to recommend them than style, and the brand emphasizes accessibility and functionality with dinnerware that’s safe in the microwave or dishwasher. “It makes people feel very good about their purchases from an uplifting perspective,” Burke said.

“The brand tends to give off a vibe of being very easy – easy to care for, easy to manipulate into your own style.”

The brand’s new dinnerware collections

anticipate that people will want to take them outdoors, even though they’re made from ceramic rather than acrylic or melamine. The Amaya stoneware collection, for instance, has a Speckled Ivory finish with a contrasting rim. Pieces are handmade, but they’re also safe in the microwave, dishwasher, range oven and freezer. Amaya items are sold in packs of four, with 10.5-inch dinner plates retailing for $28, soup or pasta bowls retailing for $24, salad plates for $22, cereal bowls for $20 and mugs for $18.

Or there’s Bria, a stoneware collection in a vibrantly deep blue-green color and also safe in the microwave, dishwasher, range oven or freezer. These are also sold in packs of four, with 11-inch dinner plates retailing for $32, salad plates for $28, soup bowls for $30 and ice cream or cereal bowls for $28. Eloise, a handmade stoneware collection is finished with a reactive emerald glaze speckled in white. The Eloise collection includes large and small serving trays and platters along with the

dinnerware. Service pieces are sold as a pack of two, with the serving trays to be sold as a set of two – one large and one small – to consumers, while serving platters are sold at wholesale as a pack of two and intended to be sold individually to consumers while the dinnerware is sold as a pack of four. Eloise is safe in the microwave, dishwasher and range oven.

Kinsey is a melamine exception to the company’s ceramics lines. Dinner and salad plates feature a palm leaf design in green and shadowy blue across a gleaming white background. They’re safe in either dishwasher or freezer. A pack of four 10inch dinner plates retails for $14, while the four-pack of salad plates retails for $10.

Any of these items, as well as others in the company’s line, would pair beautifully with the wide range of accessories in natural fibers, which include placemats made from neutral natural grasses that can either accent a casual dinner setting or dial down the formality of an elegant

porcelain setting. Care for most of them requires just a simple wipe with a damp cloth.

Rachel is a new collection of food covers to keep the flies out of the food. They’re made from natural woven sinamay, a fiber derived from the albaca tree. Domes to cover an individual meal are offered in two sizes in a pack of four. The covers for a 9inch diameter plate and its accompanying napkin and flatware retail for $28, while the covers for a meal on a full-size dinner plate retail for $38. Round and rectangular dome covers for service bowls and platters are also offered. The Ericson collection of caddies made from banana bark offer a convenient means of ferrying half a dozen tumblers of iced tea or three bottles of wine out to the patio or poolside. The glassware caddy retails for $118, while the wine caddy retails for $68. Care for them by wiping clean with a damp cloth.

For more information about the collections, email info@bluepheasant.com or visit www.bluepheasant.com. KN

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KITCHENWARE NEWS & HOUSEWARES REVIEW • MARCH 2021 • www.kitchenwarenews.com

Jars Céramistes presents a

Fresh New Green:

Vuelta Nori Jars presents a sophisticated, fresh new color for Spring 2021: Vuelta Nori.

Scandinavian in feel, the iridescent cool green and white pearl stream down the cylindrical sides of the dishes and form a rich pool of color in the center circle at the bottom of the dish. The exterior is an ivory matte glaze with a foot. Created for classic tables, Vuelta Nori is both a refined and contemporary collection featuring a crackled texture and glass-like glaze that is as durable as porcelain. The non-porous surface will not stain or scratch. All Jars collections are handcrafted in France. The dinnerware graces the tables of Michelin Star restaurants around the world, yet it is meant to be used daily in the home. It was specifically designed to be dishwasher and microwave safe.

The new color is available in a dinner plate, dessert plate, soup plate, serving bowl and salad bowl. Prices range from $40 to

$108 depending upon the shape. This handmade stoneware is fired at around 2340 degrees Fahrenheit. At this firing temperature, stoneware gets its very unique properties giving it the name “noble ceramic.”

Jars’ history spans more than 150 years.

Founded by Pierre Jars, the traditional crafts of potters’ skills and trade secrets were passed down throughout the generations. Jars’ success resonated in Paris when he was awarded the Grand Prize at the Exposition Universelle and again in 2010 when Jars Céramistes earned EPV status (Entreprise Francaise du Patrimoine Vivant), the French Companies Living Heritage award. Today more than 50 percent of French Michelin two-andthree-star restaurants use Jars for their dinnerware service. For more information, visit www.jarsusa.com/collections/vueltacolors?color=Nori%20Green. KN

JK Adams

Reorganizes Executive Team JK Adams Company has announced executive changes including new hires and expanded roles for several key employees.

All personnel changes became effective at the beginning of January. “Our ability to pivot and adapt during such a tumultuous year, solidified our 2020 year-end success.

We have positioned ourselves for sustained strategic expansion, and fulfilling these positions is key to our continued growth.

At JK Adams, we reward success, promote personal development and seek to ensure upward opportunities for all team members

within our company,” said Chief Executive Officer Daniel Isaac.

Sharon Rishell has stepped into the role of Vice President of Sales. Formerly the director of national sales, Rishell is now responsible for managing sales for the company’s three divisions: wholesale, directto-consumer and the JK Adams flagship retail store. She came into this position with more than 23 years of tenure with the company.

Mary Blair was promoted to Chief Financial Officer from her previous position as the company’s financial controller and

human resources specialist. She has also been the director of finance and operations of a major private educational institution and brought high-level experience in a multi-faceted environment to JK Adams.

Lisa Markowski has become the company’s Accounting Manager. She previously worked in the finance department of a Vermont ski resort and is now responsible for JK Adams accounting and serves as the company’s front line for human resources.

Jessi Kerner, formerly the director of

Eco-Friendly Food Storage Container The Rigwa 1.5 Stainless Steel Insulated Bowl is a food storage container so versatile that its makers like to refer to it as “The Swiss Army Knife of Food Containers.” With a 48-ounce capacity, it’ll keep hot food hot for up to four hours and cold food cold for twice that long. Its airtight seal is effortless to open, but the bowl is leakproof once the patented lid has been pressed closed. Nine colors plus gleaming stainless steel are available. Available accessories include Divide & Conquer Inserts, a pair of BPA-free plastic bowls with silicone lids that fit inside the Rigwa 1.5 to accommodate an entire lunch, and Rigwaware Bamboo Cutlery, a set of fork, knife, spoon and chopsticks packed into a fabric pouch that also fits inside the Rigwa Bowl. The Divide & Conquer Inserts are microwaveable, freezer safe and top-rack dishwasher safe.

The Bowl retails for $39.95, the Inserts for $19.95 and the Rigwaware bamboo cutlery for $14.95.

For more information or to place an order, email Zac Jordan at zac@rigwalife.com or visit www.rigwalife.com.

retail at JK Adams, was promoted to Director of E-commerce. Kerner’s years as a retail buyer and supervisor makes her uniquely knowledgeable on how to grow the direct-to-consumer marketplace at www.jkadams.com. Doreen WilsonRichards joined the e-commerce team in the newly created Web Associate position, reporting to Kerner.

