Sasha Sinclair

Lehigh: Introducing New Passover Wines approved for 2024: Lovatelli, Cantina Giulian

Introducing New Passover Wines approved for 2024: Lovatelli, Cantina Giulian

The Festival of Passover starts April 22 – 30, an eight day holiday celebrating the Israelites’ Exodus from Egyptian slavery.

The most important event in Jewish history is marked by eating a festive meal with matzah, telling the Passover story (Seder) and drinking four cups of wine.  And, when you have four cups to get through in one Seder dinner, wine quality is paramount.

Passover wines perfect for 2024

Royal Wine Corp. is the largest manufacturer, importer and exporter of Kosher wines and spirits, with a portfolio that spans hundreds of brands and thousands of bottles of world-class wines.

For Passover 2024, they are introducing top quality wines from some of the finest wine producing regions including California, France, Italy, Spain and Israel, among others.

Lovatelli

Lovatelli

While forty percent of annual kosher wine sales occur for the Passover holiday, sales of kosher wine and spirits have been growing significantly throughout the rest of the year.

The not-so-secret to perfect passover wines

According to Jay Buchsbaum, VP of Wine Education at Royal Wine Corp.,

“There’s nothing cookie-cutter about these Passover wines – they are top notch, award winning and distinctive.”

Jay Buchsbaum

VP of Wine Education at Royal Wine Corp

“And, while red wine is traditional for the Passover Seder, it can be a nice Burgundy or a Pinot Noir, or a Cabernet – just as long as it is kosher for Passover. There are dozens to choose from. And, just to be clear, our portfolio consists of  acclaimed wines that just happen to be kosher, recognized for our quality and value.”

These Passover-approved bottles will complement any Seder fare. “L’Chaim”

  • Rocca delle Macie Chianti Classico, world famous winery producing kosher wine for the first time. This renowned and well regarded brand is producing kosher wine for the first time exclusively for Royal Wine Corp. (with more to come); SRP $25
  • Lovatelli, a new line of fine and affordable Italian wines, including a Salento Primitivo, SRP $17 and a Barbera d’Asti, SRP $25; Coming soon:  Nebbiolo, a Super Tuscan, as well as two new vermouths.
  • Cantina Giuliano, fully kosher boutique winery started in 2014 in Tuscany, Italy. The winery was started  by a young couple, who inherited wineries from their grandparents. It’s now fully kosher with new bottles and labeling.
  • Many new kosher wines are being imported from South Africa by ESSA and J Folk wineries (among them are : Chenin Blanc, Pinotage, Cabernet Sauvignon and more).

  • Bartenura – Flavored Moscatos in cans such as Peach, Lychee, and new Blueberry.
  • Château Dauzac Grand Cru Classé and Aurore de Dauzac Margaux ’21
  • Chateau Roubine Cru Classé Lion & Dragon Red
  • Des Moisans Deau Cognac Privilege
  • Herzog Lineage Momentus Rose
  • J de Villebois Sancerre Pinot Noir
  • Kamisa Winery – Galilee, Israel
  • Malbec du Clos Triguedina – Cahors
  • Shamay Winery Upper Galilee, Israel
  • New Carmel Black Cabernet Sauvignon, Galilée, Israel (SRP $30)
  • Brio de Château Cantenac Brown, Margaux

Is Kosher for Passover Wine Hard to Find?

Actually, it’s rather easy! Most kosher wine is also kosher for Passover, making it easier to sell this wine (and for consumers to stock up on bottles) year-round. Any kosher-for-Passover wine will have a “P” symbol or “Kosher for Passover” next to the kosher certification on the label.

But that’s not the case with some spirits. For example, you’ll be unlikely to find kosher-for-Passover whiskey, as whiskey is made with grain.

Fine kosher wines are made the same way that fine non-kosher wines are made,” adds Buchsbaum. “There is no kosher winemaking ‘technique.’ What’s required for the wine to be considered kosher, is that the wine be handled only by Sabbath-observant Jews. And there are plenty of fine winemakers and cellar workers who are Sabbath observant. Great grapes and skilled winemakers yield great wines—kosher or not.

Consumers looking for wines from renowned regions throughout the world can satisfy their thirst with more options than ever before. It seems the problem is not the availability of great wine but the overwhelming number of great wines to choose from. Royal Wine offers a delicious selection of kosher for Passover wines from around the world,” says Buchsbaum. “Some of the top producers are creating award-winning varietals at every price point, and with Passover just around the corner, we want to take the guesswork out of buying wine.”

 

Why Four Cups of Wine

One of the rituals served at Passover is the custom of drinking four cups of wine. The four cups of wine are consumed in a specific order as the story of Exodus is told. Served to the adults throughout the dinner, these four wines represent points from the exodus story. While there are several explanations for the significance of the number four, the connection to “freedom from exile” is often referenced. For observant Jews, the wine served should be kosher. Although a kosher wine uses the same grapes as other wines, the wine making is handled by “sabbath-observant Jews”.

