inStorebuyer - March 2011 - 16

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HEADLINES IN BAKERY & DELI & RETAIL

Expert Baker Joins New French Bakery Team
New French Bakery announced a key addition to its world class team of baking professionals. James Rath, the new Director of Bakery Development for New French Bakery, brings 22 years of expertise with one of New York’s top wholesale artisan bakeries. Rath led the manufacturing, R&D and quality teams at Tom Cat Bakery from its inception as a tiny 1,300 square foot bakery with 10 customers, to a $32 million company employing 260 employees providing service to over 900 high profile clients. James Rath is passionate about quality, process, people, customers and profit all of which are essential elements for building a successful bakery. Prior to baking, Mr. Rath spent 6 years in the field of aerospace engineering, which required precision and quality operational practices. That experience served him well in bringing efficiency and high standards of quality to the baking industry to ensure efficacy and consistency in both product and business practices. Along with his passion for quality and efficiency, Rath loves great bread. His intricate knowledge of baking ingredients and Artisan techniques allows him to bring customer concepts to reality in the kitchen and develop products that look good and taste even better. According to Peter Kelsey, owner and head baker at New French Bakery, “James Rath brings a wealth of knowledge and experience from his years of Artisan baking. His addition to the New French Bakery team gives us a great advantage over the competition in developing new products and delivering on the high standards that customers expect from New French Bakery breads.” Mr. Kelsey added “Mr. Rath is also a long time friend and collaborator, and I am excited to see what we will be able to create together.”

Blommer Chocolate Receives Record Cocoa Shipment
Blommer Chocolate, North America’s largest processor of cocoa beans and ingredient chocolate products, announced the single, largest cocoa bean shipment from West Africa is destined for their facility. The vessel, the Atlantic Tramp, carried 18,400 metric tons of cocoa, most of which is sustainably farmed, Rainforest Alliance certified cocoa and Blommer Project Cocoa beans. The shipment represents Blommer’s continued dedication to cocoa industry sustainability and social responsibility initiatives. The cocoa was harvested in October, shipped in December, arrived in the US and was delivered to port warehouses in early February. Blommer has a long history of involvement in supporting cocoa community sustainability, beginning in the early 1950s when company founder, Henry Blommer, helped found the American Cocoa Research Institute. That organization has evolved into the World Cocoa Foundation, and Blommer’s Cocoa Director, Kip Walk, was the foundation’s chairman from 20082010. More than 30,000 farmers have participated in Blommer sustainability programs, and have benefited with better crop yields and premium pricing.

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inStorebuyer - March 2011

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