California Inspirations Walnut Contest

SPRING 2007
California
TRADE
NEWSLETTER
Second Annual California Walnut
Inspirations Contest
Draws Competitors and Crowds
The California Walnut Commission (CWC) held its second
annual California Walnut Inspirations Contest at the
Canadian/International Food & Beverage Show (Feb 18- 20),
with finalists competing for a $10,000 grand prize for “Best
in Show.” The contest is a new product development
competition that encourages Canadian food industry
professionals to showcase their walnut-inspired creations.
Entries came in from across Canada and 16 finalists were
selected to compete at the Food & Beverage Show. Mairlyn
Smith, cookbook author and
TV personality hosted the event.
The contest included some
innovative and delicious
product entries that made
the judges’ job a difficult
one. Six finalists emerged
and competed for ‘Best in
Show,’ but the overall ‘Best in Show’ and winner of the
$10,000 grand prize was Chantelle Gorham of Northwest
Fudge Factory for her Walnut and Fudge Crunch.
“We were very impressed with the quality of the products
that were submitted,” said Amy Myrdal, Marketing
Director for North America, for the California Walnut
Commission and Walnut Marketing Board and a judge for
each of the categories. “The goal of this contest is to get
manufacturers excited about California walnuts as an
integral ingredient in their development process. We feel
that this contest delivered on that excitement and hope to
build on that for next year’s contest.”
Stay tuned to www.walnutinfo.com for information about
next year’s contest. You can also contact the CWC in
Canada to request additional information when it becomes
available: New Product Development Contest, California
Walnut Commission, c/o Faye Clack Communications Inc.,
170 Robert Speck Parkway, Mississauga, ON L4Z 3G1.
Phone: 905-206-0577 x250, Fax: 905-206-0581,
email: kboyce@fayeclack.com.
Chantelle Gorham,
Northwest Fudge Factory
Winning product:
Walnut and Fudge Crunch
For more information about California walnuts, visit www.walnutinfo.com
or call 1-800-743-6282
California
T R A D E
N E W S L E T T E R
S P R I N G
California Walnut Inspiration Contest Winners
1st Runner Up winner of $3,000 and
winner of the Breads category for his
California Walnut Apple Breakfast
Bread and 4th Runner Up and winner
of the Baked Goods and Snacks
category for his California Walnut
Crunch: Ralf Tschenscher of Lesaffre
Yeast Corporation.
2nd Runner Up winners of $1,000
and of the Main Dishes & Sides
category: Liako Dertilis and Pamela
MacDonald of Curious Epicureans for
their California Walnut Stuffed Pasta
with Fig and Prosciutto.
3rd Runner Up and winner of the
Desserts category: Martin Givens
(centre) of LaRocca Creative Cakes
for his Walnut Caramel Pear Cake.
Pictured with Kapila Thewarapperuma
(left) and Robert Salzmann (right).
5th Runner Up and winner of
the Freestyle category: Sherri-Ann
Harrison of Sunny Crunch Foods
Ltd. for her Muesli Multigrain Cereal.
Obtain FREE promotional
materials
The California Walnut Commission
offers free promotional materials and fact
sheets to retailers, bulk distributors and wholesalers of California
walnuts. To receive our new foodservice fact sheet, please contact
Kathy Boyce at 1-800-743-6282 or via email at kboyce@fayeclack.com.
2 0 0 7
In the
Leslie Beck, Columnist
for the Globe and Mail
wrote an article titled
‘A New Year means
eating a new leaf,’ January 3, 2007.
Walnuts were hailed as a food that should
be added to this year’s diet because they
are loaded with nutrients and not overloaded with saturated fat. It read:
News
“Walnuts: Many studies link nuts with
protection from heart attack, high
blood pressure, diabetes, even
Alzheimer's disease. While all nuts
are good for you, only walnuts
contain a significant amount of
omega-3 fats (called alpha-linolenic
acid). Walnuts are also rich in plant
sterols, compounds shown to lower
LDL cholesterol, and they provide
magnesium, copper, folate and
vitamin E. To prevent weight gain,
limit your portion size to one-quarter
cup (50 ml). Fourteen walnut halves
have 190 calories. Add walnuts to
salads, stir-fries, hot cereal or
homemade trail mix.”
Foodservice – Add
California Walnuts to
the Menu
The California Walnut Commission is currently
developing foodservice recipes that will be added
to the CWC website and distributed at upcoming
trade shows. A fantastic food for any foodservice
operation, California walnuts can be used for any
meal occasion in almost any recipe. Increasingly,
chefs and menu decision makers across the
country are using California walnuts in exciting and
innovative ways. Perhaps it’s that amazing
combination of flavour, texture and versatility that
make walnuts an indespensable ingredient for
creative culinary experts.
For more information about California walnuts, visit www.walnutinfo.com
or call 1-800-743-6282