The Gourmet Cookie With A Conscience.

Our friends at the Khaya Cookie Company have just announce the following in their latest press release:

New York, New York, May 11, 2009 The Khaya Cookie Company™ is a socially-conscious company that treats its customers to premium, all-natural, preservative-free cookies, while helping South African communities grow and thrive. As Khaya treats you to the unique flavors of South Africa, it is also providing jobs, education, and life-skills to the women and men whose hard work and dedication make Khaya Cookies so irresistibly great.

Made of all-natural ingredients indigenous to South Africa like rooibos and grapeseed powder, the Khaya Cookie Co.™ uses fresh dates, apricots, rolled oats, sunflower seeds and flaxseeds in its all-natural recipes. Khaya blends health, great-taste, and a feeling of home into a unique bite size cookie.

Khaya Cookies, shortbreads, and granolas may be small enough to eat with one bite but it is their cause that is as rich as their taste.

The more boxes of Khaya Cookies sold, the greater number of jobs created in their South African production facility as well as their distribution center in Philadelphia, PA. Khaya means “home” in Xhosa - one of the official languages of South Africa. For founder Alicia Polak, a former NYC investment banker turned social entrepreneur, South Africa is where she found her home.

A Dream Turns to Reality

Alicia was a NYC investment banker, and working on Wall Street who had aspirations of aiding those in need. Choosing to live out her dream of helping others, she changed the course of her life. She began consulting for the Freeplay Foundation, a non-profit organization in South Africa that produced and distributed wind-up radios that provided on-air education and helped those in times of disaster. She fell in love with South Africa, where she first visited years ago and found herself wanting to do more.

Taken aback by the country’s beauty and culture, Alicia began her quest to make her new home and community flourish.

The Quest for Cape Town

The Khaya Cookie Company™ believes in connecting good intentions with real-life action. And it is little surprise that the more cookies we sell, the more jobs we can create. We want you to be a part of our journey to Cape Town and embark on Khaya’s quest to contributing to a more socially conscious world.

With a minimum purchase of three boxes of Khaya Cookies, you will automatically be entered into a drawing to win an all expenses paid trip for two to Cape Town in March 2010. Beginning May 15, 2009, we’re offering discounts on every box of Khaya Cookies. You can have your choice of our delectable shortbreads or granolas purchased over a 60-day period.

So, you get to enjoy delicious Khaya Cookies, granolas, and shortbreads, help create jobs, and feel accomplished in following-through on that good deed you’ve been “meaning to do.” Something so small can go towards something so big.

And there’s more to be earned as well. For every additional (3) boxes you buy, you’ll increase your chances of winning this rare, once-in-a lifetime trip. We should also mention that additional gifts like the Amazon Kindle™ (fully loaded with South African literature, culinary books and wine magazines), 5 quart Kitchen Aid Mixer ®, a Handpresso® (this is really cool!) and complimentary boxes of Khaya Cookies will also be up for grabs!

Anytime you share a friend or anyone that you think is a generally pretty cool person’s email address with us– we’ll give you another entry into the contest (of course, only valid emails count).

Enter beginning May 15th at www.questforcapetown.com, get your “Quest” code and start sharing about The Quest for Cape Town – on Facebook©, Twitter©, your roommate’s girlfriend’s blog – all a step closer to a South African dream.

Buy some cookies and have a chance to experience the sights, smells, and sensations of South Africa. You’ll be saving the world a little too.

Khaya Cookies: Great Taste, an Even Greater Cause

Napa Valley Mustard Festival 2009

Celebrating the unique food, wine, art, and rich agricultural & cultural bounties of the Napa Valley!

The Mustard Season offers a full palette of food, wine, art, entertainment, and cultural activities staged throughout the world-famous grape growing region when fields, vineyards, and hillsides are vibrant with wild mustard in bloom.

This, the sixteenth annual mustard festival is the sixth year that Innuendo Foods will be attending the event. It is the second time the event is changing venues. Initially at the Napa Fairgrounds the festival quickly outgrew the venue and was relocated to Copia; the Napa Center for Food and Wine. This year the Marketplace Event will be hosted by the Robert Mondavi Winery in Oakville.

