03.06.12
Michael Szyliowicz

 

Innovation is at the center of everything we do. It has shaped our company’s heritage, laid the groundwork for our bright future and even influences our daily decisions at Mont Blanc Gourmet. 

We’ve proven to the food and beverage industry time and again that we’ll take a chance to bring about positive change for the industry. 

Mont Blanc Gourmet was the first in the industry to introduce fair trade chocolate sauce, a decision we made because it was the right thing to do. We also were the first to bring the industry single-origin chocolate sauce. We dared to develop the industry’s first dairy-free blender mix, and at SCAA 2011 we hosted the “Invitation to Innovation,” a wildly successful breakfast with creativity coach Artie Isaac that helped industry leaders start looking at creativity and innovation as tools to improve business. 

For an industry that traditionally waits for the largest companies to change before following behind, Mont Blanc Gourmet stands out from the pack, constantly driving industry ingenuity and imagination. 

We’re deeply committed to innovation, and in the next year, Mont Blanc Gourmet will again prove that commitment through some very exciting announcements. That’s all we can formally announce so far, but stay tuned for some stirring innovations in 2012. 

 

04.07.10
Michael Szyliowicz

 

 

What is with Phoenix? I arrived yesterday to speak at a conference of Research Chefs and, as I usually do when traveling, inquired about local independent coffee shops I could visit. A block from my downtown hotel was the Cartel Coffee Lab. This is Cartel’s second retail store, and it had opened just months earlier. I was delighted to see a Clover machine and ordered two different coffees, one from Brazil and the other from Guatemala. What I really appreciated was that each coffee was paired with something to taste to help accentuate the unique flavors of each. The Brazil was paired with dark chocolate and the Guatemala with dried currants. The chocolate had notes of licorice and cherries and helped emphasize the balance and flavor of the coffee. The currants really brought out the spicy and earthy notes of the Guatemalan. It was a surprising, unique twist and one I really enjoyed. The coffee is roasted at Cartel’s off-site plant and sold in both stores as well as some wholesale locations.

The Fair Trade Café was recommended as another place to check out. Located near Arizona State University, it lived up to its name, offering a Costa Rican and...

11.11.09

 

 

In the last week, I’ve traveled in Ireland, visiting coffee shops and talking with coffee roasters. The emphasis throughout the country has been on Fair Trade. There are banners in each city proclaiming that Limerick, for example, is a Fair Trade City.

Fair Trade

On the surface, it makes sense to promote Fair Trade products as a way of trying to get more money back to subsistence farmers to help improve their lives and living conditions. And although there has been some success in getting people to consume Fair Trade products, particularly with strong marketing campaigns, the trick is getting people to continue consuming those products on an ongoing basis. However, that can be done only if the quality of the Fair Trade products is equal to or surpasses that of similar products that don’t have a Fair Trade insignia. Unfortunately, that is often not the case.

Clements Menu

I discussed this situation with one of my customers, a boutique coffee...