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Looking Back On...

Monaco Grand Prix 2010.  Hoisted aloft to the top of the mast to watch the race.  Best seat in the house.

So to get started we are gunna need to stock your pantry if we are to do this "me cheffy teach you cooky" thing. So let's do this shall we? Lets add some funk to that dry store of canned tomatoes and garbanzo beans.

and the winner is...

Let me tell you, the last few months have been just crazy.  Attending the fancy food show as a first time exhibitor made our heads spin.  From booth set up to signs to marketing material to press releases and interviews and still doing the everyday tasks of kitchen production (oh yeah like making the product!), order fulfilling, events, accounting and me (ashley here) still working full time as an ER nurse, it sure has been a wild few months. 

We actually were not sure if we would attend the fancy food show this year due to the price ticket of attending.  It's not cheap and unfortunately my "head office" isn't paying for it and no I do not have a rich uncle.  We entered the sofi™ awards to get a review on our products because they are judged by a panel of food experts, writers, buyers, etc that can give you such knowledgeable information and great advice regarding packaging, ingredient profile, price point...plus the exposure is huge so for $75 per product, why not?

When we opened our email to see that we had been chosen out of 2737 entries for 3 silver sofi's for Outstanding Condiment, Dressing and Vinegar we were blown away.  To be honest at first we did wonder if there was any political element to the sofi™ awards. We wondered do you have to be part of the good ole boys club? Do you have to already have a well known brand?  We all know that money equals power so we wondered do you have to be a who's who of specialty food? but we can wholeheartedly say, the answer is NO.  We are a true testament to the authenticity of the sofi™ Awards and the judging process.  We are small, our brand is just now growing, we are a grass roots company that does everything ourselves, no rich uncles, no investment firms.  So it's all real.  No bullshit.  Isn't that refreshing?

So with a 3x nomination for the sofi™ awards...we decided we should probably put our good shoes on and show up.  We were assigned booth #1860 in the main hall which was sweet, but don't blink because between Monini, olive oil company with like 50 feet of frontage who had celebrity chef Lidia from Lidia's Italy at their booth for a book signing and Renfro's salsa with another huge booth, we looked like an ant in a desert.  But hey I think we scrubbed up well and we even got a photo with Lidia! 

Entering the sofi™ awards ceremony is truly like attending a Hollywood awards ceremony.  The red carpet, the VIP table section, the service, the STAGE, it's pretty incredible.  After being escorted to our table in a room filled with specialty food pioneers and the best specialty food companies in the world we sipped on kind of a lot of wine, nervously tapped our feet under the table and waited for our categories to be announced.   After a few deep breaths, we hear "and the winner is...."

for Outstanding Condiment

Triple Ale Onion Spread, Wozz! Kitchen Creations.

and then...

for Outstanding Dressing

Ginger Soy Infusion Dressing, Wozz! Kitchen Creations

2 Golds. Get out of town.

We were hoping for a hat trick with our Silver Finalist Spiced Beet Vinegar but hey as meatloaf says, "2 out of 3 ain't bad"

The show was a hit.  The recognition incredible.  If you are thinking about attending the Fancy Food Show.  Attend.  If you are thinking about going for a sofi.  Go for it.  It could change your life. :)

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So does this mean I finally get to meet Oprah?  They are known per O magazine as "the oscars of specialty food" so I hear.  After 4 years of "the rise and grind"...we finally feel like "maybe it is worth it!"  We just received news that we are headed to NYC for the summer fancy food show because we have been nominated by the Specialty Food Association for not one, not two, but three prestigious sofi™ Awards.

Well low and behold…we have discovered a surprising but brilliant and delicious way to use our flavored fruit finishing vinegars or shall we refer to them as shrubs....

Looking back on...

Birthday Shananigans in the British Virgin Islands....Crew of Super Yacht 'Marion Queen' 2009

If chocolate were savory, it would taste like this. Sweet, sticky and wonderfully moreish. We have two methods for you, one slow one fast. Both give fabulous results and guaranteed to please, however the slow method of course gives a little more depth of flavour and is the method you would follow for more traditional American BBQ style ribs.

What is it? 

Basically, ground-up stuff. Nuts, seeds and spices. It originates in Egypt, and it does indeed have a heady flavor and aroma that suggests that part of the world. Traditionally for snacking by dipping Egyption white bread in olive oil then into the dukkah but also for seasoning things like a mutton stew.

There seem to be literally dozens of ways to make dukkah (or dukka…or duqqah… yes an plenty of ways to spell it too) and I can imagine every family has there own secret recipe. It has taken Australia and New Zealand by storm and has now been fused with flavors of all types of cuisines.