Danielle Smith is now JK Adams’ Retail Store Manager with Michelle LaCount as Floor Supervisor at the JK Adams flagship store. KN

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www.kitchenwarenews.com • MARCH 2021 • KITCHENWARE NEWS & HOUSEWARES REVIEW

Tabletop

Insights from

Like most of us, Rosanna Bowles’ life and work have been disrupted by the pandemic.

Early in 2020, she was launching the Rosanna Votes for Women collection of mugs celebrating the centennial of the 19th Amendment that gave American women the right to vote. Her spring collection that debuted at 2020’s winter gift shows, featured collections that celebrated spring flowers and the ocean’s bounty. Bowls, plates and dipping dishes in Rosanna’s Oceanic collection featured marine life hand-painted on organic forms, while Bloom brought the flowers of a cottage garden to the table.

In 2021, she, like the rest of us, is trying to put her life and her work back together from the pieces unbroken by COVID-19.

Fortunately, she, like many of us, has discovered that though strong friend and family relationships, including many of her relationships with kitchenware and giftware retailers, have been inconvenienced by the pandemic, they haven’t dissolved.

Her relationships with manufacturers and retailers around the world has given her a solid perch from which to observe how the tabletop market is responding to the pandemic. “People are trying to get together and socialize the best way we can that’s safe,” she said. “I have a home on the Oregon coast, and a lot of people are meeting outside their homes by a big bonfire and using dishes that they’ve never used before…. They’re very community driven about gathering together and nourishing the soul and the spirit at this time…. It’s become a renaissance for a part of dinnerware – the serveware and the small dipping dishes.”

When the pandemic put a hold on normal life last spring, Bowles left Seattle, Washington, where her business is headquartered, for her Oregon home because that seemed like a safer place to be. She wasn’t sure how she might be able to preserve her business in gift-oriented tableware around the pandemic,

“I think that people are longing to travel and for anything that reminds them of the old days when they could go to Europe and eat well. If they can’t travel, they can have a meal with great serveware and pretend they’re there.”

— Rosanna Bowles

Rosanna

particularly with respect to items manufactured overseas. “I wasn’t going to do a new line, and especially not one sourced out of the U.S.,” she said. “It didn’t seem right to be buying something from another country when our own country was suffering very much.”

With her usual strategy for assembling collections for market scuttled by the pandemic, Rosanna assembled a spring and summer collection for 2021 called Home of the Brave. A limited collection, it included handmade ceramics by an Oregon professor, jam from the Willamette Valley, cobbles hand-gathered from Rogue River in Oregon and hand-engraved with meaningful quotes and uplifting aphorisms by a Native American family business. Wax candles for the collection were made by a local woman who owns bees. “Mom and pops liked it, and it felt good to do it,” Bowles said.

As the pandemic wore on, Bowles was surprised to see that some of the older items in her collections began to sell particularly well. Her Pasta Italiana and Olive Oil Collections have been part of her line for more than a decade, and they’ve suddenly become hot. The Olive Oil collection includes an Olive Oil Bottle, Dipping Dishes, Pasta Bowls and an Olive Oil Serving Bowl, while Pasta Italiana offers Dipping Dishes, Pasta Bowls and the Pasta Italiana Serving Bowl. Both collections are rich with surface decoration and bright colors – Pasta Italiana with tomatoes and peppers and pasta recipes.

“The Olive Oil has instructions on where the oil comes from,” Bowles said. “I think that people are longing to travel and for anything that reminds them of the old days when they could go to Europe and eat well. If they can’t travel, they can have a meal with great serveware and pretend they’re there.”

In 2021, much of the world is already emerging from pandemic-imposed isolation, and economies are opening up again, particularly in Asia, where Bowles makes items sold under other labels. “A lot of proprietary design programs were put on hold during the pandemic, but they’re wanting them shipped right now,” she said. “There’s a sense of optimism.”

She believes that enthusiasm for colorful, vibrant serveware will survive the pandemic, since it’s likely that people will continue, at least for a while, to feel more comfortable gathering with friends and family in their own homes rather than out in public. They’ll need serveware for those gatherings, she predicts. “You’re not going to eat off the charcuterie plate. You’re going to have a little appetizer plate. Same with pasta – such a comfort food,” she said. “I think you can curate it and do it well so

it’s safe eating… The desire to celebrate – that doesn’t go away, and there are ways you can do it and be safe.”

For her upcoming collections, she’s taking lessons from the casual outdoor entertaining that she and her friends did while the weather was cold enough to have driven people indoors in a normal year. “I still think we are in holding for a long time. I do not think we are returning to normal just because there’s a vaccine. It’s not going to be just, like, snap – everything’s okay,” she said. “But community and reaching out and cooking

with family will still be an impulse.”

This year’s collections will focus more on tableware than previous collections have. “I’ll probably do more serving pieces and things like that – charcuterie and dipping bowls for sauces and that kind of stuff,” she said. “We are weary and wanting for some semblance of normal living to come back. Hopefully, with the vaccines being distributed and spring coming, we will be able to slowly adopt long-awaited safe gatherings with friends and family.

The table is the best place to nourish the spirit and the soul.” KN

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THE CHOPPING BLOCK Continued from page 1 Young dealt with her customers’ frustration when they couldn’t find the equipment or the uncommon ingredients to duplicate a dish they’d learned to make in cooking classes by stocking the essentials: cookware from Le Creuset and Lodge, Emile Henry bakeware and Shun and Global knives. “Our retail line has been built very strategically over the years and continues to ebb and flow and adapt considerably,” she said. “We’ll grow a category for some years, and that will wane.”

“We carry tools rather than gadgets. If you have somebody in your life – man or woman – who is an avid car person or a woodworker, you go into their workshop, and what’s in there are tools,” she added.

“I want tools.... My strategy has always been that we focus on the honest sale. I want to get things in people’s hands that serve them, that last, and 20 years later, when they pull it out of the drawer, they’ll think, I still have it. It still works....

We’re loyal to our customers. We’re

loyal to our vendors. We don’t bounce around a lot. Our stories are really told through our teaching.”

A well-equipped kitchen contains a variety of tools – many might be used almost every day, and some are specialized items that may be used only occasionally.

Young advises her customers to take the frequency with which they’ll plan to use an item into account when they decide how much they want to pay for it. “We do carry different price points,” she said.

KITCHENWARE NEWS & HOUSEWARES REVIEW • MARCH 2021 • www.kitchenwarenews.com

“That investment might be hard to swallow for something that isn’t used very often.”

Before the pandemic curbed in-person classes at the recreational cooking school, The Chopping Block regularly held 400 classes and events over the course of a month. Young finds that many of the customers that have taken her cooking classes have given so little thought to

board. Your chopping block is your work surface – if you are lucky to have a big kitchen, get a big chopping block. Those are some of the tools that I think are superessential, and most people don’t have good ones.”

Under the influence of the COVID-19 physical pandemic, objects – other than The

as something different from anyone else.”

The Chopping Block’s two retail locations – one in Chicago’s Merchandise Mart and the other in the city’s Lincoln Square neighborhood – have been intermittently forced to close in observance of pandemic restrictions, although the

assembling the proper equipment for a functioning kitchen that they don’t have the basics. With the pandemic keeping them at home and in their kitchens more often, some of them are discovering that they need to think more about the quality of their tools, she said. “Thermometers are a big category for us. They’re critical to teaching virtual classes,” she said. “Many people don’t have a good peeler, a good grater. They don’t even own a whisk. They don’t have a sharp knife or good cutting

Chopping Block’s inventory of wine and spirits, which is an important contributor to the business’ revenue – abruptly became a marginalized component of the revenue stream. Young doesn’t do any online kitchenware business – if customers aren’t able to come into her stores, she’s happy to refer them to other retailers to meet their kitchen equipment needs. “Le Creuset sells directly now to consumers and through other large retailers,” she said.

