Seeing one’s passion through to fruition is an honorable accomplishment. For Gilbert resident James May, the sweet taste of passionate success came in the form of stevia leaves, something in which he saw unbridled potential.
May was introduced to stevia through a Peace Corps volunteer who gave him a plant leaf to taste. In the years that followed, he developed the product and brought the sweetener from Paraguay to market with the brand name SweetLeaf Stevia in the United States.
Known as “the father of stevia,” May is the founder and CEO of SweetLeaf Stevia’s parent company, Wisdom Natural Brands. He was honored on Jan. 11 with the Leadership Vision Award by Specialty Food Association, a nonprofit business trade association, at its Winter Fancy Food Show awards ceremony in San Francisco.
“I admit, it was a great honor,” says May, who was surprised by the recognition. “I was deeply touched by it. Frankly, I had no idea what it was going to be until we got there and it actually happened.”
Specialty Food Association’s Ron Tanner says May is a “stellar example of a person with a vision.”
“His dedication to bringing stevia to the U.S. helped consumers become healthier
In 1994, Congress passed the Dietary Supplement Health & Education Act, which allowed various herbs to be marketed to consumers, and stevia was added to the list a year later.
The FDA, however, issued a notice that when marketing stevia, the word “sweet” couldn’t be used to describe the product, and the public couldn’t be informed that stevia would enhance the flavor of foods or beverages. May cleverly solved the issue by naming his product SweetLeaf Stevia.
Exclusive wine centerpiece of Postino
while aiding poor farmers in Paraguay,” says Tanner, who is the association’s vice president of philanthropy, government and industry relations.
Dedicated to stevia
May dove headfirst into bringing the product to the masses soon after being introduced to it.
“When I got started in it, it was a dead agricultural industry and there was no market anymore for stevia because our government was trying to keep it out.”
Undaunted, he contracted with native farmers in Paraguay and gave them money to install irrigation systems for their stevia fields. Money was tight within May’s family so he sold nearly everything they owned to bankroll the project.
In 2008, SweetLeaf Stevia received a “Generally Recognized as Safe” status from the FDA. The all-natural sugar substitute is quickly becoming a household name.
May’s wife, Carol, has weathered the rough journey of bringing SweetLeaf Stevia to market and is president of Wisdom Natural Brands.
“Going from where we were in the ‘80s when she thought I’d lost my mind...she’s now the president of the company,” May says.
“She’s running the operations now. She’s telling me what to do and what not to do.”
Stevia has a zero glycemic index and is safe for those with diabetes.
“It’s the only sweetener on Earth that improves the health of the human body,” May explains. “Some forms of it you can use topically. It’s wonderfully healing on the skin.”
In 2012, Paraguay President Federico Franco recognized May for his efforts in helping native farmers.
“He honored Jim for all he’s done for the farmers, the economy of Paraguay and for his many, many contributions,” says Barbara McFadden, SweetLeaf Stevia spokeswoman.
Foods that contain SweetLeaf Stevia include organic chocolate milk, nutritional bars, salad dressings, tortilla chips, soda, cosmetics, energy drinks, ice cream, frozen yogurt, candy and baked goods. SweetLeaf Stevia is also sold as liquid drops that consumers can use for their own recipes and drinks.
“We’re selling not only all over the United States and North America but also in 30 different countries,” May notes.
In March, SweetLeaf Stevia water enhancers will hit the market. “They’re incredibly delicious,” May states. “The difference is that ours doesn’t have different chemical ingredients. They’re just totally natural.”
Wisdom Natural Brands will be introducing an organic stevia product in coming weeks.
“I’m introduced all over the world as ‘the father of stevia’—literally in countries all over the world,” says May. “People generally say that I’ve started an entirely new industry, and I guess that’s true.” May says he believes, “Stevia is changing the world and it will continue to do so.”
Opening its first location in Arcadia almost 15 years ago, Postino has earned a name for itself as one of the Valley’s first wine bars, inspiring a trend that still is in an upswing. Offering crave-worthy cuisine—its use of triple crème brie is applause-worthy—and a diverse selection of wine by the bottle and glass, Postino is gaining staunch followers in the East Valley with a location in Gilbert.
“A huge part of being Postino is incorporating unique and exciting things. Because of that, we have a history of collaborations,” says Brent Karlicek, beverage director for Upward Projects, which owns Postino.
He had a hand in creating several wines exclusive to Postino, including Stagedive and Holly’s Way, its California pinot noir and chardonnay. The wine café also offers a red and white blend, both called Downtown, that solely use grapes grown in Cochise County.