Lehigh Valley Heartbreak: “Goodbye Pies” for Valentine’s Day with Pizza Hut delivering Spicy News in a Sweet Way

Lehigh Valley Heartbreak: “Goodbye Pies” for Valentine’s Day with Pizza Hut delivering Spicy News in a Sweet Way

Pizza Hut announces a new Valentine’s Day offering, “Goodbye Pies” with the launch of its new sweet yet spicy Hot Honey pizza.

There’s a misconception that breakups don’t happen around Valentine’s Day, but research shows it’s actually a holiday centered around the most heartbreak with 45% of people agreeing it’s better to do the deed right before the holiday itself*.

There’s even a phenomenon called ‘Red Tuesday’, which is the Tuesday before Valentine’s Day, where people break up most often in the year.**

That’s why starting this Red Tuesday, February 6, through Valentine’s Day, Pizza Hut is launching new, limited-edition Hot Honey “Goodbye Pies” to help deliver spicy news in a sweet way for FREE.

By sending a Goodbye Pie, Pizza Hut will help you break up with your significant other by delivering a personalized, simple message on custom packaging with a sweet and spicy Hot Honey pizza to ease the pain.

The custom Goodbye Pie pizza boxes also leave a space on the top for the break-upper’s name to be added.

To submit for a chance to send a free Goodbye Pie, simply visit GoodbyePies.com starting February 6 to ditch that awkward break-up convo and send a pizza instead.

This offer will be available through February 14 at select locations in the three major U.S. cities notorious for heartbreaks – NYC, Chicago and Miami, while supplies last. Not available in your city?

The website above can also be used to request Pizza Hut instead write a breakup text for you to send, along with a link to a gift card for your future-ex to redeem a free Hot Honey pizza. Limited quantities only available during this limited time.***

“The rising popularity of the sweet-heat flavor profile has led to Hot Honey becoming the most requested test item by our team members and we are thrilled to have it as the newest addition to our menu,” shared Lindsay Morgan, Chief Marketing Officer at Pizza Hut.

“With the launch of Goodbye Pies, we are bringing that perfect blend of sweet and heat experience to real life, delivering spicy news in the sweetest way for Valentine’s Day.”

Pizza Hut’s Hot Honey Pizza and Wings can be found nationwide at participating Pizza Hut locations starting at $11.99 for a medium pizza and $5.99 for 6 count boneless wings. Pricing and participation may vary.

  • Hot Honey Pizza: Featuring a pizza crust topped with marinara sauce, a generous layer of cheese, classic pepperoni, a hot honey drizzle made with real honey infused with chili peppers and crispy cupped pepperoni, balancing the honey’s sweet heat with the savory-salty taste of the pepperoni. The crisp pepperoni cups are ideally shaped to hold the hot honey drizzle.
  • Hot Honey WingsAvailable in both bone-in and boneless versions, these wings are coated in Hot Honey and double-dipped in sensational sweet heat flavors.

This new Hot Honey innovation will be spotlighted in a new Pizza Hut campaign, titled “Pizza wHut!?” which will roll out nationally in February bringing to life Pizza Hut’s commitment to flavor innovation as the brand continues to reinvent and perfect everyone’s favorites with new and craveable flavors.

Visit PizzaHut.com for more information.

*According to YouGov.com poll.
**Described on The-Sun.com.


*** AVAILABLE FIRST-COME, FIRST-SERVED, WHILE SUPPLIES LAST EACH DAY. QUANTITIES ARE LIMITED. Open to legal US residents physically residing in the 50 U.S. and D.C who are 18+ years of age. Offer Recipients must live in select zip codes in New York CityChicago or Miami. Ends at 11:59:59 pm CT on 2/14/24, or when all available Incentives are claimed (whichever comes first). A minimum of 10 Goodbye Pie Incentives and 50 Breakup Text Offers are available each Incentive and Offer Period per Market. Limit one (1) Incentive and Offer per person and per household. Other restrictions apply.

For Incentive and Offer Periods and a list of eligible Zip Codes and full Terms, visit www.goodbyepies.com/terms

Diana Krall Plays Bethlehem’s Wind Creek March 1 2024

Diana Krall Plays Bethlehem’s Wind Creek March 1 2024

Diana Krall is the only jazz singer to have eight albums debut at the top of the Billboard Jazz Albums chart. To date, her albums have garnered two Grammy® Awards, ten Juno® Awards and have also earned nine gold, three platinum and seven multi-platinum albums. Krall’s unique artistry transcends any single musical style and has made her one of the most recognizable artists of our time. As The New York Times recently noted Krall possesses, “A voice at once cool and sultry, wielded with a rhythmic sophistication” 

Born in Nanaimo, British Columbia, which is outside of Vancouver, Krall grew up in the western part of Canada and began studying the piano when she was four years old. By the time she was 15, she was performing jazz locally and with the encouragement of her father, a stride pianist with a vast knowledge of such Twenties and Thirties keyboard masters as Fats Waller, James P. Johnson, and Earl Hines, she devoted herself to music. “I think Dad had every recording Fats Waller ever made,” she says, “and I tried to learn as many as I could.”  