Highlights of this rain or shine food, wine and arts festival include: celebrity chef cooking demonstrations, a KGO Newstalk AM810 live remote broadcast of Dining Around with Gene Burns, a Sunset Magazine pavilion, and taping of Martha Stewart Living radio shows. Artful activities include fine arts and crafts presented by juried artists and artisans, and live performances of jazz, world, and classical music.

Adult admission to The Marketplace at $35 in advance, $40 at the door, includes eight food and five wine tasting tickets (value $1 each), plus a souvenir wine glass. Student admission, ages 13 to 20, at $10 includes five food tasting tickets. Admission for children ages 6 to 12 is $5. Children under the age of 6 are admitted for free. Visit participating Raley's, Nob Hill Foods and Bel Aire Markets to purchase adult tickets in advance, which include a voucher for five additional tasting tickets.

Purchase a weekend package in advance at mustardfestival.org which includes both The Awards and The Marketplace at $125 per person.

Look for us at the Innuendo Foods / Dave's Gourmet booth at the Marketplace Event for some great gourmet fun and samples of a selection of our fine products! See you there and let us know you read it in The Last Bite!

Quaker Changes the Rules In The Granola Bar Game.

Today in the mail we received a nice treat from the Quaker Oats company. As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaster program we have been given the opportunity to sample and report on the new Quaker True Delights brand of chewy granola bars that are about to hit the shelves at your local market. We could not wait to dig in to these healthy and delicious looking snack bars!

Quaker describes the True Delights - Toasted Coconut Banana Macadamia Nut bar as a taste of the exotic with our captivating blend of toasted coconut, ripe banana and rich, buttery macadamia nut. Your taste buds will be tropically transported when they encounter this decadent flavor combination. We found this flavor was pretty close to their description, perhaps without the teleportation aspect. The banana flavor is more of a background note that carries through the experience of this bar. Up front is the coconut and a sweet honey like flavor. The large chunks of macadamia nuts definitely add to the decadent rich buttery flavor. It’s hard to believe something this tasty is also good for you.

Quaker describes the True Delights - Dark Chocolate Raspberry Almond as a responsible decadence. With the surprisingly rich flavor combination of dark chocolate chunks, luscious raspberries and whole almonds, you might not be able to stop yourself. And why would you? It is packed to the hilt with chunks of bittersweet chocolate, whole almonds and bits of dried raspberry. This is a great flavor combinations the raspberries tart flavors explode in your mouth. The bittersweet chocolate chunks play of the berry tartness and the whole toasted almonds bring all the flavors together. So far these are proving to be some of the most complex flavor combinations you will see in a snack food like this. Bring on the last flavor!

Quaker True Delights - Honey Roasted Cashew Mixed Berry is described as the best of both worlds. Our chewy granola made with whole grain is combined with sumptuous honey, roasted cashews and mixed berries for a crunchy, chewy snack that will delight your taste buds. This is definitely my favorite of the lot. The first bite is reminiscent of a salted caramel as the honey and salty rich cashews play off each other’s subtle flavors. The whole thing is rich, buttery and toasty with a tangy berry finish. AWESOME! These are truly a gourmet granola bar. Forget about what you think you know about granola bars, Quaker has just changed the rules.

Hopefully I was able to give you an idea of how wonderfully tasty these new granola bars could be, but why take my word for it. Quaker is willing to give you your own free sample. Just click the link and fill out the form!

Black Friday Sale In Great Taste!

RoJo's Gourmet Foods is rolling out Black Friday specials with great taste. Make the foodie, home cook, tailgater, or anyone excited about their gourmet gift this year. No standing in long lines, no worries about returns. Everyone loves to get a gourmet gift! So save yourself from the turkey and stuffing induced coma by hopping on your computer and doing a little holiday shopping from the comfort of your home.