“It makes it difficult to position yourself

Lincoln Square location was allowed to continue curbside service during partial shutdowns. While the shutdowns slammed the brakes on in-person classes for local recreational cooks, The Chopping Block’s cooking school is still going strong in cyberspace.

Young jump-started her business’ move to online instruction by reaching out to local nonprofit organizations whose plans for fundraising events had also been thrown into disarray. I thought,

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www.kitchenwarenews.com • MARCH 2021 • KITCHENWARE NEWS & HOUSEWARES REVIEW

What are our not-for-prof it friends going to do? How are they going to have events and make money? she asked herself in those early days when Chicago’s public health authorities ordered everyone not engaged in essential activities to stay home. Young responded by reaching out to local nonprofits to ask those questions and to offer

help. “We’re working on new relationships with them, trying to reach out to support them, which also supports us,” Young said.

“We sometimes do a class and have an option to make a donation to the charity.

We have collaborated in ways that have benefited us both. We’ve developed some new relationships, and that’s rewarding as well. It’s nice to find people that you can commiserate with and feel like you’re championing them and find ways to get through this together.”

Young’s next step was to reach out to for-profit businesses headquartered in Chicago but perhaps with branch offices and remote workers around the country and even around the world. She’s able to sell corporations on the idea that her virtual cooking events provide opportunities for team-building, for

camaraderie and morale-building between employees and even for entertaining clients. “I wasn’t really aware of how giant the virtual conference industry was before COVID,” Young said. “We’re now part of virtual conferences as entertainment or breaks and international conferences with departments that want break-out sessions.”

As Young’s team works with corporate executives to bid for their online events, it’s critical that they stress that her instructors have decades of experience with

professional cooking and restaurant kitchen management that they call upon to enrich the students’ experience and that her company’s collective experience can guarantee that her clients’ events will provide rewarding experiences for them and their employees. “When we’re talking to our clients, it’s partly because of our years of experience. We’ve done over 100 virtual events already. We are very serious about that business, and we respond professionally, so we make our clients look really good,” she said. “If you’re going to put

might be for entertainment, the client might want an elaborate menu, but the guests might not have the capabilities,” she said. “We’re learning how to manage the host’s expectations with the experience of the guests.”

Pricing for the classes is another sticky issue. “It’s hard for people to understand the value. A private event takes a minimum of four-and-a-half or five hours for the chef ’s time. This is not an inexpensive venture,” she said. “Every one of our events is taught by a professional chef. We deliver high-end quality events in terms of skill, professionalism and experience teaching.”

Once the worst effects of the pandemic are behind her, Young is confident that its lessons will remain with her and that her business will continue in the direction in which the pandemic has steered it, both in terms of how she runs The Chopping

together an international conference with your executives around the world, you want a professional organization. You want a party; you want to look at a menu; we do the rest. We moderate it. We teach it. We’re a one-stop shop.”

One challenge that comes up frequently is that the client who’s considering a virtual cooking event is often someone who’s interested in cooking in his or her own kitchen, and those folks sometimes have difficulty scaling down their ambitions to a menu that their less accomplished colleagues will be able to achieve without becoming overwhelmed. That’s an issue that has to be addressed directly, Young said. “In private events, when an event

Block and how other companies will use her company’s services to support their own businesses. “There’s been some great success with organizations that have chapters around the country. Virtual is a wonderful way to do time-efficient things to support an organization,” she said. “I think these will be used on many different levels, making it possible for remote workers to feel more connected than they ever did before because now we’re all on Zoom together.”

“You’re so much more on task when you’re on Zoom; you can’t stop for a sandwich during Zoom, which you might do during an all-day conference,” she added. “I’m trying to filter through all that’s happening now and look for all the gold, and I’m going to grow that part.” KN

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NEW for 2021

KITCHENWARE NEWS & HOUSEWARES REVIEW • MARCH 2021 • www.kitchenwarenews.com

Soup and Sandwich Sets from DEMDACO

An inspired design, this bowland-plate combination from DEMDACO conveniently merges two serving pieces into one easy-to-use dish.

Deep-toned neutrals highlight the look of hand-sculpted stoneware, giving it decorative appeal. The set retails for $30.

See it in dark gray, light gray, blue and cream at this winter’s markets in Las Vegas, Dallas and Atlanta.

Otherwise, call 913.402.6800, email jenifer.regnier@demdaco.com or visit www.demdacoretailers.com.

A Towel with a Dry Wit

Let your kitchen towels do the talking! From Lunar Designs, this towel exclaims, “I’d agree with you, but then we’d both be wrong,” and features the wild and whimsical art of Linda Drake. This towel is truly a fabulous way to bring a little bit of spice to your kitchen. It’s available from Gifts of Nature, which will be exhibiting it on the eighth floor of Building C at Las Vegas Market this winter. Otherwise, call Gifts of Nature at 800.733.7783, email info@gonreps.com or visit www.giftsofnaturethestore.com.

Wood Service Pieces from Creative Co-op

Creative Co-op will be showing off wooden serveware in its Building 2 showroom at this winter’s Atlanta Market. Products include a 10.5-inch Mango Wood Spoon with Bamboo Wrapped Handle that’s a practical serving piece but is also beautiful enough to display, and a 6-inch long Mango Wood Slotted Serving Spoon perfect for serving at dinner time or putting out with a salad. For a party, Creative Co-op’s 11-inch Acacia Wood Pear Shape Bowl is ideal for setting out nuts during a cocktail hour or candies to accompany a digestif. If you miss them at the show, email customerservice@creativecoop.com, call 866.323.2264 or visit www.creativecoop.com.

www.kitchenwarenews.com • MARCH 2021 • KITCHENWARE NEWS & HOUSEWARES REVIEW

Style Combines with Utility from Accent Decor

Accent Decor will be in Building 1 during this winter’s Atlanta Market with Acacia Wood Cutting Boards hand-crafted in India. They’re safe for use with food, but they’re also beautiful enough to hang on the wall as decor. The Rina Pitcher is also just as much a showpiece. The clear pitcher has a handle that’s wrapped in cane knitting that pairs beautifully with a display of fresh flowers. After the show, call 770.346.0707 or email andy@accentdecor.com.

Visit www.accentdecor.com.

CASA STONE Oven-to-Table Bakeware

CASAFINA will be exhibiting its CASA STONE collection this year at Atlanta Market. This new bakeware collection in fine stoneware imported from Portugal is designed to make everyday moments joyful. The size and depth of the pans are perfect for lasagna, casseroles, roasted meats and vegetables.

Also wonderful for baked desserts, the pans transition beautifully from oven to table.

They’re offered in White, Black, Emperor Red, Aqua and Pistachio. If Atlanta isn’t on your itinerary this winter, email Matt Hullfish at matt@casafinagifts.com or visit www.casafinagifts.com.

HomArt Pierson Urn

HomArt is bringing its Pierson Urn to showrooms across the country this winter. Made of cast aluminum, it’s a classic shaped urn with a modern flair.

Its possibilities are endless: it can be massed with flowers to make a centerpiece for the table, filled with wine bottles on ice or piled with fruit.

