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Gourmet Food

Rainbow Cone, Gino’s East Team Up for Magnificent Mile

The Original Rainbow Cone, a Chicago tradition for over 95 years, has formed a partnership with Gino’s East, a legendary name in deep-dish pizza. This collaboration will bring together two of the city’s oldest and most iconic restaurants, creating a culinary destination like no other. The Original Rainbow Cone will be adding a kiosk to the Gino’s East Superior Street location (162 E Superior St, Chicago, IL 60611), aptly named Magnificent Mile, offering locals and tourists a taste of both sweet and savory delights.

Scheduled to open its doors on June 29, Magnificent Mile will mark the first-ever dual-brand collaboration between Rainbow Cone and Gino’s East. This innovative concept aims to provide visitors with an unforgettable experience, showcasing the rich history and flavors of both establishments.

Rainbow Cone, known for its signature ice cream cones featuring five distinct flavors (chocolate, strawberry, Palmer House, pistachio, and orange sherbet), has been a cherished staple in Chicago since 1926. Their commitment to quality ingredients and delightful combinations has made them a go-to destination for families, food enthusiasts, and anyone seeking a memorable treat.

On the other hand, Gino’s East has been dishing out its mouth watering deep-dish pizza since 1966. With its buttery crust, gooey cheese, and hearty toppings, Gino’s East has become synonymous with authentic Chicago-style pizza, captivating the taste buds of pizza lovers far and wide.

“The collaboration between The Original Rainbow Cone and Gino’s East represents a true celebration of Chicago’s culinary heritage,” says Jordan Himmel, chief innovation officer of Bravo Restaurants. “By combining these two iconic brands, we aim to create a one-of-a-kind destination where people can indulge in the best of both worlds. It’s a tribute to the city’s diverse food culture and a testament to the enduring legacies of Rainbow Cone and Gino’s East.”

Magnificent Mile, the name chosen for the Rainbow Cone kiosk, pays homage to its prestigious location on Superior Street, in the heart of Chicago’s renowned Magnificent Mile district. This bustling area attracts millions of visitors each year, offering a vibrant blend of shopping, dining, and cultural experiences. Now, with the addition of Rainbow Cone, tourists and locals alike will have the chance to savor the finest pizza and ice cream Chicago has to offer, all in one place. Please note that kiosk hours may differ depending on the day of the week. The most current hours can be found at https://rainbowcone.com/locations/.

The Original Rainbow Cone and Gino’s East invite everyone to join them in celebrating the opening of Magnificent Mile on June 29. It promises to be an occasion filled with delectable treats, friendly faces, and a true appreciation for the culinary heritage of the Windy City.

The Original Rainbow Cone serves ice cream featuring extraordinary flavors and textures, including the world-famous 5-flavor Rainbow Cone’, shakes, ice cream cakes & sandwiches, mini donuts, and memories dedicated to last forever. After opening in 1926, the Rainbow Cone’ received its fame and quickly became the most unique ice cream cone anyone has ever seen.

As Rainbow Cone works to expand locations and showcase its new adventures the company is excited to share their love for Rainbow Cone’s signature sliced cone with even more communities. The Original Rainbow Cone is also available for nationwide shipping via Goldbelly.

With nine permanent locations scattered across Illinois, one location in Indiana and more locations coming soon to Tennessee and Florida, Rainbow Cone is on a mission to sweeten new markets nationwide. For more information about Rainbow Cone’s franchise program, visit https://rainbowconefranchise.com or follow the rainbow on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

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Impossible Launches ‘Making Meat History’ Ads

Impossible Foods is gearing up for summer with the launch of two new national advertising campaigns designed to introduce consumers across the country to the plant-based meat category as well as Impossible’s brand and products.

Premiering June 11 during the 76th Annual Tony Awards broadcast, Impossible’s “Making Meat History” campaign is a rollicking 90-second musical advertisement. It explores the history of meat through the ages and up to the present day, when the musical’s “historian” narrator introduces meat from a new animal called “the plant.” Impossible created the ad to familiarize consumers with the concept of plant-based meat and its benefits in a lighthearted, entertaining and memorable way.