Krall was still a teenager when she was awarded a scholarship to the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston. After two years in Boston, she moved to Los Angeles, where she met her first jazz heavyweights, including bassist John Clayton, drummer Jeff Hamilton, pianist/singer Jimmy Rowles, and Ray Brown, the legendary bassist who served as her musical mentor. In 1993, the Montreal-based Justin Time Records released her debut album, Stepping Out. The following year she signed with GRP Records and recorded Only Trust Your Heart, which featured Ray Brown on bass and Stanley Turrentine on tenor saxophone. Only Trust Your Heart also marked the beginning of her association with Tommy LiPuma, a collaboration that would continue until LiPuma’s untimely passing in 2017. 

Krall’s success continued with her subsequent releases All for You, and Love Scenes but her watershed moment came in 1999 with the release of When I Look in Your Eyes, her first release for the historic Verve record label. The recording spent an unprecedented 52 weeks in the #1 position on Billboard’s Jazz chart, won two Grammy Awards and went platinum in the U.S. and Canada. Krall’s next album, The Look of Love, continued her international success and became a top ten seller on Billboard’s Top 200 Album charts. Since then she has released a string of recordings that have created an impressive body of work, including her critically acclaimed Turn Up The Quiet, which won two Juno Awards including “Producer of the Year.” Love Is Here To Stay found Diana collaborating with her long-time friend and colleague Tony Bennett. It was recorded with the Grammy award winning Bill Charlap Trio and the stunning result is a subtle, sophisticated and beautifully rendered love letter to The Gershwins’ music and their status as one of the premiere songwriters of the American popular standard. It is a masterclass in vocal delivery and phrasing and the command that Bennett and Krall display of the material in both their duets and solo tracks makes it appear effortless, belying the honed skills of the vocalists. The duet tracks include “Love Is Here to Stay,” “S’Wonderful,” “They Can’t Take That Away from Me” and “Fascinating Rhythm,” among them. 

Her most recent release, This Dream Of You, has garnered critical acclaim from fans and press alike. This album is a loving conclusion of Diana’s 25-year working relationship with Tommy LiPuma. Shortly before LiPuma’s passing, the producer and artist discussed the abundance of great music recorded at their last sessions together. LiPuma was adamant that this music should be completed and issued. Krall and engineer, Al Schmitt therefore mixed and sequenced the album for the 2020 release and as such, honored their great and much-missed friend. From this release came the worldwide premiere of “Autumn In New York,” a cinematic ode to the city, directed by Diana’s long-time collaborator and friend Mark Seliger, offering a visual compliment to Krall’s loving and hopeful performance of the song. 

Diana Krall’s recordings have been included in several film soundtracks and she has expanded upon her role as a performer to include songwriting, producing and arranging and has brought her talents to collaborate with many other artists including Paul McCartney, Barbra Streisand and Tony Bennett. She tours extensively around the globe to sold out audiences, appearing at premiere jazz festivals and concert halls throughout North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. 

For tix and more info Diana Krall Plays Bethlehem’s Wind Creek

Slatington Kicks Off the Holiday Season with Annual Tree Lighting December 1 in Greater Northern Lehigh

Slatington Kicks Off the Holiday Season with Annual Tree Lighting December 1 in Greater Northern Lehigh

The Greater Northern Lehigh Chamber, proud partner of the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce, is gearing up for a memorable 2023 holiday season!

The Greater Northern Lehigh Chamber, proud partner of the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce, is gearing up for a memorable 2023 holiday season with their annual tree lighting ceremony in Slatington, PA.

The event will take place on Friday, December 1, 2023 from 5:00-7:00 PM and is free and open to the public.

Prior to the event from 4:00-5:00 PM, attendees are encouraged to stop by the Slatington Library for stories with Mrs. Claus, before heading down to the festivities at Veterans Memorial Park (509 Main Street, Slatington), which kick off from 5-7 PM.

The event will feature festive holiday performances from Slatington Elementary School and Rhythm and Sole Dance Studio, as well as complimentary hot chocolate and popcorn for participants. Crafters, artisans and local businesses will host a vendor market to provide an opportunity for holiday shopping.

Buddy the Elf will make an appearance, as well as Santa Claus himself (arriving at 6:30 PM to light the tree).

Opportunities to take pictures with Santa will be available for those in attendance once the tree is lit.

“Each year, we kick off the holiday tree lighting season in Greater Northern Lehigh with this time-honored tradition in Slatington,”

Jessica O’Donnell-Gower

Executive Vice President of Affiliated Chambers for the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce.

“We’re forward to enjoying holiday festivities together as a community once again, and with the support of a vibrant business community.”

In addition to the Tree Lighting festivities, the event will also host a food drive that will benefit the Northern Lehigh Food Bank.