Karlicek describes the white blend as exotic with intense floral and ripe tropical notes and a citrusy, clean finish. He would recommend pairing this with two of their bruschetta options—the brie and apples with fig spread and the prosciutto with figs and mascarpone.
Downtown red is full of black fruit, blackberries and black plum, with notes of black and white pepper and some umami, earthy tones. However, do not be misled for its dark, rich look in the glass, Karlicek lovingly refers to this red as “gulp-able.” This wine is perfect with either the Nine Iron panini, Postino’s take on the club, or its Butcher’s Block appetizer.
Postino is located at 302 N. Gilbert Rd., Gilbert. For more information, call (480) 632-6363.
WORLD ECONOMICS: May’s vision has economically benefited farmers in Paraguay as well as brought a viable natural sweetener to the United States.
BY BREANNE DEMORE
Everybody Loves Fondue owners smitten with eatery
BY CHRISTINA FUOCO-KARASINSKI
Living in Switzerland while on a mission, Bill Dixon indulged in Swiss fondue, dipping various vegetables, breads and meats in cheese.
His Canadian-born wife, Celine, who lived in France for a time, knew a thing or two about fondue as well.
“They did a lot of fondue when she was growing up,” Bill says.
Since the end of summer, the duo have been living their dream of owning a fast and affordable fondue restaurant, aptly named Everybody Loves Fondue.
“Who doesn’t love cheese and chocolate melted?” Bill asks rhetorically when asked about the name of the Gilbert restaurant. “We do things like large soft pretzels dipped in cheese. You can’t go wrong with that. We have angel food cake dipped in chocolate. You can’t mess that up.”
As Bill states, Everybody Loves Fondue uses only the freshest ingredients. Celine elaborates.
“We have a Swiss and cheddar fondue,” she says with her trademark smile. “You get French, wheat or focaccia bread. Then with everything else you pick your sides. The meat—turkey, chicken or ham—is already cooked.”
The all-white-painted restaurant also offers fresh vegetables, such as raw broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, pickles, jalapenos and celery.
“We have pretzels, crackers, chips, whatever else you can dip in the cheese,” says Celine, a former physical education teacher. “With the chocolate, it’s the same things—dark and white milk chocolate. We have strawberries and pineapple.
Everything’s fresh.”
Apparently, the recipe is working. Everybody Loves Fondue has found success at its location at Higley and Guadalupe roads. Bill, who worked in machinery for Empire before opening the restaurant, adds that he gets a thrill out of watching first-time customers discovering fondue.
“I love seeing people the first time they take a bit of our chocolate or cheeses and light up,” he says. “They’re surprised at how good it is. When you get fast fondue at a reasonable price, nobody expects Ghirardelli quality or the cheese quality that we use.”
Bill admits that Everybody Loves Fondue has a “secret” menu as well as its posted list of dishes. He revealed one item—a peanut, dark chocolate and marshmallow, rocky road-like dipping sauce.
The prices are affordable. Each serving is $1.49; while a meat serving is $2.99. Chocolate, cheese and peanut fondue range in price from $3.99 to $6. Sandwiches are $4.99 to $6.99. The large soft pretzel—which is heavenly with cheese fondue—is $2.99.
Not only does Bill and Celine feed the community, they support it as well.
Daughters, Ryan, 15, and Sierra, 13, play sports and participate in performing arts at Highland High School and Highland
Junior High School, respectively. Everybody Loves Fondue makes it a point to advertise in the programs.
“It’s neat to be involved in the community,” he says. “It’s a charitable thing for us, to support the girls. That’s the main thing.”
Unlike chain fondue restaurants, Everybody Loves Fondue doesn’t serve raw meats for diners to cook.
“We don’t do raw meats. We don’t deal
with hot oils,” he says. “Fondue means ‘melted.’ We melt. That’s what we do. We do fondue.”
Everybody Loves Fondue is located at 3244 E. Guadalupe Rd., Gilbert. Hours of operation are from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday. For more information, call (480) 268-9284 or visit www.everybodylovesfondue.com.
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SWISS BLISS: Since the end of summer, Everybody Loves Fondue has been bringing the joy of Swiss fondue to Gilbert residents. GSN photo by David Karasinski
DELECTABLE: Bill and Celine Dixon serve up affordable, fun fondue at Everybody Loves Fondue in Gilbert. GSN photo by David Karasinski