The second campaign, “The Summer of Impossible,” serves to stake the company’s claim as a maker of meat for meat-lovers that just happens to be made from plants. It highlights the many benefits of Impossible products through a series of shorter, product-focused vignettes featuring quippy dialogues between an Impossible™ Burger and a burger made with animal meat. Impossible will continue to introduce new vignettes throughout the summer to keep the campaign fresh and entice consumers to put Impossible on their shopping list all season long.

“We need to welcome consumers into the plant-based space and give them a reason to choose Impossible,” said Leslie Sims, Chief Marketing & Creative Officer of Impossible Foods. “These campaigns are lighthearted and approachable by design to make the choice between our products and animal meat feel less intimidating. We want consumers to know they don’t have to give up the meat they love. Impossible products are meat – just made from plants – so they’re still delicious and have a ton of other benefits.”

Both campaigns were developed in partnership with SUPER SERIOUS, the newly established creative studio led by celebrated actor and television host Terry Crews and his co-founders Matthew O’Rourke and Paul Sutton. The studio, which embodies the mantra “everything is entertainment,” has adopted an agile and iterative approach to creative development and plans to produce work for television, feature films, commercials and everything in between. SUPER SERIOUS immediately saw Impossible Foods as the right client to launch its business, as the founding trio shares a genuine affinity for Impossible’s purpose and products.

And to direct the musical spot, SUPER SERIOUS signed on the acclaimed Emmy-winning film and music video director, Jake Scott.

The summer marketing effort adopts a more inclusive and accessible tone for the brand, seeking to transcend vegan and vegetarian audiences to reach as many flexitarian and meat-eating consumers as possible. Impossible Foods has not historically invested in sustained traditional advertising, instead leaning on high-profile partnerships, earned media and word-of-mouth to increase brand awareness. Now, under the new leadership of Sims, the company is ramping up its marketing engine to drive trial and invite new consumers to make this summer “The Summer of Impossible.”

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San Joaquin Valley Olive Oil Competition Winners Announced

After an extensive judging of quality California-produced olive oils, The Big Fresno Fair is excited to reveal the winners of the 8th Annual San Joaquin Valley Olive Oil Competition. This competition, which is open to all olive oil producers in California with products made from their 2022 olive harvest, received a total of 63 entries from 27 olive oil producers from throughout the state.

Entries were received in two categories: Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Flavored Olive Oil, with 10 classes in total. Gold and Silver Medals were awarded, as well as an overall “Best of Show” and “Best of the Valley” selected from all of the highest scoring gold medal entries in both categories. In total there weres44 EVOO and 19 Flavored Olive Oil entries that were entered for judging. The winners of the 8th Annual San Joaquin Valley Olive Oil Competition are as follows with counties of ranch locations noted in parenthesis:

Best of Show

Olivaia’s OLA Estate Sevillano (Tulare) – EVOO

Corto Olive Co. Yuzu Citrus (San Joaquin) – Flavored Olive Oil

Best of the Valley

  1. Marchini Farms Joe’s Premium 100% Mission (Merced)

Extra Virgin Olive Oils

  • Gold Medal Winners
    • Spanish Blends: Corto Olive Co. Truly (San Joaquin), J. Marchini Farms Joe’s Premium 100% Mission (Merced), Cobram Estate Olive Oil 100% Extra Virgin Olive Oil – Robust (Yolo/Sacramento), California Olive Ranch Miller’s Blend (Glenn)
    • Spanish Singles: Rancho Azul y Oro Olive Farm Arbequina (Monterey), Olivaia’s OLA Estate Sevillano (Tulare), Grumpy Goats Farm Organic Picual (Yolo), The Olive Press Picual (Sonoma)
    • Italian Blends: San Miguel Olive Farm Tuscan Gold Eleganza (San Luis Obispo), San Miguel Olive Farm Tuscan Gold Paradiso (San Luis Obispo)
    • Italian Singles: Rio Bravo Ranch Coratina (Kern), Rio Bravo Ranch Frantoio (Kern), Tres Osos Olive Oil Taggiasca (Monterey), Grumpy Goats Farm Organic Coratina (Yolo), Grumpy Goats Farm Organic Late Harvest Coratina (Yolo), Grumpy Goats Farm Organic Itrana (Yolo), Sutter Buttes Olive Oil Co. Coratina (Sutter)
  • Gold Medal Winners
    • Other Blends: OH Olive Oil (Kern), Olivaia’s OLA Block X Heirloom (Tulare), Rio Bravo Ranch Miller’s Reserve Blend (Kern)
    • Other Singles: Coastal Press Extra Virgin (Madera/Tulare)
  • Silver Medal Winners:
    • Spanish Blends: Olivaia’s OLA Block X Super (Tulare), Cobram Estate 100% Extra Virgin Olive Oil – Classic (Yolo/Sacramento) Cobram Estate Olive Oil 100% Extra Virgin Olive Oil – CA Select (Yolo/Sacramento)
    • Spanish Singles: Rio Bravo Ranch Picual (Kern), Coldani Olive Ranch Calivirgin Premium Extra Virgin Olive Oil (San Joaquin), Grumpy Goats Farm Organic Hojiblanca (Yolo), California Olive Ranch Reserve Arbequina (Glenn), California Olive Ranch Reserve Arbosana (Glenn)
    • Italian Blends: San Miguel Olive Farm Tuscan Gold Fantastico (San Luis Obispo), Rancho Azul y Oro Olive Farm Estate Olive Oil (Monterey), J. Marchini Farms Joe’s Premium Tuscan Blend (Merced), Terra Savia Field Blend (Mendocino), Colomba Bianca Frantoio/Mission (San Joaquin)
    • Italian Singles: Terra Savia Moraiolo (Mendocino)

Flavored Olive Oils

  • Gold Medal Winners
    • Citrus: Corto Olive Co. Yuzu Citrus (San Joaquin), Coldani Olive Ranch Calivirgin Lavish Lime (San Joaquin), Coldani Olive Ranch Calivirgin Blood Orange (San Joaquin)
    • Pepper: Corto Olive Co. Calabrian Chili (San Joaquin), The Olive Press Jalapeno (Sonoma)
    • Other: Rancho Azul y Oro Olive Farm Arbequina-Smoked (Monterey), Coldani Olive Ranch Calivirgin Jalapeno Garlic (San Joaquin), Sutter Buttes Olive Oil Co. Citrus Habanero Olive Oil (Sutter)
  • Silver Medal Winners
    • Citrus: Rancho Azul y Oro Olive Farm Arbequina-Lemon (Monterey), The Olive Press Citron (Sonoma), Coastal Press Lemon Olive Oil (Madera/Tulare), Sutter Buttes Olive Oil Co. Meyer Lemon Olive Oil (Sutter)
    • Herbal: Coldani Olive Ranch Calivirgin Bountiful Basil (San Joaquin), Coldani Olive Ranch Calivirgin Rustic Rosemary (San Joaquin), Coastal Press Basil Olive Oil (Madera/Tulare)
    • Pepper: Coldani Olive Ranch Calivirgin Hot Virgin Jalapeno (San Joaquin)
    • Other: Coldani Olive Ranch Calivirgin Guilty Garlic (San Joaquin), Sutter Buttes Olive Oil Co. Garlic Herb Olive Oil (Sutter)

All winners will be on display in the Agriculture Building with educational information on the art of making olive oil and its health benefits. Gold Medal, Best of Show and Best of the Valley winners will have the opportunity to have a booth in the Agriculture Building on one day during a weekend at the 2023 Big Fresno Fair.

Participants in the 2023 SJVOOC were evaluated and scored on the following criteria:

  • Gold Medal: Awarded to an olive oil that demonstrated its type and/or varietal character, balance, structure and complexities to the highest standards. Gold Medals were awarded to those oils receiving scores between 86 – 100 points.
  • Silver Medal: Awarded to an olive oil reflecting the correct distribution of balance and character of its type or variety; an oil deemed to be well crafted and of excellent quality. Silver Medals were awarded to those oils receiving scores between 76 – 85 points.
  • Best of Show: Awarded to an olive oil recognized to possess special characteristics of the highest quality overall.
  • Best of the Valley: Awarded to the oil that scored the highest with the ranch or office located in the San Joaquin Valley. Medals were awarded for both EVOO and flavored oils. (Kern, Tulare, Kings, Fresno, Madera, Merced, Stanislaus and San Joaquin Counties eligible)

Details and the 2024 SJVOOC entry application will be posted in February 2024.

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