Awards
Mills Family Farms Wholeaves® Has Won
The Triple Crown Of Taste Awards
WHOLEAVES® SELECTED AS SUPERIOR IN NATIONAL JUDGING - AMERICAN ACADEMY OF TASTE
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., June 3, 2005 - Mills Family Farms has been selected as the winning producer in the "Single Leaf Lettuce" category with their WHOLEAVES lettuce product line. The judging was conducted "triple blind" in San Francisco by a panel of Taste Masters, all accomplished Executive Chefs. The Chef du Jury was accomplished Mâitre du Goût (Master of Taste), Jesse Sartain.
"We commend the culinary commitment of the staff of Mills Family Farms for the excellence and innovation of this product line; we applaud them," commented Jesse Sartain.
Mills Family Farms and this exemplary product line will be honored with a Gold Medal on November 21, 2005 at the Eleventh Annual U.S.A. Gold Medal Food & Beverage Awards in Las Vegas. National Chef Board members of the Chefs In America Awards Foundation will be in attendance.
The protocols of "triple blind" judging include the following ground rules to ensure accurate and fair judging results - evaluators do not know:
- Who the manufacturer is.
- What the product variety or appellation is.
- What the other evaluator's scores and comments are.
The judging was conducted by Taste Masters, accredited Chefs from the national board of the Chefs In America Awards Foundation.
For further information, contact the California headquarters of the American Academy of Taste™ (800)728-4007, sponsor of the Chefs In America Awards Foundation.
The American Culinary Federation Awards Mills Family Farms Wholeaves® with its Highest Award
The Nationally Acclaimed Seal of Approval
Mills Family Farms 'Wholeaves®' scoring rave reviews and awards
from The Produce News, July 26, 2004
Mills Family Farms, headquartered in Salinas, CA, began growing whole-leaf lettuce and leafy green products 48 years ago. Today, the company grows on over 12,000 acres and ships more than 10 million cartons of produce annually. Top-quality high-volume commodities or the next generation of value-added products can be sourced from Mills Family Farms year-round. "Our signature line is whole-leaf lettuce products," said Jim Mills, senior vice president. "These products are very popular in the foodservice industry because of the many benefits, which include freshness and shelf life." Mills ships products under several brand names including "Classy," "Boss" and "King o' Hearts." In most varieties, it ships 24 heads of product in a carton. Its primary customers include both regional and national distributors. In foodservice, Mill's? products are perfect for many quick-serve-type operations such as Arby's, casual dining restaurants like Denny's and white-tablecloth restaurants.
Jim Mills' brother, Dave, who is also a senior vice president, said that for foodservice, the company's new "Wholeaves®"-branded individual lettuce leafs are very popular.
"It includes primarily Romaine, red and green leaf varieties," he said. "We have a proprietary, trademarked method of separating the product from the core. Instead of cutting, leaves are torn by hand and then washed, sanitized, separated by size and packed in 10-pound cartons. The produce we ship is 100 percent usable."
Mr. Mills explained that this method of separating leaves from the core gives the product extended shelf life, which is important to foodservice operators today. The most common application for the product is on sandwiches and burgers. Because it is cleaned and ready to use, it saves a lot of labor in the kitchen -- and that is key to all foodservice operators today, regardless of their size.
"We are also finding that increasing numbers of restaurants want to promote healthier menu items by offering more fresh fruits and vegetables," said Jim Mills. "Restaurants like Denny's, who recently went through a major menu revamping, are trying to separate themselves from their competition with their menu items. But at the same time, they want the value-added benefit of ready-to-use products like washed lettuce."
Of the approximately 20 products that Mills grows, many have been added to the company's value-added line since it entered this category about eight years ago. The list of value-added items it offers has grown steadily since. "Besides value-added items, the trends we are seeing currently have to do with healthier eating habits," said Dave Mills. "Green leafy products fit into this category perfectly, and at the same time they help foodservice operators reduce labor costs and give them peace of mind regarding quality assurance. No matter what the current diet trend or fad, leafy greens fit into nearly every type of diet."
A good example of healthier menu items that include the new lettuce product is in Arby's chicken salad sandwich. Dave Mills said that it includes chicken breast, sliced apple, sliced grapes, nuts and "Wholeaves®" lettuce. This also indicates the trend of even fast-food restaurants beginning to steer away from chopped, out-of-a-bag lettuce products. Recently published diets are also promoting the use of whole lettuce leaves as a replacement for bread. It is being used as the wrap for many sandwich items in dietary cookbooks today, and this use is beginning to surface at the restaurant level.
Another benefit of the "Wholeaves®" product is the savings on shipping costs. This is because only useable product and no waste materials is shipped. The item also fits into the growing focus on reduced labor costs and increased food safety at the user level.