Cast from aluminum with a polished nickel finish, it’s 13.25 inches high, and it’ll require a 22.5-inch by 18-inch footprint. The minimum advertised retail price is $216. Minimum order is one, but a discount is provided for an order of four.

See it on the 10th floor of Building 2 at Atlanta Market, on the 10th floor of Building C at Las Vegas Market, in the Goetz showroom at Dallas Market and in the Fine Lines showroom at Los Angeles.

For more information, call 888.346.6278, email service@homart.com or go to www.homart.com.

Fusion Reclaimed Granite Tape Dispenser

The Fusion Reclaimed Granite Tape Dispenser from Sea Stones is a charming upgrade from ordinary or outdated plastic dispensers. Handsome enough for the most distinguished desk and functional enough for the most productive tapers around, Fusion is the office essential that will stick around for generations, and it’s an ideal gift item, especially for the person who works at home.

By working with recycled granite, sustainably sourced hardwood cherry and smooth beach stones, Fusion brings these elemental natural elements to the workstation. The sturdy, reclaimed granite is finished with a special process that smooths the rough stone and gives it a polished look. The heavy granite will never move while you dispense tape, making Fusion a truly one-handed dispenser – talk about form and function! The custom-made cherry hardwood keeps tape and cutter at the perfect angle and promotes ethical forestry practices to boot.

For more information, call Anne Johnson at 206.202.1092, email anne@sea-stones.com or visit www.sea-stones.com.

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KITCHENWARE NEWS & HOUSEWARES REVIEW • MARCH 2021 • www.kitchenwarenews.com

The Pantry ZOUP! SPICY CHICKEN BONE BROTH

Zoup! is bringing the heat to the broth aisle with its introduction of Zoup! Good, Really Good® Spicy Chicken Bone Broth, which features the brand’s best-selling chicken bone broth as its base, plus a variety of roasted peppers to give it kick.

The skillfully crafted recipe includes red bell, ancho, chili, chipotle, and cayenne peppers plus onion and garlic.

Kettle-cooked in small batches, the broth is also low in calories, paleo-friendly and completely free of artificial ingredients, preservatives, gluten, GMOs, fat, trans-fat and saturated fat. Packaged in 32-ounce recyclable glass jars to showcase its rich, golden color, Zoup! Good, Really Good Spicy Chicken Bone Broth has a suggested retail price of $6.99 per jar.

Zoup! www.zoup.com

FAVA BEAN FUSILLI

Fava Bean Fusilli from Explore Cuisine is the first and only organic, gluten-free pasta-alternative made from fava beans. The Fava Bean Pasta is Explore Cuisine’s closest pasta yet to traditional pasta in terms of taste, texture and appearance.

With three times the fiber and two times the protein than traditional wheat-based pasta, Fava Bean Fusilli provides up to 25 grams of protein and 8.75 grams of fiber per 3.5-ounce serving and contains less than half of the total carbs. Mild and creamy in flavor, fava beans are also known as broad beans.

The Fava Bean Fusilli is also naturally vegan, 100 percent organic and cooks in just five to seven minutes. There are no additives such as potato starch, binders or gums. The Fava Bean pasta line will also be launched in different shapes in the coming months.

Explore Cuisine www.explorecuisine.com

NEW VEGAN SOUPS FROM UPTON’S NATURALS

Upton’s Naturals has debuted three vegan soups: Chick & Noodle Soup, Chick Tortilla Soup and Italian Wedding Soup. The Chick & Noodle soup is a comfort food creation made with thyme, rosemary and hearty pieces of Chick Seitan along with rotini, generous cuts of carrots, celery and onion. The Chick Tortilla Soup is made from simple ingredients such as black beans, white corn, tomato, cilantro and Chick Seitan. The addition of lime juice, chili pepper and paprika provide this soup a zesty kick, while a touch of corn flour captures the taste of tortillas. The Italian Wedding Soup is made with Italian Seitan, loads of pasta and delicious speckles of spinach. Spices like garlic, fennel, thyme and rosemary create a robust and savory stock.

Providing plant-based protein (6 to 8 grams per serving) and only 120 to 160 calories a bowl, the new vegan products are non-GMO certified (NSF); plant based certified; contain no added colors, flavors or preservatives; and are completely free of cholesterol and trans fat. Made in the USA, Upton’s Naturals soups will be available for retailers nationwide to carry this winter or spring 2021 with a suggested retail price of $3.99 per 14.5-ounce can.

Upton’s Naturals www.uptonsnaturals.com

GINDO’S SPICE OF LIFE HOT SAUCE

Award-winning Gindo’s Spice of Life Hot Sauce is one of the few truly handcrafted, artisanal hot sauces available in today’s marketplace. Created by a husband and wife team, all-natural Gindo’s Spice of Life Hot Sauce is made in small batches with fresh whole peppers and ingredients that are sourced locally from Illinois farms whenever possible.

Gindo’s Year-Round Hot Sauces are gluten free and include three yearround pepper sauces: Original Fresh & Spicy, a medium heat, everyday Louisiana-style red sauce; Jalapeño Poblano, a milder green sauce; and Honey Habañero, a Caribbean-inspired sauce. Gindo’s Spice of Life Hot Sauce only uses peppers that are picked at the peak of freshness.

Gindo’s Spice of Life 855.444.6367 www.gindos.com

MEAL ESSENTIALS

PLANT-BASED TOONA

Sophie’s Kitchen has launched a new and improved version of its canned Plant-Based Toona.

With a pea protein base, the brand’s new PlantBased Toona formula is completely vegan and replicates the taste, shred-able texture, smell, look and color of its animal counterpart. Debuting in its two classic flavors, Sea Salt and Black Pepper, the Plant-Based Toona is soy free, gluten free and non-GMO, which sets it apart from competitors. The new 6-ounce cans will be rolling out at specialty retailers nationwide.

Suggested retail price is $5.49 per 6-ounce can.

Sophie’s Kitchen www.sophieskitchen.com

OTAMOT VEGETABLE SAUCE A PANTRY STAPLE

Offered in Organic Essential Sauce and Spicy Organic Sauce varieties, Otamot is the nutritious and delicious choice for elevating any saucebased dish. From pizza and pasta to even Bloody Marys, simply swap in Otamot for a tasty twist.

Packed with 10 to 12 vegetables including butternut squash, red beet, sweet onion and more, each sauce is also Whole30-Approved, certified non-GMO, certified organic, certified vegan and gluten free. The retail price is $12.99 per jar.

Otamot Foods www.otamotfoods.com

KETO-FRIENDLY SOFT BAKED BREAKFAST BISCUITS

HighKey’s Soft Baked Breakfast Biscuits are the first and only ketofriendly, ready-to-eat breakfast biscuits. These soft, individually wrapped biscuits provide a wholesome pick-me-up full of real ingredients like chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, bananas, cranberries and chocolate chips. Every biscuit has 1-2 grams of net carbohydrates, is gluten free and grain free. Low in carbohydrates and sugar, they’re the perfect solution for busy mornings or grab-and-go fuel.

They’re available in two flavors: Mixed Berry and Banana Bread. The suggested retail price is $14.97.