“The holidays remind us that the spirit of giving is alive and well, and the Chamber likes to ensure that we are helping others in the community,” said Kylie Adams-Weiss, Assistant Vice President of Affiliated Chambers for the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce and liaison to the Greater Northern Lehigh Chamber of Commerce. “We’re hoping that by giving back to those in need, we can keep the holiday spirit thriving in Northern Lehigh.”

With inclement weather on the forecast for Friday, the Chamber will be watching weather closely to determine whether or not the event will be held or live-streamed on the Greater Northern Lehigh Chamber’s Facebook Page (www.facebook.com/NorthernLehighChamber). An announcement will be made by the Chamber on Thursday should weather force a change in plans.

 

When: December 1, 2023 (5-7 PM)

Pricing Information: FREE

Sponsors (as of 11/28/2023):

Bechtel’s Pharmacy: Handwarmer Sponsor

Bob & Nancy Treskot: Hot Chocolate Sponsor

AF Boyer Hardware & Guns: Santa’s Helper Sponsor

Keystone Technology LLC: Santa’s Helper Sponsor

Nulton Diagnostics: Santa’s Helper Sponsor

Geoff Mosebach State Farm: Santa’s Helper Sponsor

Becky’s Drive-In: Supporting Sponsor

Rentschler Auto Group: Supporting Sponsor

Krysta Hankee Memorial Fund: Supporting Sponsor

The Neffs National Bank: Supporting Sponsor

New Cocktails for the Holidays! Fresh Victor serves Full Flavor for your Next Sip!

New Cocktails for the Holidays! Fresh Victor serves Full Flavor for your Next Sip!

Fresh Victor is how you make fast, delicious craft cocktails and amazing mocktails — Every. Single. Time. 

Fresh Victor is a line of premium mixers for consistently delicious and efficient cocktails (and mocktails too.)

H. Ehrmann knows his cocktails

H. Ehrmann is a bartender and drinks industry consultant who runs Elixir, one of the most influential bars in San Francisco.  In the industry for 35 years, owned a bar for 20 years. 

Recently he hosted a virtual mixer walking us through several cocktails using Fresh Victor as the mixer: from non-alcoholic, to low alc, to full alcoholic.

Cold-pressed juice-based cocktail mixers. They have added sugar, either organic cane sugar or agave nectar used to balance out citrus levels to hit the intended brix level for most cocktails.

Holidays 2023: Fresh Victor creates Fast, Delicious Craft Cocktails

For example, with the Lemon Sour, the base is known as a pretty simple flavor profile.  You can add another layer of flavor complexity (like a liqueur).  But the Fresh Victor mixer was designed to have more depth, a bit more bitterness to handle any additional sweetness added. 

Fresh Victor +1 or +2

All of the Fresh Victor bottles are designed to make delicious cocktails, but simply and easier.  How?  The amount of cocktails that can be made by adding just 1 or 2 ingredients plus the Fresh Victor mixer.

+1 is agave and tequila.  Lemon Sour and whiskey. 

+2 might be carbonation, frothing, aromatics, like:  tonic, soda water, champagne, egg white, bitters.

Fresh Victor creates Fast, Delicious Craft Cocktails

 

“2-3 pours and a lot of flavor”

H. Ehrmann

With those 3 elements and Fresh Victor’s 9 flavors, you can end up with dozens of drinks.  From classics, to a spin-off of a classics (including mocktails).

Mixing ratios: 1: 1 and 2: 1.  

1 1 / 2  oz of spirit to 2 ounces of mixer

2 oz of spirit to 2 ounces of mixer

If the drinker likes the taste of the alcohol, they want that taste to “punch” through, then then 2:2 is better for them.  If they want the flavor sweeter, iding behind the mixer, 2:1 is the answer for them.

Fresh Victor is a mixer, not a juice.  So it’s meant to take on dilution as you build your cocktail. Right out of the bottle, it’s a bit more concentrated, more dense.  Meant to be stirred, shaken, reduced down without watering down the flavor.   It can dilute 15-20% without losing quality. 

Using Fresh Victor, you can create a 32 oz, 64 oz or a gallon punch bowl for a holiday party in less than 5 minutes.  And it’s not a simple, lame flavor.  It’s complex.

Orchard Bliss Royale

Non-alcoholic.  When you add Champagne or Sparkling, it’s called “Royale” and today’s drink is adding Sparkling Cider.  

4 oz sparkling cider

2 oz Fresh Victor (Three Citrus and Mint Leaf)

Garnish with dehydrated apple slices

The nose is refreshing. Vibrant apple.  Effervescent on the palate, from the Sparkling. A balance of lemon, lime, orange.  Plump, but not overwhelming.  Mint notes that bring a tertiary element.

Suggestions include playing with adding a shot of vodka, rum or tequila, any of which would work well.

Fresh Victor mixers give a fruit-forward base that makes it easy to play and experiment with.

Winter Spice Tonic

“When mixed well, Gin impacts the overall character of your drink, but doesn’t get in your face”.