Dave's Gourmet Original Insanity Hot Sauce

List Price: $7.49
Our Price: $6.95
Sale Price: $4.25
You Save $3.24!



Your S'more 4-Pack, All-In-One Indoor S'more. 4-3.5oz, Individually
Wrapped

List Price: $14.25
Our Price: $11.95
Sale Price: $10.95
You Save $3.30!


Dave's Gourmet Spicy Twelve Pack Miniature Hot Sauce Collection

List Price: $23.95
Our Price: $21.95
Sale Price: $18.95
You Save $5.00!


Tony Tah's Chinese Chicken Salad Dressing & Marinade

List Price: $6.29
Our Price: $5.95
Sale Price: $4.25
You Save $2.04!





And many more items on sale! Plus every order gets a FREE hot sauce added and at $89 worth of qualifying merchandise we will pick up the cost to ship it to you by FedEx ground or home!

Extreme Heat at the Great Divide

Baboon Ass Brand GONE RABID Hot Sauce has made it to new heights; 10,759 feet to be exact. Thanks to Bill Duke of AwardWinningSauces.com our insane simian has now officially traveled farther than we have. Come to think of it This fiery monkey can be found in Germany, The UK, Canada, Australia, and Israel. Someday I would like to visit all the places that the extreme beast has been.

If you have a picture of any Baboon Ass Brand product anywhere cool, and we mean anywhere, send it to innuendofoods@pacbell.net and we will post it. When we get a bunch, we'll figure where to send some great gourmet sauces. Will you be the one to get our gourmet gift?

Sauce Maker Interview: Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce

I received an email from Al at County Bob’s All Purpose Sauce Company. He explained that they had seen “The Last Bite” and wondered if we would be interested it trying their fine All Purpose Sauce. Seeing as though Country Bob’s is not available in California I was all over that like a tornado on a trailer park.

Country Bob’s is a small company from Centralia, Illinois. One man’s passion for cooking resulted in their original sauce recipe. They formed a corporation and the business exploded. They credit their great success to God and have appointed Christ their CEO. While the CEO was not available for this interview; co-founder Al Malekovic was happy to answer our question:

Q: How did you come to found a gourmet sauce business?
A: Country Bob Edson created the All Purpose Sauce in 1968. He owned a filling station and all the local guys would come around and he would make lunch. He loved to BBQ and he would fix different meats and feed them. He could not find a sauce that suited him so he created Country Bobs All Purpose Sauce.

Q: How long have you been in business?
A: Country Bob was making it to sell locally and in 1982 the four of us Bob, Terry his son, Al Malekovic Terry’s father-in-law and Reed Malekovic, Al’s son created Country Bob Inc. and started on our way. This answers the next question, Al’s wife Eileen, runs the office, also a son-in-law and two grandsons. We have a total of 14 employees.

Q: Do you have business partners? Is it a family business? etc.
A: Didn’t you read the last answer? (us, not their answer)

Q: What kinds of challenges are involved in having a gourmet sauce company, and how do you surmount them?
A: The main challenge was getting people to taste it. We use to do a lot of demos, but due to the high cost we have about quit. Cost has went from $35 a day to about $150 a day, but now we give a lot of coupons for free bottles of Country Bobs away. Mainly over the internet!

Q: Do you use a co-packer? How did you find a good one, and how do you work with them to make sure the product comes out the way you intended?
A: We pack our own and also for several other small companies. We are now making our plastic bottles.

Q: What’s the best thing about your job?
A: Meeting all the great people and see how they react to Country Bobs. Working with our family and way the Lord has blessed us.

Q: What’s the worst thing about your job?
A: Getting told NO!

Q: What was your first sauce?
A: Do you still offer it for sale? Country Bobs All Purpose Sauce was our first and still is!

Q: How do you go about developing a gourmet sauce?
A: We do it ourselves; in fact, we are working on a marinade and two new BBQ sauces.

Q: How do you taste and evaluate gourmet sauce?
A: Our employees help with the taste and we see what the market place is needing.