HighKey Snacks 816.674.3422 www.highkey.com

ANCIENT HARVEST VEGGIE PASTA

A blend of green lentils, kale, spinach and cauliflower bound together with natural tapioca starch, Ancient Harvest Veggie Pasta has an al dente-like bite that gets a big thumbs up even from traditional pasta lovers. Each 2-ounce serving offers a full serving of vegetables, while an equivalent helping of wheat-based vegetable pasta contains only one-half serving of vegetables, 8 grams of protein and various additives.

The new gluten-free pasta line comes in penne, rotini and spaghetti options and is certified by the Non-GMO Project. Suggested retail price is $4.49 per 8-ounce box.

Ancient Harvest www.ancientharvest.com

SUPPLEMENT TO MARCH 2021

featured products

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COOK PRO’S CAST IRON COMBO COOKER

Cook Pro’s 3.5-quart preseasoned Cast Iron Combo Cooker comes with a 10-inch fry pan that doubles as a lid. This cast iron chicken fryer is perfect for a variety of cooking methods. From frying, grilling, and braising, to baking, searing, and sauteing, the heavyweight, durable cast iron is built to last. Cast iron provides optimal heat retention and is ideal for high-temperature cooking. Its generous 3.5-quart size makes it big enough for family meals. Pre-seasoned and ready to use, with a smooth non-stick interior. If handled with care can last a lifetime.

This item retails for $64.99.

Cook Pro Inc. 951.686.8282 www.cook-pro.com

PRODYNE DEBUTS TOP CHOP SALAD PREP & SERVE

Preparing restaurant quality salads is a snap with Prodyne’s innovative Top Chop™ Prep & Serve, a combination salad bowl and fitted cutting board that fits snugly to the bowl rim to create a space saving workstation for chopping, slicing and prepping salad ingredients.

The Top Chop removable topmounted cutting board provides an ingenious workstation directly above the serving bowl, preserving valuable kitchen counter space and increasing salad preparation efficiency. The shape of the cutting board allows users to easily slide prepped vegetables directly into the attractive BPA-free 5-quart salad bowl. Furthermore, the polypropylene cutting board can be used alone and doubles its utility as an attractive cheese serving plate when not attached to the salad bowl. The suggested retail price is $21.99.

Prodyne 800.822.4776 www.prodyne.com

KIKUICHI 33-LAYER DAMASCUS SERIES

New for 2021, Kikuichi’s new 33-layer Damascus S33 series is everything your customer is looking for in a Japanese knife. These knives are surgical in their ability to make prep work a breeze. The VG10 edge is razor sharp, and it lasts and lasts.

With a full range from paring to 240mm chef’s knife, this line covers all the bases. The true Damascus layering is stunning to look at and will become a showpiece in any kitchen, while the Kiritsuke style clip point shape is on everyone’s mind right now, making this line a slam dunk.

Kikuichi www.kikuichi.net

OLIPAC STAINLESS STEEL OLIVE OIL DISPENSERS FROM ITALY

Olipac brings four generations of craftsmanship in stainless steel kitchenware to the table with world-class olive oil cruets that improve the shelf life of the olive oil inside by shielding it from light, air and bacteria that degrade the oil’s flavor and antioxidant qualities over time.

Based in Tuscany, Italy, with its centuries-old tradition of olive oil production, Olipac offers a wide variety of olive oil cruets, from simple to complex forms. The olive oil dispensers also come in a variety of colors, including copper, gunmetal black, and the trending satin gold colors in addition to polished stainless steel. Gourmet Kitchenworks is Olipac’s exclusive distributor in the United States.

Gourmet Kitchenworks LLC 417.736.9619 www.gourmetkitchenworks.com

KITCHENWARE NEWS & HOUSEWARES REVIEW • MARCH 2021 • www.kitchenwarenews.com

THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE PRODUCT ASSORTMENT IN THE WEST

It’s different here! Las Vegas Market is a comprehensive furniture, gift, and home décor buying destination, offering an exclusive West Coast-influenced, cross-category product experience unlike any other. More than 4,300 gift (design, handmade/artisanal, tabletop, gourmet, housewares), furniture (upholstery, case goods, accent), bedding, lighting, rugs, and home décor lines are showcased on an easy-toshop, convenient campus at Las Vegas Market, allowing retailers and designers to build their businesses with exciting new introductions, proven bestsellers, and long-time customer favorites.

During Las Vegas Market, buyers also build important relationships with manufacturers and suppliers, creating businessto-business connections that begin as person-to-person interactions. These relationships become valued partnerships that transition into both onsite and online sourcing beyond market dates, creating expedient, year-round access to the latest products and quick strategic solutions to trending consumer demands.

Make plans now to join your community for Las Vegas Market, April 11 through 15, 2021.

Las Vegas Market 702.599.9621 www.lasvegasmarket.com

CUSTOMIZE A COOKIE CUTTER ASSORTMENT FOR YOUR STORE

Known especially for cookie cutters, R&M International is committed to offering new trending cookie cutter shapes each year for all of your special occasions. R&M offers the largest assortment of traditional tin-plated steel and colorful polyresin coated cookie cutters in oversized, standard and miniature sizes. These cookie cutters are recognized for having the best detailed shape definition and create crisp, clean cuts.

R&M’s floor standing cookie cutter fixture is included with the purchase of 60 dozen cookie cutters. This 74-inch high fixture includes 60 adjustable hooks and has a 25-inch square footprint.

Its durable black powder-coated finish, light weight and simple assembly makes it a quick and easy-to-shop addition to any store environment.

R&M International 800.401.0101 www.morethanbaking.com

FRANMARA SALOON COCKTAIL SHAKERS

The Saloon Cocktail Shakers from Franmara are offered in three-piece sets that includes a shell, a top piece with a strainer and the top. They’re made with superior quality 18/8 grade stainless steel with a luster finish. Sizes are 6 ounces, 8 ounces, 12 ounces, 16 ounces, 20 ounces and 24 ounces with suggested retail prices ranging from $6.20 to $12.

Franmara 800.423.5855 www.framara.com

4.5-QT. ALUMINUM CHICKEN FRYER WITH PYREX GLASS LID Cook Pro, Inc. brings this professional 4.5-Quart Aluminum Chicken Fryer with Pyrex Glass Lid to you from Italy. It is constructed in three layers of high-quality ILAG™ non-stick coating with a gauge of 2.5mm. It features a Pyrex glass lid for durability and quality. Its paint exterior has high heat resistance, and the pan features an ergonomically designed Bakelite handle with a flame guard and a side assist handle to prevent any discomfort while it’s being used.

Cook Pro Inc. 951.686.8282 www.cook-pro.com

breakfast is back!

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KITCHENWARE NEWS & HOUSEWARES REVIEW • MARCH 2021 • www.kitchenwarenews.com

Goodnow Farms Cocoa Mixes

Goodnow Farms Single Origin Hot Cocoa, Almendra Blanca won a silver sofi Award in the hot beverages category in 2019. To make its cocoas, Goodnow Farms roasts, grinds and presses premium cacao beans to create 100 percent pure cacao powder which is then blended with organic sugar to create a delicious mix. There are no additives and Goodnow Farms doesn’t alkalize, so the pure flavors of the cacao are in each sip. Visit www.goodnowfarms.com for more information.

Edwards Smokehouse Bacon

To make its bacon, Edwards Smokehouse dry-cures the pork for about seven days, washes it and then smokes it over hickory for 24 hours. The bacon is then tempered for a week and then sliced. Edwards Smokehouse bacon is often said to have more of a country, smoky flavor than most, and that’s due to the dry curing. For more information, visit www.edwardsvaham.com.