1 oz Tanqueray london dry gin

1 Oz Fresh Victor (Cactus Pomegranate)

4 oz Fever Tree Tonic

Aromatic bitters

Garnish with vanilla bean, All-spice berries, Dehydrated Lemon

The nose is immediately the charming, floral aromatics you’d expect from the gin.  Then slowly the baking spices express themselves.  Deep character layers and complexity.  A gush of tonic, then lingering vanilla and lemon.  

Definitely a gin drink for someone who’s not a gin fan as it showcases the best of gin without being overwhelming.

H. Ehrmann with the Fresh Victor Winter Spice Tonic

H. Ehrmann with the Fresh Victor Winter Spice Tonic

Love a standard gin drink?  Try Gin and Tonic with Fresh Victor’s Cucumber and Lime!

“I’ve taught cocktail classes for over ten years.  As much as students love it and geek out over cocktail details at the bar.  When they get home to their kitchen, they still prefer to have something easy.  That’s a huge part of when Fresh Victor is.”

“The 2 things that show us down when drinking cocktails, alcoholic strength and bitterness.  Those are things that help us drag a cocktail out 10-20 minutes. Like, intentional speed bumps to keep you from drinking too fast.  So removing the alcohol from a recipe, removes that speed bump.  Adding more bitters, adds it back.  It helps a non-alco drink feel more like a cocktail.”

“Just before Covid, we decided to focus Fresh Victor on bars and restaurants.  So Covid hits.  We decided to re-package into a 16 oz bottle.  Within 6 weeks we had these bottles available in 7 states direct to consumer. Within 2 months, we had 48 states direct to consumer.  I shifted to selling cocktail kits from home and Fresh Victor was the perfect partner for me.”

“Take a liter of tequila and a 64 oz bottle of Mexican lime and agave, you can make 32 margaritas.  I was selling those kits like crazy.  People were re-ordering every other day.”

“All the ways you can use Fresh Vector.  I went through the lexicon of cocktails.  What can I make with lemon sour?  What can I make with Mexican Agave? Then I’d look at more unique flavor profile and ask myself what can I make with that?”

Figtorious Celebrations

2 oz of Fresh Victor (grapefruit and sea salt)

2 oz VSOP brandy

1 / 2 oz fig syrup

Try thinking of Fresh Victor less as a mixer or a juice and more as an ingredient.  Think of it as an ingredient where you can use as much or as little as you want to make a more complex drink.

Explore from a culinary point of view.  What other flavors mix?

H. Ehrmann with the Fresh Victor Figtorious Celebrations

H. Ehrmann with the Fresh Victor Figtorious Celebrations

 

Fresh Victor Holidays Flavors

H. Ehrmann suggests a twist this cold, holiday season.  Think like a Hot Toddy. Simply warm up your Whiskey Sour, Lemon Drop, even your sangria.  Anything that would normally go with ice, this time heat it up warm and toasty.

 

Lehigh Valley Foodies: Chilli No 5 Brings BIG Flavor and Superfoods to Your Next Meal

Lehigh Valley Foodies: Chilli No 5 Brings BIG Flavor …and Superfoods to Your Next Meal with an unmistakable spicy hit, combined with superfoods & health supplements.

Providing the flavorful gourmet vegan chilli sauces & gift sets using the most natural & healthy ingredients.

Chilli No 5 Brings 'Superfood Sorcery' and Big Flavor

Chilli No 5 Brings ‘Superfood Sorcery’ and Big Flavor

Delivering the best range of your favorite international flavors of chilli, marinades and BBQ hot sauces.

Co-founder Rumble Romagnoli joined me for a conversation about food, family, making chilli healthier and bringing their award-winning chilli sauce to the masses.

Chilli No. 5 Co-founder Rumble Romagnoli

Chilli No. 5 Co-founder Rumble Romagnoli

The below conversation has been edited for length and clarity.  Find the full, un-edited conversation at our YouTube channel.

 

When you think about hot sauce, can you tell us about a celebration or a memory, something in life that inspired you to get so excited about hot sauce?

Rumble Romagnoli: Yeah when we’re smaller and we’re in the kitchen, it’s such a magical experience, isn’t it?

I had a real Italian Nonna so an Italian grandmother who always had bubbling pots and pastas and, Mules and fish and meat.  My mother and my sister; so great moments as a child cooking in the kitchen and then out on the dining table with all the family.

It was great and now I love cooking and it makes me really relaxed. Just zoning out, cooking for the family, growing my own vegetables, chilies and then gathering around tables with friends and family just to enjoy. And that’s really where this all started.

 

What does day to day life look like for you.  How did you decide to split up some of that time with a hot sauce endeavor?

Rumble Romagnoli: You remember COVID wasn’t really a nice time for anyone. We were there in a small apartment with lots of small children. It was chaos.

We couldn’t see our friends. We couldn’t see our family. They were all over the world and it was desperate times. So I suppose setting up Chili No. 5 was all about this kind of wanting to get back together with people enjoying moments and being together, sharing and getting fresh, healthy food and not lining up in the supermarket.

