The Renaissance Mom: Stonewall Kitchen Review and a Giveaway!

I love unique and gourmet foods. That's one of the reasons I can, because you just cant get certain foods unless you make them yourself. So when Stonewall Kitchen offered to send me some of their products to review I was thrilled! They very appropriately sent me some dessert topping, just in time for ice cream season!

As I browsed through their online store you can find HERE I was amazed at the huge selection of tasty treats, seasoning, housewares, and foods they carry. There is something for everyone at Stonewall Kitchen and so many great gift ideas that I know I will be going back for Christmas gifts.

Here is a blurb about the company

The extraordinary journey of two friends, Jim Stott and Jonathan King, who were waiters, cooks and avid gardeners, has captured the interest of many and the loyalty of every employee. From the beginning, the company was based on ideals born out of Maine: unspoiled beauty, wholesomeness, a sense of community. It is a testament to the art of preserve making and the growing public interest in wholesome, quality and tasty ingredients. "If you really produce a high quality item, you'll be successful." That's the secret according to Jim and Jonathan.

The demand soon outpaced the production capacity of the small cottage kitchen, so they purchased an old 1700s barn in Kittery, Maine which they renovated to become the company's "headquarters" for a short couple years before they moved to an even larger space in York and renovated an old community grocery store. A buzzer announced customers in the retail area of the facility. All day long it would clamor: "buzz, buzz, buzz," while Jim and Jonathan were busy mixing and pouring ingredients out back, packing boxes, and answering phones. Then someone mentioned they should attend the Fancy Food Show in NYC. Having never been to New York City, they literally were two fish out of the [Maine] water when they made their first appearance at the 1995 Fancy Food Show — a tradeshow that attracts 1,100 exhibitors and 36,000 buyers, the Oscars of the specialty food industry. But low and behold, Stonewall Kitchen brought home an unprecedented award for first time attendees: Outstanding Jam for Roasted Garlic Onion Jam and a second highest honor award, for Outstanding Product Line. They left NYC with 500 orders from retailers across the country.

They once again, quickly outgrew their first York location within five, short years. After gaining much support from the local community, Jim and Jonathan purchased an eight-acre parcel of town-owned land and built their 46,000 square-foot headquarters, manufacturing and company store on Route 1 in York, Maine in 1999.

The multi-faceted space is an extension of the brand and a dream come true for Jim and Jonathan. Since moving to the new site in 2000, Stonewall Kitchen Café — a casual breakfast and lunch bistro adjacent to the company store, was added in 2003. And in 2008, the Stonewall Kitchen Cooking School opened offering classes for cooks of all skill levels. The school's goal is to encourage everyone to enjoy cooking, whether they are a novice-just learning, or a more experienced cook, while in a relaxed, "stress-free" atmosphere. The 32-seat, theater-style, state-of-the-art kitchen provides classes, demonstrations and book signings from cookbook authors, chefs and stylists from around the country.

Today, Stonewall Kitchen boasts more than 6,000 wholesale accounts nationwide, thriving catalog and web divisions, 11 retail Company Stores along the East Coast and a staff growing into the hundreds. The entire Stonewall Kitchen product line continues to be one of the most awarded in the industry year after year. Since 1995, Stonewall Kitchen has received 28 prestigious awards from the National Association of the Specialty Food Trade and has been awarded the coveted Outstanding Product Line Honors three times. The company continues to evolve ensuring its role as one of the country's most acclaimed specialty food producers.

Stonewall kitchen generously sent me two ice cream topping for review. The first one I tried was he White Chocolate Fig Sauce which retails for only $6.95! I honestly didn't think I would like it because I'm not fond of figs and it sounded a little weird, but it was amazing on vanilla ice cream! I loved the rich Carmel-ie flavor and the contrast of the tiny crunch fig seeds. It was my favorite of the two they sent me which is saying allot because the other flavor was chocolate.

Next I tried their Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramel Sauce. If you like salted chocolate, which I admit I'm a fan of, you will love this topping. Unlike some desserts that say they are "salted" but never seem to really taste like it this topping has the savory saltiness coming through very strong. It is not overwhelming and was really good on ice cream where it paired wonderfully with the smooth sweetness of the vanilla. Any chocolate lover with fall in love with this! And at $6.95 a jar it is a bargain. A little goes a long way!

I would love to try out other Stonewall Kitchen foods after experiencing the quality of the two they sent me. They are not only gourmet, but very inexpensive too!

Connect with Stonewall Kitchen

Bonus!

Right now you can enter to win a trip to Maine for a foodie adventure from Stonewall Kitchen! Go HERE to enter!

Giveaway!

Stonewall Kitchen has generously offered one of my readers the chance to win the two gourmet toppings I review for their very own! Use the rafflecopter below to enter. Open to the US only.

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/33ddb90/" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Thrifty Housewife was not compensated for this post, I did receive a sample product for the purposes of review. This did not influence my review or my opinions. My views are 100% my own. This giveaway is not affiliated with facebook, pinterest, twitter, or any other social media website. The winner will be chosen through the rafflecopter form which uses Random.org. Winner will be notified by email within 48 hours of contest end. Winner has 24 hours to respond to the email. Failure to respond will result in a new winner being chosen. Open to US only.