Julia’s Pantry Breakfast Mixes

Julia’s Pantry offers a range of products to help consumers satisfy a hankering for the Southern specialties that Richard Washington’s mama made for him, especially those she put on the table at breakfast time. The product range includes biscuit mixes, country ham and red-eye gravy mix, white and yellow grits, cornbread mix, cheese straws and even mixes for fried green tomatoes and fried dill pickles. For more information on Julia’s Southern Foods and its Julia’s Pantry offerings, visit www.juliaspantry.com.

Anolon Double Burner Griddle

Anolon’s 10-inch by 18-inch double burner nonstick griddle from its ADVANCED HOME collection comes with a multi-purpose rack and an Infinity Slide non-stick surface that far outlasts ceramic-coated pans. Comfortable SureGrip handles provide comfort and control. The griddle retails for $80. For more information, visit www.anolon.com.

www.kitchenwarenews.com • MARCH 2021 • KITCHENWARE NEWS & HOUSEWARES REVIEW

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Functional Teas from Republic of Tea

SuperAdapt™ Burnout Blocker® and Beautifying Botanicals® Daily Beauty teas from Republic of Tea each won gold sofi Awards from the Specialty Food Association earlier this year. SuperAdapt Burnout Blocker was awarded the gold in the tea category, while Beautifying Botanicals Daily Beauty won in the functional beverage category.

The great taste of the SuperAdapt Burnout Blocker is attributed to aromatic cinnamon, sweet dates and zesty ginger. The SuperAdapt collection of teas feature adaptogens, a category of healing herbs to help handle stress. The airtight tin contains 36 round, unbleached paper tea bags and retails for $13.75 per tin, which is just 38 cents per cup. This herbal blend is caffeine-free.

Beautifying Botanicals Daily Beauty, winner of the functional beverage category, is a collagen-promoting blend of nourishing ingredients including the exotic blue butterfly pea flower, hibiscus, rose hips, bamboo and schizandra berries. This caffeine-free herbal tea is a beauty ritual, hot or over ice, with juicy blueberries and calming lavender. Daily Beauty is a great value, retailing for $13.75 per tin, 38 cents per cup. Visit www.republicoftea.com for more information.

Anolon ADVANCED HOME 9.5-Inch Crepe Pan

Flipping delicate crepes is easy with an even-heating, hard-anodized nonstick crepe pan designed with a low profile for easy cooking and turning of delicious crepes, delicate fish fillets and more. Its Infinity Slide System nonstick surface over a hard anodized aluminum pan lasts 80 times longer than a conventional ceramic pan. It’s oven-safe up to 400 degrees, but it shouldn’t go into a dishwasher. The retail price is $40, and it comes with a lifetime warranty. Visit www.anolon.com for more information.

Happiness Comes in Waves

DEMDACO sets the table for breakfast with the Happiness Comes in Waves Plate with Spreader Set. Matching stainless steel spreaders complete the set with the stoneware plate. The new plate and spreader sets are also offered in other patterns at this winter’s shows in Atlanta, Las Vegas and Dallas. Retailing for a suggested price of $23, they’re a nice gift item, too. If you can’t visit DEMDACO at this winter’s shows, call 913.402.6800, email jenifer.regnier@demdaco.com or visit www.demdacoretailers.com.

Ayesha Curry Bacon Grease Can

This 4-inch by 4-inch enamel on steel bacon grease can from Meyer’s Ayesha Curry Collection is the stylish way to reduce food waste, keep grease out of drains and add bacon flavor notes to, well, nearly anything. It’s offered in five colors: French Vanilla, Twilight Teal, Sienna Red, Brown Sugar and Basil Green. It retails for $19.99.

For more information, visit www.potsandpans.com.

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Cookie Company Wins Two sofi Awards in First Time Out

BY LORRIE BAUMANN

In her first time entering the sofi Awards, the Specialty Food Association’s annual paean to creativity and craft in specialty foods, Susan Palmer, “The Girl in the Little Red Kitchen,” took home two statuettes in the baked goods and bakery desserts category. She won the silver award for her Monster Cookie Pie, a ready-to-bake spin on a skillet cookie that’s loaded with peanut butter, chocolate, oats and chocolate candy, while her Elvis Cookie Pie won a bronze sofi Award with its peanut butter, banana and chocolate to evoke Elvis Presley’s banana and peanut butter sandwiches. “I’d had the intention of entering for the past couple of years,” she said. Those plans fell apart, but, “This year, when I heard the announcement, I was on it.”

Palmer started her career in the specialty food business with a food blog that she named “The Girl in the Little Red Kitchen,” where she posted inspiration for home cooks and bakers along with recipes for Oatmeal Breakfast Bars with Almond Butter and Jam; Baked Brie en Croute with Honeyed Almonds, Cherries and

Thyme and Honey Walnut Fig Cake around weekly meal plans for home cooks looking to change up their dinner repertoire with healthy options. “Writing and cooking have always been a passion of mine,” she said. “Everyone cooked in my family. My brother was a professional chef for a while…. My mom made everything from scratch. She worked fulltime, and she would always come home and cook a delicious dinner every night. We visited farm stands before farmers markets were a thing.”

In 2011, she won her first local baking competition, Brooklyn, New York’s Cookie Takedown with a people’s choice award for her Chocolate Salty Cara-Mal-Lard Cookies, a triple chocolate cookie filled with caramel made with duck fat. The next year, she won more awards at the next Cookie Takedown, and she won an Ice Cream Takedown as well. “I took top prizes in a lot of Cont. on page 21

Van Leeuwen Launches New Vegan Line

BY LORRIE BAUMANN

Van Leeuwen Ice Cream now has seven flavors of oat milk frozen desserts designed to win the dairy avoidant back to the pleasures of ice cream. Van Leeuwen Ice Cream has been making vegan ice creams since 2013, but with its new oat milk ice creams, the company is ready to offer a vegan ice cream that Ben Van Leeuwen, the company’s Founder and Chief Executive Officer says has a texture and taste that wows even dairy lovers. “The mission is to make ice cream for everybody.

We’ve got you covered,” he said. “Our dairy customers switch between both, which is really exciting to us. To us, this is the ultimate vote of confidence that the vegan is just as good as the dairy.”

There are seven flavors: Chocolate Oat Milk Cookie Dough Chunk, Oat Milk Brown Sugar Chunk, Brownie Sundae Raspberry Swirl, Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl, Oat Milk Mocha Latte, Oat Milk Caramel Cookie, and for the traditionalists, Strawberry. “With ice

KITCHENWARE NEWS & HOUSEWARES REVIEW • MARCH 2021 • www.kitchenwarenews.com

Feve Artisan Chocolatier Evokes Luxurious Comfort

BY LORRIE BAUMANN

Lifting the top off a box of Feve Artisan Chocolatier’s chocolates is like opening a jewelry box. An assortment will offer bonbons blazing with the red of a pigeon’s blood ruby or gleaming with gold.

Others are iced with pointillist forests or adorned with tessellations traced in gleaming gold.

“Our signature style is bold flavors and stunning appearances that create an indulgent confection,” said Bryon Sheets, Owner and President of the company founded in San Francisco, California 12 years ago by chocolatier Shawn Williams.

Sheets acquired the company in 2017 after retiring from a two-decade career in private equity.