Chilli No 5 Brings 'Superfood Sorcery' and Big Flavor

Chilli No 5 Brings ‘Superfood Sorcery’ and Big Flavor

A lot of chefs who I was very friendly with all had lost their jobs. I was like, Hey, can you make sauce? They’re like, yeah, of course I can. So that’s how it all started. 

And we started trying out new flavors and we love world cooking. So that’s how Chilli No 5 started.

From your Chilli expert point of view, what should someone look for on a label that lets us know this is a quality chilli sauce?

Rumble Romagnoli: I think you guys are better at it than us to be fair. You’re fanatics; incredible.

I’m not a real expert. I just love creating great food for my family and friends. And we’ve tried to make… The best world hot sauces but they’re not going to blow your head off. It’s not really a hot sauce. They are chilli sauces. 

Chilli No 5 variety of flavors

Chilli No 5 variety of flavors

What I think you should be looking for on the bottle is: great ingredients, as many as you can get. No numbers, no coloring, no baddies.

I’m looking for just superfoods and anything that’s gonna make me glow.

In my world, when I think of chili sauce and hot sauces, I don’t always think of superfoods.

Tell me a little bit about where the idea came from to so strongly cross over superfoods with chili.

 

Rumble Romagnoli:  I love spice and tingling on my tongue and that kind of rush you get from that spice and hot.  The hot sauce or the flakes or the chili oil. My wife loves to be healthy. Happy wife, happy life they say, so I just combined.

I was doing something more spicy and she says, why don’t you put some good stuff in there? And I’d been reading a lot about Guana ginseng, maca; and all of these are in our sources. These are natural supplements that you buy in the shop.  You have some of that and it really picks you up, increases your concentration, which I need for long days. I need more energy. I’m getting older. So I was like, hey let’s just put them in the hot sauce and then you got the best of both worlds. So that’s the superfood sauce or superfood sorcery we like to say.

That was all my wife’s doing to be honest.

 

I feel like a lot of chilli sauces are just gunk. When I think superfoods, I think health. Is your Chilli No 5 a health food?

Rumble Romagnoli: Absolutely. I’ll pick out one of these bottles.I wouldn’t say a healthy hot sauce. I would say a hot sauce full of healthy ingredients because you never know there are some sugars in here and you never know what people will find healthy or not healthy.

But we’ve got in this Jamaican jerk, which is great on a barbecue chicken as a marinade as a condiment as a barbecue sauce. We’ve got fresh red onions, fresh spring onions. Chilli No 9 chili. Fresh chilies, which are all really healthy for you. There’s ginger. There’s garlic. There’s lemon. There’s lime. There’s agave syrup. 

We tried to tone down the sugar but keep it a little bit sweet, apple cider vinegar, we’ve got, extra virgin olive oil. It goes on black garlic, thyme, nutmeg, allspice, black pepper, guarana, maca, Ginseng, l arginine.  It doesn’t stop.  That is packed to the rims, full of healthy ingredients.

We’ve tried to put the healthiest ingredients we could find and make it as tasty as possible using these ingredients and authentic to Jamaica and their jerk sauce.

It’s a sauce packed full of healthy superfood antioxidant ingredients and that’s maybe why it’s winning all these awards for taste. 

Because bottom line is it has to taste nice before being healthy.

 

Nobody wants a science flavored chili. So I agree with that.   Let’s talk about some of your favorite flavors.

Rumble Romagnoli:  It’s hard because we have over 15 sources. But one of my favorites which you’d probably love as well is the Mexican Fury. My sister lives in Guadalajara in Mexico. She left the UK and went all around South America and ended up finding a lovely guy and settled down there. 

Mexican food is fantastic. It’s just really great.  Full of flavors and all sorts of different ingredients that we can’t grow in the UK or in Europe.  You guys have got such great weather down there in the South, Miami, Florida. Texas, Mexico between the South of the U. S. and the North of Mexico.

So you’ve got the jalapenos which are just incredible. We’ve got all of these beautiful chilies, the habanero come up with an automatically smoky flavor when mixed with the red peppers, the tomatoes, the red onions.  They fuse this on the palate to really pair very well with chicken, prawns, tacos, burritos or even egg for breakfast or pancakes.

The Mexican Fury is a really good one. We won 16 awards for different sauces. I love chipotle, anything smoky in our Louisiana barbecue. We’ve tried to tone down the sugar, add a bit of cognac whiskey, bourbon whiskey.  We’ve added the classic American ingredients in there to make a kind of healthy style Louisiana barbecue. 

Then the harissa is a great one. It’s really popular. it’s North African full of caraway seeds, cumin seeds, olive oil, lots of of incredible deep ingredients that really sit on the back of the tongue. There’s lots of ingredients there that kind of bring your food to life. 

We want to bring life and energy into a barbecue situation, dinner with granny, breakfast before work, sandwich on the bench in Manhattan.

 

Tell us a little bit about the competitions you’ve entered.

