FEATURED PRODUCT
FEATURED PRODUCT
FEATURED PRODUCT
The French Farm
Food & Vine
Ariston
SEE PAGE 20
SEE PAGE 20
SEE PAGE 21
GOURMET NEWS www.gourmetnews.com
®
T H E
B U S I N E S S
VOLUME 90 • NUMBER 6 NOVEMBER 2025 • $7.00 • Soccer Champ Alex Morgan, Bobbie Brand: ‘There’s No Scoreboard in Motherhood’ PAGE 3
• Learning Cultural History in High School Culinary Classes Fosters Appreciation PAGE 4
• Survey: Young Forgo Restaurant Dining, Skip Meals to Afford Rent, Mortgage PAGE 7
• Free of Danone Proposal, Lifeway Foods Focuses on Executing Growth Strategy PAGE 8
• Grilling Season Carries Over to Soup Season, Bayou Inspires Chips, Mayo Gets Makeover PAGE 12
• Global Food Traceability Center Launches Tool to Strengthen Food Value Chain PAGE 15
• Whole Foods Trends: Fiber, Freezer Finds, Female Farmers
N E W S P A P E R
F O R
T H E
G O U R M E T
I N D U S T R Y
Chicago Chefs Host Sunday Brunch, Rise & Shine, Get Heavenly Surprise BY WILBERT JONES
Special to Gourmet News Chicago Gourmet held a delightful brunch party on a Sunday in late September called Rise & Shine, hosted by celebrity chefs Art Smith, Lorena Garcia and Jernard Wells. The event showcased Chicago’s diverse food scene that featured top chefs, tastings and wine pairings, while supporting a good cause – The Illinois Restaurant Association Educational foundation. This epicurean brunch consisted of savory and sweet elevated bites prepared by various chefs, creative cocktails and live
music, which set the tone, while guests enjoyed the Harris Theater Rooftop in Millennium Park. Chef Jernard Wells, owner of Haute Cuisine LLC, offered a Truffle Hot Honey Chicken Slider (crispy chicken, zesty pickles, sweet and spicy onions, brioche bun). Chef Sarah Stegner, owner of Prairie Grass Café, served a Stuffed Heirloom Pump-
kin French Toast (luxury pie pumpkin “French toast,” stuffed with cream cheese, Kerrygold butter and homemade pumpkin syrup). Chef Lorena Garcia served family-style brunch bites with Latin flair. Art Smith, owner of Reunion Restaurant, prepared one of his renowned dishes, Shrimp &
tower to market to help combat one of the world’s most pressing challenges: food waste. The company, Kuairu, was founded by CEO Renata Coelho, co-founder Pedro Coelho, and UA professor Goggy Davidowitz, who developed the tower through his research in the College of Agriculture, Life & Environmental Sciences. Tech Launch Arizona, the unit that helps university innovators com-
mercialize inventions stemming from their work, is working with the team to help them through the process, connect them with investors, and position them for future success. Every year, 40 percent of the food produced in the United States never makes it to a plate. Instead, it ends up in landfills, creating methane emissions and wasting the water, labor, and resources invested to grow it. The solar drying tower offers a
Continued on PAGE 17
Solar Drying Technology Fights Food Waste BY ANA FERNANDA CONTRERAS
Special to Gourmet News A University of Arizona startup is bringing a solar-powered drying
PAGE 16
• Featured Products PAGE 19
• Advertiser Index PAGE 22
Continued on PAGE 18
Cereal Grains Study Delves Into Transport BY KELLY DEVOS
Special to Gourmet News If breakfast is the most important meal of the day, then cereal grains are America’s morning MVPs. Corn, wheat, rice, oats, barley and rye aren’t just pantry staples. They’re the backbone of our diets, the fuel in our lunch boxes and the crunchy, golden heart of a thousand cereal ads. But before they ever meet your spoon, these grains take epic road trips, river cruises and cross-country train rides. The journey from field to bowl is anything but simple. Every year, billions of tons of cereal grains crisscross the United States, moving from farms in the Midwest to ports to processing plants to kitchen tables in every state. Along the way, they rely on a complex transportation network of highways, railways and waterways. That network faces big challenges: how to keep costs low so cereal stays affordable, how to reduce carbon emissions so breakfast is sustainable and how to make the system resilient enough to handle unexpected shocks, like floods, droughts or even a bridge collapse. Continued on PAGE 18
Market of Choice Welcomes Emerging Oregon Food Brands Independent, family-owned grocer Market of Choice has been a supporter of local makers since its founding. As a cornerstone of Oregon’s robust food innovation ecosystem, Market of Choice has nurtured thousands of partnerships with local maker startups through its MOJO program alone. Market of Choice doesn’t just stock local products – it makes itself available to assist makers at each step of their journey, whether that means offering guidance through Oregon’s Food Innovation Center, serving as a
judge in statewide food entrepreneur pitch fests and food shows or mentoring new brands directly. Through this collaborative network, Market of Choice champions makers such as Pistakio, Buji Brown Butter, Iliana Maura Divinely Dairy-Free Butter and Manny’s Choice – helping transform passion into products and bring them to the shelf and into customers’ hands. “Oregon’s food culture
thrives on connection and collaboration,” said John Boyle, chief
merchandising and marketing officer for Market of Choice. “By building connections between makers and resources within Oregon’s innovation community, Market of Choice helps create the conditions where new entrepreneurs can grow and succeed.” Getting onto grocery shelves is one of the toughest challenges for small-batch producers. Oregon’s food scene thrives on cooperation, with makers frequently sharing advice, facilities and Continued on PAGE 17