Although Williams had given the company a good start with ideas borrowed from European chocolatiers married to his own creative vision, he’d

lacked the capital needed to scale the company beyond its positioning as a local boutique chocolatier and propel it into a future that included greater retail penetration across the country and the exercise of copacking and private label capabilities.

“They had this great chocolate. I saw the potential to expand the number of channels and customers,” Sheets said. “We’ve invested in some new capital equipment, increased production space by almost three times and positioned to serve a wider group of customers across more lines than the company had ever had before.”

Since its inception, Feve Chocolates has won four Good Food Awards along with finalist nods in 2020 for its Cinnamon Toast Crunch and in 2018 for its Peanut Butter Coconut Chile. The awards include a 2019 win for Cherry Vanilla Single Origin, 2015 for Caramelized Chai Spice Almonds, 2014 for Hazelnut Crunch Bar and 2013 for Pistachio Rosemary. The Cont. on page 22

Better-For-You Breakfast Cookies

cream, we want to do flavors that are familiar, but made in our way, sourcing the best chocolate, the best strawberries,” Van Leeuwen said, adding that the familiar flavors add a level of comfort for customers who are uncertain about trying a non-dairy ice cream. “Vegan ice cream is new to a lot of people,” he said. “Even the term ‘vegan’ is not fully understood by everybody.”

Pints of the oat milk-based desserts retail for $6.99 to $7.99.

The new price is lower than the price for the company’s previous vegan line, which was made with cashew milk, organic coconut milk, extra virgin coconut oil, organic cane sugar, organic carob bean and pure cocoa butter.

“We love the cashew-based vegan, but it didn’t allow us to serve people who had nut allergies,” Van Leeuwen said. “This was a way to create a completely nut-free ice cream.”

The ice creams, like all of the Van Leeuwen products, are made in small Cont. on page 21

BY LORRIE BAUMANN

Kakookies is a brand of better-for-you individually packaged cookies that are kind to those whose dietary needs don’t allow for gluten or animal-based products. The brand was invented by a Minnesota mom who developed the cookies eight years ago as a care-package gift for her daughter, a collegiate cyclist.

“Cookies – it just seemed like it was the obvious thing for a mom to do, to send cookies, but it needed to be a healthier option,” said Sue Kakuk, the Owner of Kakookies and a two-time finalist in the Pillsbury BakeOff competition. “I started sending her cookies, oatmeal-based with nuts and seeds, something that was packed with healthier ingredients that would satisfy her hunger.”

The baking started when Kakuk became aware that her daughter’s cycling team was breakfasting on competition days with a stop at a convenience store on their way to a race. She didn’t want her hungry daughter competing on the dubious

nourishment provided by the products that were generally available in convenience stores at that time, so she started baking oatmeal cookies that she could offer her daughter as a portable breakfast option. “I didn’t want to be sending them boxes of over-processed snack bars,” she said.

Her daughter started sharing them with the other members of her cycling team, and the cookies became popular. “We started hosting athletic teams, primarily cycling teams,” Kakuk said. “I just called them a breakfast cookie at the time.”

Some of those cyclists declined the cookies because they were following diets that didn’t permit them – some were following a gluten-free regimen, and some were vegans. Kakuk did some research into products that she could buy at the supermarket to offer those who couldn’t eat her cookies, but she didn’t like what she found. “A lot of those dietspecific products didn’t have much nutritional value,” she said.

She decided to make use of the recipe development skills that had served her so Cont. on page 21

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www.kitchenwarenews.com • MARCH 2021 • KITCHENWARE NEWS & HOUSEWARES REVIEW

KAKOOKIES Continued from page 20 well during her competition in the Pillsbury Bake-Offs to adapt her cookie recipe to meet the needs of her guests who couldn’t eat the original version. “It was never really intended to be a vegan glutenfree cookie – it just turned out that way,” she said. The result is a cookie based on nuts, seeds and oats and shortened with coconut oil. The recipe is based on simple, whole ingredients instead of the protein powder and other highly processed ingredients that are added to many other products targeted at athletes. “It still has that cookie texture, but it’s that nice clean label, better-for-you grab-and-go snack,” Kakuk said. “You’re really getting the nutrition of an energy bar, but you get the

VAN LEEUWEN Continued from page 20 batches in the company’s Brooklyn, New York, facility, from premium ingredients, so it competes directly in the ultrapremium space, as it has since Van Leeuwen and business partners started making ice cream and selling from their truck on the streets of New York in 2008,

COOKIE COMPANY Continued from page 20 competitions. That was when I decided I was doing something that people really like,” she said. “I was doing an office job that I wasn’t happy with, and I decided it was time to figure this out and move on from there.”

Her blog was earning enough at that point to give her the freedom to chuck the job, and once she’d figured out that what she wanted to do next was to focus on cookies, she booked space in an incubator kitchen and launched a Kickstarter campaign to help her fund her Little Red Kitchen Bake Shop. She planned to take orders for cookies on her website, bake them in an incubator kitchen and put them in the mail the next day. “Anyone’s going to be happy if you cook a meal for them, but baked goods touch that special place in your heart,” she said. “Can you be unhappy if someone’s just handed you a cookie? I’m a happiness maker.”

It took a bit more than a year to develop the recipes for her first product line and get her business off the ground. Two years later, she invented cookie pies, giant cookies made from the best ingredients she could find, with doughs studded with

deliciousness and the comfort of eating a cookie.... It really does satisfy your hunger and sustain your energy.”

Kakookies are now offered in five flavors.

Each individually wrapped cookie offers about 200 calories, and the first ingredient in the label list is gluten-free oats.

Boundary Waters Blueberry is nut free – sunflower seeds substitute in that flavor for the nuts that are used in the other recipes – and is a best seller in coffee shops.

The flavor was inspired by the trail mixes that Kakuk had prepared to take along on outdoor adventures, starting from the days that she was a summer camp counselor during her teen years and then a student at Western Washington University, which she chose partly because its location offered her the chance to canoe on Puget Sound and hike in the Cascade Mountains. She

now satisfies that urge for adventures in the outdoors by canoeing in the Boundary Waters. “I think anybody that travels as an athlete or a busy family – you just want to have a variety of snacks. To be able to eat a cookie and enjoy it and feel good about eating it and having it satisfy your hunger – it just feels good to eat it,” she said.”A lot of families, for whatever reason, need something quick to run out the door – our cookies are basically a bowl of oatmeal, but it’s in a cookie form.”

Each Cashew Blondie cookie offers 5 grams of plant-based protein from oats, cashews and chia seeds. Dark Chocolate Cranberry is the flavor most appropriate to enjoy at the end of the day with a glass of red wine. The newest flavor is Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip – a little bit of a departure for the brand, since Kakuk

usually prefers working with slightly less traditional flavors. “But on the other hand, it’s an awesome-tasting cookie,” she said.

None of the varieties contains any flour, eggs or dairy. They’re all certified gluten free and soy free. “Even though it’s allergyfriendly, you’d be surprised,” Kakuk said.

“They just taste like an oatmeal cookie that’s full of flavor. When you take out all the processed fillers, you’re able to taste the wonderful, wholesome, all-natural ingredients.”