Q: How has your company evolved over the years? (if applicable)
A: Because of the increased number of chains and the Broker system dissolving; we now use the internet to get people to taste Country Bobs. We send out a coupon for a free bottle if the people register on our web site. We are on a bunch of search engines that give free stuff away. Also we started blogging a couple of months ago and our hits on our web site have doubled. We are redoing our web site to make it more person friendly.

Q: Do you use any unusual ingredients that people might be surprised at? (No Answer)

Q: Do you have a favorite sauce? What do you like about it?
A: Our All Purpose!!

Q: Aside from your own, do you have a favorite commercially available gourmet sauce?
A: NO!

Q: What’s the best way to use your sauce?
A: You name it! From marinating, dipping, steak, BBQ, and the vast ways to cook with it. (you should see our cookbook).

Q: What’s the strangest way you’ve heard of someone using your sauce?
A: Ice Cream

Q: What do you want people to know about your sauce?
A: If they will taste it they will buy it.

Q: What is next for your company?
A: Gourmet BBQ sauces

Q: What trends do you see happening in the specialty food industry in the next several years?
A: Shelf space being a premium and the cost of doing business rising.

Q: Where can we buy your products?
A: Web site, call us, Amazon, most Kroger and Wal-Mart Super Centers, Albertsons, and other independent stores. Country Bobs is sold mostly in the Midwest and the South.

We truly enjoyed the sample of Country Bob’s All Purpose Sauce and you can get your FREE bottle by simply signing up for their newsletter. Some restrictions apply, see their site for details: http://www.countrybobs.com/pages/signup.asp

Look for part two where we use Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce in a recipe from the Country Bob's website!

Review: Bryner's Classic Hot Sauces

This has been a particularly busy year for me so far and as a result I have gotten quite behind in my hot sauce reviews. I figured this was a perfect opportunity to thin the “to be reviewed” shelf by doing a two-for! Today’s review is a pair from Bryner’s Classics; Bryner’s Best & Momma’s Mild. With two at once your gonna have to try’ in keep up now. So here we go!

Initial Impression: First impressions can be deceiving. I have to admit I was not overly impressed by the overall look and feel of these sauces. That is part of the reason this sauce has been sitting on my shelf for so long. While the actual sauce inside the jars looks great the packaging had me constantly reaching for other selections. I guess it’s true; you really do eat with your eyes first. The smudgy, homemade labels were just not enough to make me want this sauce.

Ingredients: “Bryner’s Best”: Carrots, Vinegar, Peppers, Water, Onions Garlic, Sweeteners, Citrus Juices, Salt & Other Spices.“Momma’s Mild”: Carrots, Vinegar, Peppers, Water, Onions, Garlic, Sweeteners, Citrus Juices, Salt & Other Spices.

Interestingly enough both jars contain the exact same ingredients? Huh, that’s odd? The other thing that stands out to me is “Sweeteners”. Is it sugar? Corn syrup, cane juice, agave, Splenda? What is the secret? I’m pretty sure the FDA would insist that there are no mystery ingredients allowed in a product packaged for sale to the public. Anyways, the list is clean and looks good!

Appearance: Aside from the color; both of these sauces have pretty much the same appearance. They are both nice and thick and pile up on the plate when poured. Both sauces are smooth yet a bit pulpy, and neither sauce has any seeds or particles floating around in it. When left to sit a minute in the plate the liquid began to run out from around the edges of the sauce. Be sure to shake this one well before applying.

Aroma: “Momma’s Mild” is just that in the aroma department. It has a vinegary tang up front and if you Hoover on it some more you will pick out some onion and garlic. The “Bryner’s Best” on the other hand wallops your nose with aromatic spices. There is a definite soy and Worcestershire aroma to this sauce yet neither is listed in the ingredients. The garlic stands out a bit more in this flavor. Let’s Eat!

Taste: Momma’s Mild is certainly mild, with only the slightest warmth the sweetness comes to the forefront. Right after the sweetness there is a vinegary tang that hit me so hard I winced. The warmth of the peppers comes through in the finish along with some garlicky tones.

