CeliacChicks

Kettle Cuisine Winners!

Whoo Hooo! Here are the winners from the Kettle Cuisine Facebook Soup Description Contest. Congratulations! They ended up choosing 3 winners! Don't forget to check'em out on Facebook!

Grand Prize Winner- Soup, Coupons and Apparel

Debra Hammond Mason

New England Clam Chowder:

Our rich and creamy New England Clam Chowder brings you right to the shore on a gorgeous summer day, even in the middle of winter. By using cream from New England dairies, fresh hand-shucked clams, sweet sautéed onions and perfect potatoes you can bring yourself back to those special moments....

Runners Up- Coupons and Apparel

Steve Roth

Organic Carrot and Coriander Soup:

California carrots kissed by the sun and gently plucked from the earth are blended with the pale pink, asymmetrical petals of the refreshing coriander, only to be married with the boldness of cayenne and sassy cilantro into a tempting treat for the palate.

Fran Sonia
Healthy fresh colorful ingredients, masterfully blended in rich broth to create a bursting with flavor mouthful of unforgettable goodness. May I have some more Please...

Gluten-Free New Jersey: The Scone Shoppe

The Scone Shoppe

2401 Bridge Avenue

Pt. Pleasant, NJ

732.899.4070

I've never actually watched an episode of Jersey Shore, but I've seen promos for it and I've heard plenty of water cooler talk about it. I wonder if tourism has gone up in the area since the show has aired?

Well, it looks like The Situation there is pretty enticing for those of us that are gluten-free. Thanks to Theresa Cavallo-Paterno, you can have a civilized tea experience at The Scone Shoppe in Point Pleasant. I know that I would love to go to a proper tea with gluten-free goodies, so I thought that this news would excite you too! Theresa sent me some fresh scones and they looked and smelled amazing. They do have dairy in them, so I had to rely on Kim and the glutenators at my office to review them. They all gave them rave reviews on both taste and texture. I can say that they smelled scrumptious.

Gluten-Free TV

I'm sure you are familiar with the saying, "Timing is everything."

Well, I think it is time for gluten-free to go mainstream on TV. What do you think?

I have a little secret to tell you. It’s actually a funny story. Last Fall I just happened to meet the top dog of a huge food channel. My good friend is a serious networker and I attended a charity event that she helps organize. At one point in the evening, she took me over to meet some guy. In true schmoozer fashion she gave me a killer introduction, as if I’m, you know, the best food blogger in the world. I was holding back an eye roll while blushing and thinking  something sarcastic like, “Uh, yeah, OK.” So, she then asks this gentleman if his network is interested in the topic of gluten-free. His reply was affirmative. He then turned to me and asked me to explain what it is exactly that I do. So, without an agenda, because I didn’t know at this point who this random man was, I somehow rattled off whatever the heck it is that I do here on Celiac Chicks. And, no doubt thanks to the help of the mojitos I had quaffed earlier in the evening, I sounded more articulate than usual. (btw, don’t you love it when that happens?!!) So, he mentioned again that the network was indeed interested in the topic of gluten-free. Then he asked if I had any video of me in action. I nonchalantly was all, “Oh yeah.”  At this point I had no idea what I was getting into. He in turn handed me his card and requested that I send it to him to look over.

Shun The Bun

 

Because I had a press pass, I was emailed a lot of interview opportunities at the NRA. Most of them weren't all that enticing, however, the one that did catch my attention was for a meeting with Chef Spike Mendelsohn. Now, if you've never heard of Spike, he was on Bravo's Top Chef and he's been on various Food Network shows. He's known for his trademark fedora and is evidently adored by the ladies, so I've heard.

Anyhoo, I took the cute Whitney Ehret along with me to meet him Sunday afternoon. When we arrived at the arranged location, his PR lady actually had to politely dismiss two women from the previous appointment that were gushing overtime! I introduced myself as a gluten-free blogger, and Whitney introduced herself as a rep from the National Foundation For Celiac Awareness. We both then explained how we were helping out at the gluten-free food pavilion.

I then asked him if he ever got requests for gluten-free food at his D.C. restaurant and if he was able to accommodate them. He nodded, leaned forward and said with a smirk of smugness, "Yeah, we actually have this initiative called 'Shun The Bun'". Whitney and I giggled, both knowing that he needed to discover gluten-free hamburger buns for people to get really excited about a gluten-free "initiative", but hey, at least he was trying! [Thanks, Spike!] So, we proceeded to explain to him how the gluten-free restaurant certification works and how it seriously increases business and allows gluten-free diners to dine at ease, etc. etc. I then invited him to come visit the gluten-free pavilion and check out all of the gluten-free foods, especially the hamburger buns! Then I said, "Oh, what were we thinking?!! We should have brought you some buns!" He replied with a smile, "Yeah, ladies!", with mock disappointment. 

Then he signed copies of his cookbook for us.

Peace, bacon, and no gluten

Spike

So, there you have it. That pretty much sums up our preaching the gospel of gluten-free to Chef Spike story.

Later that day I walked around and checked out some other booths at the expo. The rumor was that Swiss Chalet, a big food distributor for restaurants, had these gluten-free merengues. Mmm...

They showed me the gluten-free symbol on the packaging of their soups.

Later that evening was special reception sponsored by the NFCA.

Me, Cindy from Shabtai Gourmet, Alice Bast, and Kay from Savory Moment

Andrew from Shabtai Gourmet and Kim Koeller, author of The Gluten-Free Passport

The spread

Gluten-Free Panel At The NRA

(seated left to right) Tom Herndon of Hipp Kitchen and Full Fridge; Chef Richard J. Coppedge Jr. from the CIA, Kay of Savory Moment Chef Prepared Meals; Chef Jim McCurley of PF Chang's China Bistro; Doug Radi, Vice President of Marketing for Rudi's Gluten-Free Bakery; Anne Roland Lee, MS, RD, Director of Food and Nutritional Services for Schar USA.

As you can see, it was a very impressive collection of speakers from our community on the panel. They did an outstanding job! Seriously, considering that a few of them were talking to potential competitors, I was impressed that they shared their tips and positive experiences from serving gluten-free foods in order to help the greater cause.

I thought you might like to look at the slides. They are pretty self explanatory. The speakers started from right to left at the table, so you can follow the slides and notice the logos/titles to keep track of who is speaking. Oh, and all of the slide photos are pop outs, so if you would like to view them bigger just click on them.    

 

 

 

Chef Coppedge shared the story of how he started baking gluten-free along with some baking tips.

The last speaker, Ron Herndon, didn't use slides, but I loved the term "Allergenista"
that his kitchen staff coined. So cute! It was nice that he brought out how a lot of people that are gluten-free also have additional food allergies.

Ok, so, I hope you sorta got a feel for the panel presentation. The room was packed! It really was exciting to be there and to witness this great education taking place. Oh, and this is interesting...it turns out that the NRA never ever ever lets a panel topic be discussed two years in a row, but they allowed gluten-free to be discussed this year again, because of the seriousness need for awareness. Isn't that cool?! A perfect example of an appropriate time to bend the rules for goodness sake!!