Kakookies is available nationwide through the company’s website and through regional and national distributors for the foodservice channel. It’s widely sold in college campus stores and dining rooms and in resorts and other hospitality venues. For more information, visit www.kakookies.com. KN

Van Leeuwen said. “We added vegan ice cream in 2013,” he said. “Our customers were asking for it, and we obviously wanted to serve them.... We were never trying to make good vegan ice cream; we were just trying to make more good ice cream that happened to be vegan – just as good as the best dairy ice cream.”

In those early days in business, Van Leeuwen was inspired both by the summer

job he’d had in college, when he drove a Good Humor truck, and by his experience traveling around the world after leaving college. “I was going around the world to countries where high-quality food was more widespread, and I was really excited about the accessibility of good food. The ice cream truck seemed like a really good model to launch into because it’s so accessible.... That was before food trucks

were cool,” he said.

While he was driving ice cream in those early days, it’s the ice cream that drives him now, he says. “It’s an overall love for food that’s made with a lot of care and intention and with quality as a numberone goal,” he said. “My favorite part of the business is the sourcing and visiting the farms and learning how the food is grown.” KN

inclusions and packed into foil pie pans and frozen ready to ship to consumers who’d bake them at home. She made several varieties: the Monster Cookie Pie that won the silver award this year; Chocolate Peanut Butter; Caramel Snickerdoodle and the Elvis Cookie Pie that won the bronze award. Those varieties are all available for wholesale. She also offers a couple of other varieties for local customers, Rocky Road and Kitchen Sink, which includes pretzels and potato chips. Rocky Road and Kitchen Sink don’t freeze well, so they’re not shipped or offered for wholesale.

Once her wholesale business started to take off, Palmer moved out of the incubator kitchen and into a commercial kitchen in Brooklyn. She put her blog on hiatus, and when she got the chance to enter the sofi Awards this year, she took it. Now she’s taking the COVID-19-enforced business slow-down as her opportunity to route a course for her journey chauffeured by sofi. She’s on the hunt for a sales agent who can broker her Cookie Pies along the East Coast, since her products arrive in their best condition when they’re in transit for no more than a day or two from Brooklyn. “I feel like we’re sort of in a holding pattern right now,” she said. “I’m

looking for a New York-based broker.

Sales has never been my strong point. I’m hoping that the sofi wins will lead me

there.”

For more information, email Palmer at hello@littleredkitchenbakeshop.com. KN

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KITCHENWARE NEWS & HOUSEWARES REVIEW • MARCH 2021 • www.kitchenwarenews.com

Manufacture Rock Glow from Villeroy & Boch

Villeroy & Boch’s Manufacture Rock tableware collection will appeal to consumers who have embraced the modern design trend that emphasizes natural materials and fine craftsmanship with porcelain tableware that mimics the look of slate. Recreated on a fine relief with a touch of glaze, the characteristic layers of rock give the tableware the look and feel of the native stone. In its new Manufacture Rock Glow products, the company builds on that look with elegant copper accents that gleam with a soft metallic sheen but present no incompatibility with either dishwasher or microwave oven. The new Glow products can be mixed and matched with other items in the Manufacture Rock collection, which is available in either the elegant black that people expect when they think of slate or as Manufacture Rock Blanc, which is brilliant white. Five items are available in the Manufacture Glow line: saucers in three sizes and flat bowls.

Glasses and cutlery from the tableware collection also add elegant copper detailing to table settings. The crystal glasses for white wine, red wine and champagne feature a soft copper color gradient along the delicate stem, which flows seamlessly into the bowl. The red shimmering metal of the matching Manufacture cutlery has a fine matte finish and streamlined shapes.

Smithey’s Single-Serve Skillet Smithey has just launched its smallest, cutest skillet yet: the No. 6 Cast Iron Skillet. The suggested retail price is $80, or $240 for a set of four.

With a cooking surface just six inches in diameter, this skillet is sized for meals for one, prep tasks like toasting nuts, and, of course, skillet desserts for two.

But don’t worry, the smaller size sacrifices none of the functionality and beauty of a Smithey. Home cooks still get the signature helper handle, the pour spouts, the generous depth capacity, and of course, the handpolished finish.

Perfect for tiny apartment kitchens, small households or anyone who likes cast iron cooking but wants a lighter-weight option, this skillet will become an everyday essential for cooks who wonder whether they really want to pull out and clean a 12-inch skillet just to fry an egg or grill a cheese sandwich.

For more information, visit www.smithey.com.

FEVE Continued from page 20 Good Food Awards are judged on multiple criteria that include environmental and social responsibility along with gastronomic quality.

The company makes three lines of chocolates under its Feve Artisan Chocolatier brand of items for retail sale.

Those include chocolate truffles, also known as bonbons in nearly 50 different flavors; panned gourmet nuts made using an Old World artisan style of production; and

Feve Bars, which is the company’s elevated take on the traditional chocolate bar. The truffles are Feve’s largest line, with the bonbons sold to luxury hotels, restaurants and chocolate shops across the country.

The dragée candies with centers of caramelized almonds, hazelnuts or coffee beans are made by applying 22 or 23 coats of chocolate over the course of about three hours in rotating circular pans that hold about 200 pounds of candy at a time. “What we’re trying to do is to achieve a really precise flavor and texture combination,” Sheets said. “It’s not something that you can do on an industrial scale....

It ’s a signature way of creating a gourmet product, and we ship these all across the country.”

The bars, launched into the retail market in November, are a marriage of fine chocolate with nostalgic flavors.

“As we looked at the market for chocolate bars, it’s pretty saturated. We didn’t think the world needed another 70 percent dark chocolate bar,” Sheets said. “We have decided to take nostalgic flavors that

hearken back to your childhood and revive them as confection bars.”

The three flavors offered in the launch include Cinnamon Toast Bar, Peanut Butter Crunch Bar and Raspberry Cheesecake Bar. Sheets anticipates that Feve will be launching additional flavors in this line in 2021. “The team has a whole list of nostalgic flavors in the queue,” he said.

The new bars are crafted with attention to the needs of consumers who are willing to pay $8.99 for a 65-gram chocolate bar but who may need to salve their conscience about indulging in the luxury of a treat by reading the ingredients on the label to assure them that they’re not sacrificing too many of their nutritional goals. Organic puffed quinoa adds the crunch to the Peanut Butter Crunch Bar, for instance. “Peanut Butter Crunch is a really comforting flavor that’s grounded in our own dulce chocolate, which is the foundation of the bar,” Sheets said.

In addition to the chocolate, the bar is made from the organic puffed quinoa, vanilla and salt.

The Cinnamon Toast Bar is flavored with two different cinnamons to add a savory depth to the treat, and the Raspberry Cheesecake Bar rounds out the line with its tart fruity notes that add a brightness to the creamy comfort of a lush cheesecake. It’s made from white chocolate, dried coconut, raspberries, lemon oil, salt and vanilla. “They each are on a different part of the spectrum between sweet and savory,” Sheets said. “We wanted to keep

the ingredient lists very simple for all of them in this collection.... Because what we’re trying to do is bring to the market a product that is reflective of a treat that someone in their family might have made for them, we wanted to be consistent with the way that those homemade products were made back in the day... We’re really trying to give them a portable sweet take on something that their grandma might have made for them.”

“Given the state of the world, we actually think the timing for this new product is good because we think that people are seeing out comfort foods,” he continued.

“We had no idea we’d be launching into the middle of a pandemic last year when we were doing trials on these, but we actually think it’s going to play well in the current environment.”

For more information, email sales@ fevechocolates.com or visit www.feve chocolates.com. KN

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