Bryner’s best is a completely different sauce despite the ingredient declaration similarities. The first flavors that rush over your taste buds are a smoky, sweet, steak sauce type of flavor. The sweetness and heat come in together in the center of your tongue and the finish is a long, garlicky flavor.

The Food Test: Moussaka! No, that is not some kind of Middle Eastern curse word. It is a Greek dish made of layers of eggplant, zucchini, mushrooms, ground beef, with sauce and Mediterranean spices. As it turns out, Moussaka is a great pallet for these two sauces. I started with a nice blob of each on separate pieces just to try it out. In the end I poured about a quarter of each bottle on my wonderful meal. The Moussaka’s blend of flavors and spices was able to tone down the sweetness of the sauces and the other flavors were able to shine through.

Conclusion: Whether you like it mild and sweet, or on the spicier side; Bryner’s Classics has a flavor that will suit your taste. They grow their own peppers and have been making this sauce for the past twenty years. There are no preservatives or artificial ingredients. If you go to their site at http://brynersclassics.com/ordernow.htm you can even get a pack with each of their flavors for free!

Packaging 1/10 – Homemade, smudged.
Aroma 7/10 – Fresh & Tangy

Appearance 10/10 – Smooth & Sexy
Taste 6/10 – A Bit on the Sweet Side
Heat 5/10 –Momma’s is a 2.

Overall 6/10

FREE Hot Sauce at RoJosGourmet

Once again RoJosGourmet.com is giving away FREE Gourmet hot sauce. The sauce that has been selected for this special is the best selling hot sauce in the RoJo's Gourmet Foods line-up.

Monty's Gourmet Foods Uses Only The Finest Green Jalapeno Peppers In This Gourmet Blend Of Peppers & Spices To Ensure Our Great Customers Get The Best Hot Sauce Possible. A new release, Green Scream jalapeno hot sauce has already won awards for its incredibly fresh taste. The fiendish Chile pepper bearing lizard on this label was created by the world famous Dave Kellett; creator of the Sheldon comic strip.

Current Awards:
* Second Place - 2007 Scovie Awards - Hot Sauce - Specialty Chile Category

* Second Place - 2008 Fiery Foods Challenge - Hot Sauce: Specialty

* Third Place - 2008 Fiery Foods Challenge - Hot Sauce: Louisiana Style

All you need to do is place the Monty's Green Scream Hot Sauce in your shopping cart and enter the Promo Code: FREEGSHS. The price of the hot sauce will be deducted when you apply the coupon code.

Other coupon codes currently offered at RoJosGourmet.com are 5OFF for $5 off of any shopping cart with a $50 total. Any shopping cart totaling $99 automatically get FREE FedEx Ground or Home delivery.

See you at RoJo's Gourmet Foods. The Tastiest Place in Cyberspace!

Black Friday Sale Already In Progress

Holiday specials on www.rojosgourmet.com include a five dollar off coupon, FREE jalapeño hot sauce, and FREE shipping on any order totaling $99 or more.

Newly launched is the RoJo's Gourmet Food Gift Certificate. These gift certificates can be purchased in any value from $5 up and can be emailed to your recipient instantly or we can print the gift certificate and mail it to you or your recipient. Either way the RoJo's Gourmet Foods Gourmet gift certificate is the easiest and most versatile gourmet gift available.

With all the insanity of Black Friday and Cyber-Monday RoJo's Gourmet Foods has launched it Holiday Sales promotions on Thanksgiving day. Now you can save yourself from the turkey and stuffing induced coma by hopping on your computer and doing a little holiday shopping from the comfort of your home.

Make the foodie, home cook, tailgater, or anyone excited about their gourmet gift this year. No standing in long lines, no worries about returns. Everyone loves to get a gourmet gift!

Shipping is automatically credited to your order when you reach $99. Use coupon code 5OFF to get five dollars of any order of $50 or more. Use Promo code NL0907BAJ on check out to get your FREE bottle of Gourmet Jalapeno Hot Sauce.