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Chef Unveils Colicchio Collection Premium Sauces

The Colicchio Collection, featuring a line of ultra-premium cooking and pairing sauces crafted by chef and restaurateur Tom Colicchio in partnership with The Jersey Tomato Co. and KEEN Growth Capital, has debuted for purchase online.

Colicchio looked to Italy’s most beloved culinary regions for inspiration in crafting the six sauces, all made with 100 percent vine-ripened New Jersey tomatoes, which are prized for their sumptuous flavor and delicate balance of sweetness and acidity. Each sauce in the Colicchio Collection is made with ingredients unique to its region of Italy and is intended to complement a range of dishes, including six recipes developed by Colicchio to highlight the sauces’ distinct flavor profiles, from clams with pancetta and mustard greens to eggplant shakshuka.

“I wanted to capture the exciting variety of cuisines throughout Italy in a collection that home cooks could use to elevate and enhance their everyday cooking,” Colicchio said. “The inherent brightness and balance of these sauces allows the regional ingredients to shine through, taking stews, braised and grilled meats, seafood, even pizza to another level of flavor and vibrancy.”

Colicchio first joined The Jersey Tomato Co. in 2020 as an equity partner, brand ambassador and culinary consultant driving innovation. The Colicchio Collection marks the New Jersey native’s first original offering in partnership with the brand.

“It’s been a joy to collaborate with chef Colicchio on The Jersey Tomato Co., and we’re thrilled to introduce consumers to his first original, ultrai-premium line,” says Mike Hagan, CEO of KEEN Growth Capital’s Emerging Brands Portfolio. “It’s an exciting chapter of what we hope becomes a cornerstone of the home kitchen.”

As with all The Jersey Tomato Co. sauces, the Colicchio Collection is lower in sodium, gluten-free, non-GMO and Kosher, and has no added sugars or artificial preservatives. The six sauce flavors include:

  • Ligurialemon, white wine, provençal herbs
  • Trentino: wild mushroom, parmesan, rosemary
  • Sicilia: orange, black olive, white wine
  • Piemonte: barolo wine, sage
  • Abruzzo: saffron, fennel pollen
  • Calabriaeggplant, zucchini, and chilis

The Colicchio Collection is available as a Club Colicchio subscription with exclusive member benefits and as a one-time purchase of $45 for a set of three 16-ounce jars.

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Zeppole Mix Company Sponsors Italian-American Comedian

Mike MarinoZeppole, LLC is sponsoring popular Italian-American comedian Mike Marino.

Marino directs his comedy towards all types of people, particularly Italian-Americans,” said CEO Joseph Camerieri, creator of Zeppole Mix. “But more importantly, he is an Italian-American and so passionate and emotionally excited about the product, hence I could not be happier with our sponsorship of Mike Marino.

“He fits our ideal demographic. We love his comedy tour ‘Make American Italian Again‘ and his podcast ‘Live from My Mother’s Basement‘ with past guests like Beverly Hills 90210 star Ian Ziering and actor Joe Montagna from ‘Criminal Minds’, Sean Kanan ‘Karate Kid Part 3’.”

Although the Zeppole mix has been around for a long time, few people are aware of the back story that led to its inspiration. There was a famous Manhattan Italian Feast of San Gennaro, a booth, a real Italian married couple, and now the company announces they will be sponsoring a well-known spokesman and comedian.

Joseph’s mother, Gaetana “Chickie” Camerieri, was born and grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y. While growing up, she often celebrated the Feast of San Gennaro. In 1976, Mother Gaetana moved to Florida along with her husband and three children. Years later, as a member of a newly formed Italian women’s group, she pitched the idea of an Italian Feast of San Gennaro to be showcased in Safety Harbor. Fla. The festival soon grew to 15,000 attendees for a three-day weekend event.

Over the years, this recipe was the reason why over 500,000 Zeppole were sold at numerous Italian festivals. As time went on, Joseph Camerieri  decided to develop a formula for turning their popular recipe in to a dry mix that could be sold to make at home. Also, the mix could easily be done at home into the tasty treat offered at the festival.

“We couldn’t believe how our Zeppole became such a hit with the festival goers, every year,” Camerieri said. “We hope this unique delicious mix turns out to be somehow a tribute to mom and dad.”

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California Pizza Kitchen Dressings to Land on Store Shelves

California Pizza Kitchen has formed a strategic retail partnership with Litehouse Inc., the leading refrigerated salad dressing brand in the United States, according to IRI.

The partnership, designed to leverage growing consumer demand for creating restaurant-quality experiences in the home, will introduce a collection of new CPK-branded salad dressings inspired by the popular salads found on the brand’s in-restaurant menu. Scheduled for early 2023, the salad dressing launch will include a range of new flavor varieties and lean heavily into CPK’s reputation for creativity, fresh ingredients, and unexpected combinations.

CPK and Litehouse restaurant brands bring immediate consumer familiarity, trust and innovation credentials to retail categories that may need fresh thinking. The CPK brand consistently ranks at or near the top for “Brand Image” and “Trend Setting” in the Technomic restaurant brand quarterly report, giving the new dressings partnership built-in momentum.

“Our guests tell us they want more of their favorite CPK items available to bring to their at-home meal experiences,” said Jim Hyatt, CEO and president of CPK. “Our chefs make everything in-house from scratch daily, including our delicious salad dressings. Because we hold ourselves to the highest standards in quality and taste, it was important that our partner share the same exacting standards, and Litehouse is that perfect partner. We are proud to collaborate with a like-minded company to bring CPK dressings to the grocery store shelves for all the fans across the country who crave more than just our pizza.”

Recognized as a leader in refrigerated salad dressings, dips, sauces, cheese, and other innovative consumer packaged goods, Litehouse has made aggressive moves to expand its footprint into different sections of the grocery store, including center store. The CPK partnership allows Litehouse to build on its deep 50+ year history as a leader in freshness and quality, continue expanding into center store, and give consumers and retailers more of what they want – fresh and creative new products that can shake up and reinvigorate traditional categories.

“The Litehouse name is synonymous with best-in-class flavors and product innovations in the dressings and dips categories, just as CPK is in the restaurant category, making this partnership a perfect match,” said Kelly Prior, CEO of Litehouse. “Our category expertise, culinary excellence, and manufacturing capabilities allow us to bring innovative new products to market on an efficient timeline, and we are thrilled to partner with CPK to bring its beloved restaurant dressing recipes to life at retail.”

CPK-branded salad dressings will be available in the salad dressing aisle at grocery retailers nationwide in early 2023.

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