Rumble Romagnoli: We were only a year old and we’d come up with these sauces and we’d thought they were good.  The founder Chef Colin and then we had a team of chefs working in our London kitchen and our South of France kitchen and we entered the Great Taste Awards.

These are quite big awards in the UK but it’s international awards where all kind of fine foods, gourmet foods are tested by panels of hundreds of judges. It’s quite a strict competition. 

So first year we came in and we won seven stars for 11 products. We’re very happy. It was incredible. The Jamaican jerk really got a good one. The heavenly Harissa came in very well. Our chilli oil called Pizza Pizzazz.

Our chili flakes are all fresh and lovely coming from all sides of the world. Carolina Reaper, the Scorpion, the Habanero, the Ghost, the Number 5 chili from India. 

We watched and read all of the judges’ comments and we’re so thankful that they really detailed about acidity, balance, flavor structures.

Then we reworked it.  We played around with ingredient quality, we changed vinegars slightly, the cooking process.  We started baking the vegetables, the peppers, the onions, the red onions.  The tomatoes really started getting more flavor.  We put in a bit of olive oil at the start to get the flavors moving around.

Then we came in this year with 13 awards out of 16.  With our 7, that makes 16 of our total products have won awards by the Great Taste Awards.

We want to create the best chilli sauces on the planet. That’s my mission.

 

How is Chilli No 5 going to grow and evolve?

Rumble Romagnoli: It’s happening quite quickly and we have a B2C strategy and service strategy.

We want to have the most delicious sauces in every category.  We’re just working on each recipe and we think  if we make the best sauce, people are going to love the best sauce, and then they’re going to buy the best sauce.

A bit like Apple, just make the best products and people just keep buying them  We’re getting into big stores in the UK, placements in Monaco.

We are in lots of great high end butchers, delicatessens and it’s going really well. 

So we’ve got this B2B strategy. We need to impress the professionals.   We’ve impressed the people who love healthy lifestyle, love delicious sauce, gourmet. But now we have to impress the industry.

Obviously coming to America is the big move. 

Tell us all the ways we can learn more about Chilli No. 5 Tell us your website, social media. 

Rumble Romagnoli: The website is the big one, Chilli No.5. Shop us on Etsy.  Follow us on instagram, Facebook, YouTube. 

We’re also quite present for hot sauce gift sets. We do five or six incredible hot sauce gift sets which are collections of the sauces. And we’ve got mini little minis and you can make your own you can personalize because we’ve got 15 sauces.

We’re very big at Christmas. Very big at Father’s Day, Thanksgiving and we will send the sauces over to you guys in the states. No problem. If anything breaks, if anything’s damaged, we will refund you and resend you the sauce you ordered because that’s the least we can do.

 

The Sixties Show at Penn’s Peak on February 9 2024

Penn’s Peak is proud to announce The Sixties Show, Friday, February 9, 2024

The Sixties Show is from NYC and is The Greatest 1960’s Musical Re-Creation Show on Earth. The band features former band members of The Who, Bob Dylan, and NBC TV’s Saturday Night Live band.

“An Aural and Visual tour de Force!”

“Powerfully Dramatized…. A Breathtaking Musical Experience of Major Importance!”

“…The Show is an indisputable Hit!”

“An Immersive Historical and Musical Spectacle…A Must See!”

 

The Sixties Show at Penn’s Peak on February 9 2024

The Sixties Show at Penn’s Peak on February 9 2024

 

For more information and buy tix for The Sixties Show, go to www.pennspeak.com

This is a show about time travel, going back to the 1960’s, based and around the most remarkable musical re-creation show you will ever see.

The Sixties Show at Penn’s Peak on February 9 2024

The Sixties Show at Penn’s Peak on February 9 2024

This popular theater show is a cross-generational crowd pleaser and has been selling out every theater and performing arts center where the band plays. The band is widely celebrated and known for re-creating spot on, note for note re-creations of the hits, B-sides and deep album cuts from the greatest songs of the 1960’s.

In addition to the concert experience, the show is full multi -media Broadway type production that is powerfully dramatized by a combination of time travel special effects, narration, 60’s archival audio and newsreel footage and a light show. This seen to be believed bigger-than-life, Broadway theater styled show is nothing less than awe -inspiring.

The Sixties Show is a high-energy trip back in time that reminds the audience how uniquely inspirational, entertaining, and historically significant the music and events of the 1960’s was and continues to be.

• All of the music is performed live, with no samples, backing tracks or prerecorded music of any kind.
• The band uses a state-of-the-art sound system but, only plays authentic 1960’s period vintage and re-issue vintage gear and instrumentation just like original artist’s and original recordings. This combined with genuine 1960’s mod costumes that the band wears only add to the meticulous detail and authenticity of this popular and powerful theater show.

The members of The Sixties Show were hand-picked to perform and record with Sir Paul McCartney, The Beach Boys, Brian Wilson, The Bee Gees, Mick Jagger, Bruce Springsteen and other legends and individually have performed at the most renown venues in the world such a Madison Square Garden, The Hollywood Bowl, Wembley Stadium, The Grand Rex in Paris, The Budokan in Tokyo and others.

