Carolina Creole Stone Ground Grits Wins Silver and Goes For Gold
UPDATE: We won sofi™ Gold!
• CAROLINA CREOLE® STONE GROUND GRITS ARE A 2012 SPECIALTY FOODS ASSOCIATION SHOW'S SOFI™ AWARDS GOLD WINNER •
April 24, 2013 — Georgetown, SC – South Carolina-based Luquire Family Foods is pleased to announce that their Carolina Creole® Stone Ground Grits, has been selected as the 2013 sofi™ Gold Award Winner in the Pasta, Rice or Grain category. A sofi Award is the top honor in the $90 billion specialty food industry and “sofi” stands for Specialty Outstanding Food Innovation. The NASFT was created in 1952 as a non-profit trade association and has established an annual competition highlighting an exceptional food product in each of the 30 food and beverage categories.
"As a relative newcomer to the world of specialty foods, we couldn’t be more thrilled to have our family recipe endorsed by the Specialty Food Association and their panel of seasoned industry leaders. With Luquire Family Foods expanding into new retail and foodservice outlets every day, we are delighted with the success the company has achieved,” explains co-founder Jason Luquire.
A national panel of specialty food experts spent several days tasting and evaluating 1,885 entries to select 109 Silver Finalists across 30 award categories. Gold winners were announced at a red-carpet ceremony July 1, 2013, at the association's Summer Fancy Food Show in New York City. The event was hosted by Marcus Samuelsson, the internationally acclaimed chef and restaurateur.
LUQUIRE FAMILY FOODS STONE GROUND GRITS
Luquire Family Foods Carolina Creole® Stone Ground Grits - the all natural grits hail from Greenwood, South Carolina where the Luquire Family started milling grits and flour in the late 1930’s on their family farm.
LFF Grits are made from premium white corn and are 100% natural, gluten free with no chemical processing. Since there are no preservatives in our LFF Stone Ground Grits, its best to refrigerate after opening. Our LFF Grits are coarse ground the old fashion way, between pink granite stones on an antique grist mill. Being coarse ground, LFF Grits have a rich taste with a thick creamy texture. Just follow our easy to follow directions on the package and you will have perfect grits every time! Chefs in many upscale restaurants have added our Grits to their menu. They are simply the creamiest, gourmet grits available.
LFF Grits come in 1.5 lb. sacks for family use and we also have larger food service offerings.
Enjoy our LFF Grits with our award winning Carolina Creole® simmer sauce and not only will you have “A Heads Down Meal®”, you’ll have a gourmet meal that everyone will rave about! It’s all heads down delicious!
Available for purchase online at www.carolinacreole.com and through select retailers and distributors, Carolina Creole’s® Stone Ground Grits packaging is vintage with a modern touch, inspired in part by vintage produce labels. The label includes simple preparation instructions along with the a brief history — all shared with consumers in a casual, pull-up-a-chair-and-have-a-bite writing style. For more information or to place an order, please contact Jason Luquire at 843.485.4344 or info@carolinacreole.com.
Specialty Foods Association Press Release
sofi™ Awards Finalists for Year's Top Specialty Foods Announced Winners to be Revealed at Summer Fancy Food Show in New York City
New York, N.Y. (April 25, 2013) – (Virtual Press Office) -- The Specialty Food Association is pleased to announce the finalists for the 41st annual sofi Awards for the outstanding foods and beverages of 2013.
A national panel of specialty food experts tasted and evaluated 1,885 products across 30 categories to come up with a list of 109 finalists for this prestigious annual award. A sofi is considered the highest honor in the $90 billion specialty food industry. "sofi" stands for Specialty Outstanding Food Innovation.
The sofi Awards are open to members of the Specialty Food Association, a not-for-profit trade association for food artisans, importers and entrepreneurs.
Gold winners were announced at a red-carpet ceremony July 1, 2013, at the association's Summer Fancy Food Show in New York City. The event will be hosted by Marcus Samuelsson, the internationally acclaimed chef and restaurateur.
"Creativity, innovation, and excellence were in evidence across all the awards categories this year," says Ann Daw, president of the Specialty Food Association. "The judges had a challenge to narrow down their favorites to come up with this great group of finalists."
The judges evaluated the entries on numerous attributes, including quality, taste, innovation, packaging, ingredients and pricing.
The panel included: Andy Arons and Michael Rafferty, Gourmet Garage, New York, N.Y.; David Clemens, Gateway Market, Des Moines, Iowa; Kate Collier and Erik Gertner, Feast!, Charlottesville,Va.; Kathryn Flouton, Dean & DeLuca, New York, N.Y.; Rachel Forillere and John Lawson, Whole Foods Market, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.; Adam Glassman, O, The Oprah Magazine, New York, N.Y.; Emiliano Lee, Farmshop, Santa Monica, Calif.; Pete Marczyk, Marczyk Fine Foods, Denver, Colo.; Leyda Martinez, Gardner's Market, Coconut Grove, Fla.; Steven Petrecca and Daniel Skurnick, STARR Restaurants, Philadelphia; Regina Ragone, Family Circle, New York, N.Y.; Jeanette Scarcella, Johnson & Wales University, Providence, R.I.; Allison Schraf, Zingerman's, Ann Arbor, Mich.; Morgan Ward, City Feed and Supply, Jamaica Plain, Mass.; Scott Zoeller, King's Super Markets/Balducci's, Parsippany, N.J.
In May, the NASFT will bring in judges to select sofi Silver Finalists for two more awards: Outstanding New Product of 2013, and Outstanding Product Line.
About the Specialty Food Association
The Specialty Food Association celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2012. It is a not-for-profit trade association for food artisans, importers and entrepreneurs established in 1952 in New York City to foster commerce and interest in the specialty food industry. Today there are more than 3,000 members in the U.S. and abroad. The Specialty Food Association operates the Summer and Winter Fancy Food Shows and presents the sofi™ Awards honoring excellence in specialty food. For more information on the association, go to specialtyfood.com.
SPECIALTY FOOD ASSOCIATION MEDIA CONTACTS:
Ron Tanner, VP Communications & Education; 646-878-0115, rtanner@specialtyfood.com Louise Kramer, Communications Director; 646-878-0130, lkramer@specialtyfood.com