Mills Family Farms has received numerous awards over the years for its ongoing and progressive contributions to fresh produce preparation, use and flavor. Among the many awards, the company received the American Culinary Institute award every year from 2002 through the current 2005 award presentation. It also received the National Board of the American Tasting Institute's award for Highest Taste in Foodservice Whole Leaf Lettuce Category for Romaine, Romaine hearts, green leaf and red leaf in 2001, as well as many other prestigious awards.
By Christina DiMartino
Mills Family Farms Wholeaves® have been honored as the Best of Class by the American Culinary Institute (ACI) for the 5th consecutive year. ACI judges food products via panels of professional, independent, taste-certified chefs to determine the best tasting food products in America.
Mills Family Farms Wholeaves® Captures Prestigious 2005 American Culinary Institute Best of Class Award in Foodservice
In a blind taste test of independent accredited chefs, Wholeaves®® won top honors for its superior quality of taste
(SALINAS, CALIFORNIA 2005) - The results are in and the nation's best of class leaf lettuce for foodservice is Mills Family Farms Wholeaves®, according to a blind taste test conducted by the American Culinary Institute (ACI). Mills Family Farms Wholeaves® received the prestigious 2005 ACI Best of Class Award, beating out numerous foodservice competitors in its respective category.
Extensive taste testing was conducted by ACI, using professional independent chefs all certified in ACI's taste and sensory certification program. The judging follows strict criteria. Using thorough, disciplined testing techniques based in the food science, flavor and sensory industries, the judging protocol used at ACI was adapted specifically for the organization from well-known industry methodology. During the evaluations, the chef-judging panels do not know brand names or clues as to the manufacturer of each product. ACI evaluates thousands of food and food-related products every year and only one winner is chosen in a comparable set of competing products. To receive the ACI Best of Class Award in the foodservice industry, Mills Family Farms Wholeaves® had to receive the highest quality taste score in the leaf lettuce category while meeting specific taste quality standards.
"American Culinary Institute is here to help the foodservice industry professional find the best tasting food and best performing food-related culinary equipment products in the marketplace," says Dieter Doppelfeld, certified master chef, and a master taster for ACI. "We're pleased to bestow the ACI Best of Class Award on Mills Family Farms Wholeaves® for its superior taste qualities among its competitors. When seeking to procure leaf lettuce product, foodservice professionals know that ACI's panels of experienced chefs have given its endorsement of approval to Mills Family Farms Wholeaves® as the best tasting product in its class."
"ACI has put together the most credible, non-biased evaluation process for food products possible. This award supports our commitment to bringing the best tasting quality products to the professional foodservice industry," says James L. Mills, Senior Vice President. "We're extremely pleased to know that chefs agree that we have the best tasting leaf lettuce on the market, and we're confident foodservice professionals will agree with the decision of the ACI chef evaluation panels."
Mills Family Farms Wholeaves®, representing Mills Family Farms latest patented line of whole leaf lettuce, are available in Romaine and Hearts, Green Leaf and Red Leaf, Green Cascade Mix®, and Celery. Mills' years of expertise in growing fine lettuce combined with their patented no-cut process has made Mills Family Farms Wholeaves® the leader in the industry for a product that is rapidly becoming a foodservice staple. Mills Family Farms Wholeaves® are single lettuce leaves that are separated by hand from the core, individually selected, meticulously cleaned, and carefully hand packed. Their success lies in their convenience, versatility, excellent shelf life, cost effectiveness and, above all, quality.
As an ACI Best of Class Award winner, Mills Family Farms Wholeaves® may take advantage of the ACI Award's endorsement program and display the ACI Award on its packaging, publicity materials, advertising, sales collateral materials and at trade shows.
Mills Family Farms, based in Salinas, California, is a vertically integrated grower and shipper. For almost half a century, they have been supplying the foodservice industry, retailers, wholesalers, and brokers nationwide with quality lettuce and a large variety of Western vegetables. They ship more than 10 million cartons annually from 12,000 acres of the richest farmland year round.
Headquartered in San Francisco, Calif., American Culinary Institute judges food, beverage and food-related products via panels professional, independent, taste-certified chefs to determine the best tasting food and food-related products in America. The proprietary judging/evaluation program is based in the science of food technology and sensory and flavor evaluation practices. The process includes defining food and food-related categories through AC Nielsen data, securing products as consumers would through the grocery store, evaluating products through blind testing procedures, and determining a winner through statistically analyzed data. Manufacturers do not pay to be judged; only after the evaluation process is completed will ACI permit award winners to use its award logo through a licensing program. ACI's Award can be found on more than 1200 products in the grocery store, which equals 1.5 billion individual packages and represents more than $2 billion in retail sales. For more information, please visit www.chefsbest.org