Tickets on sale Friday, October 20th at 10:00AM at all Ticketmaster outlets, the Penn’s Peak Box Office and Roadies Restaurant and Bar.  Penn’s Peak Box Office and Roadies Restaurant ticket sales are walk-up only, no phone orders.

Reserved Seating

$27 Premium Reserved

$22 Regular Reserved

About Penn’s Peak

Penn’s Peak, a beautiful mountaintop entertainment venue located in Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, can comfortably host 1,800 concertgoers.  Enjoy a spacious dance floor, lofty ceilings, concert bar/concession area and a full service restaurant and bar aptly named Roadie’s. Complete with a broad open-air deck for summertime revelry, Penn’s Peak patrons enjoy a breathtaking overlook of nearby Beltzville Lake, plus a commanding, picturesque 50-mile panoramic view of northeastern Pennsylvania’s Appalachian Mountains. Choose Penn’s Peak for your next wedding, banquet or special event and treat your guests to an event truly “Above the Rest”.

Geographically convenient to residents of major population zones in Hazleton, Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Stroudsburg, the Lehigh Valley, Philadelphia and New York City, Penn’s Peak is an ideal location for any event.  It is located only four miles from Exit 74 of the northeast extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. 

For more information on Penn’s Peak, go to www.pennspeak.com or call 866-605-7325.

Il Divo: A New Day Holiday Tour Plays Wind Creek on Dec 2

Il Divo: A New Day Holiday Tour Plays Wind Creek on December 2.

IL DIVO is the most commercially successful classical crossover group in international music history since they first banded together in 2004.

Il Divo: A New Day Holiday Tour Plays Wind Creek

Il Divo: A New Day Holiday Tour Plays Wind Creek

For info and tix on Il Divo: A New Day Holiday Tour Plays Wind Creek 

 

With more than 30 million albums sold, 160 Gold and Platinum albums in 33 countries, to their credit, Il Divo was the first Classical Crossover artist to have an album debut at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top 200 chart.

Beyond enrapturing millions of fans in packed arenas and stadiums, their audience has consisted of historical figures and thought leaders and their presence has underscored momentous events, including the Summer Olympics, FIFA World Cup, Diamond Jubilee at Windsor and the Commander-in-Chief’s Ball, to name a few.

With songs recorded in Spanish, Italian, French, Portuguese, Latin, English and Japanese, their catalog has impressively yielded global sales of 30 million-plus units with 50 No. 1 hits and 160 Gold and Platinum records throughout 35 countries.

Il Divo’s collective of distinct voices and dynamic personalities have left an indelible imprint on music and culture.

For info and tix on Il Divo: A New Day Holiday Tour Plays Wind Creek 

Girls Night The Musical Nov 12 at The Scranton Cultural Center

Girls Night The Musical November 12 at The Scranton Cultural Center

Grab your girlfriends and follow five friends as they visit their past, celebrate their present, and look to the future on a wild and hilarious night out.

Girls Night The Musical Nov 12 at The Scranton Cultural Center

Girls Night The Musical Nov 12 at The Scranton Cultural Center

GIRLS NIGHT: THE MUSICAL has been thrilling audiences and earning rave reviews since its sensational Off-Broadway debut. This touching and hilarious ‘tell-it-like-it-is’ musical is bursting with energy and packed with favorites like “Lady Marmalade,” “It’s Raining Men,” “Man I Feel Like A Woman,” “I Will Survive” and more.

Get ready to laugh and sing along to these iconic hits. Don’t miss out on this unforgettable experience!

Tix for GIRLS NIGHT: THE MUSICAL

 

Laura Brady Gallery Grand Opening & Ribbon Cutting on September 23rd

LAURA BRADY GALLERY is excited to announce that it will be opening its doors to the public at its special Grand Opening Ceremony on September 23rd at 1pm.
The ceremony will include special guests including local government officials, local art influencers, and other community neighbors and leaders.
All the Shops at 3900 Hamilton will be joining in the celebration as their doors will be open offering special discounts and activities.
Artist and Owner Laura Brady presents a unique vision on nature and its reflection through art.
“I am delighted to join the Shops at 3900 Hamilton.
This is a perfect fit for my new gallery, that will also operate as a working studio and host art-inspired workshops.
It is also very meaningful to me that one of the first shops was started over 41 years ago by a brave women entrepreneur whose initial venture has help draw together this special community of high-value shops,”
Fine Artist, Laura Brady.
The Western Lehigh Chamber of Commerce will be hosting a short ribbon cutting ceremony which will be followed by the first official time the doors will be opened along with the exclusive release of the “Something Blue Collection”. The celebration will continue in the evening with an official reception for the Grand Opening beginning at 6:30PM.
Laura Brady will be there to welcome guests and talk about her process and story behind each piece.
For more details on LAURA BRADY GALLERY and Grand Opening events, visit https://laurabradygallery.com
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