So, what do you get, when you take eight bloggers -- two women from the west coast, two Canadians, a couple of Southern Belles and two more moms with eight kids between them [waves at Dawn] -- give them keys to the kitchen, throw in a couple of aprons and promise to feed them lunch?
A little bit of chit, a little bit of chat and maybe even a food fight (or, two) it happens!
I am very proud to have been given the extreme pleasure of providing you guys (yes, YOU!) a behind the scenes look at what they're cooking up in the Kraft Kitchens.
Me, too.
I know what you're thinking! Seriously, I usually don't enjoy cooking and baking stuff, that doesn't come in a box, or have trouble following recipes, that use more than three ingredients, anymore.
So, as a mom of two teens, two tweens and a self-professed professional heater-upper, I'm pretty sure the love/hate relationship I have with food (love to eat it, hate to cook it) is the reason the very generous folks at Edelmen [waves at Teresa, Jessica and Foodmomiac] invited me along.
Even the doors, leading to the Kraft Kitchens, were bright, shiny, yet lacking in dog snot (if you have one, then you know) and totally free of kiddie fingerprints (ditto) seriously, white glove-worthy.
I mean, what do these people know about real life and I couldn't help but wonder, you know, what they would ALL think, if they saw MY kitchen -- go ahead, take a look, if you want, I'll wait -- it's a culinary professional's nightmare, I'm sure.
But, what if I told you that there is more than one kitchen, in Kraft Kitchens and they ALL look surprisingly like a real kitchen...complete with a massive amount of magnets on the fridge...see it...way in the back?
The pantry is stocked a whole heck of a lot like mine, too. Although, in my house, it is more like the size of a small closet -- in fact, it was being used as a linen closet, when we moved in -- but, I don't have a picture of it, you're welcome!
Aaaaand, their prop room? Well stocked, of course. Yet...wait a minute...there is not a Kitchen Aid mixer in sight.
[gasp]
They do that on purpose. Tracy Sherva (Kraft Kitchen Manager my own personal mentor for the day) patiently explained that all Kraft recipes are tested, in similar environments, using what most people would likely have in their kitchens, at home, too.
Along with a wonderful little story about how test kitchen personnel are responsible for cleaning up their own messes...oh, and how her boss found her secret little hiding place for dirty dishes...can you guess?
My hiding place...the oven...what's yours?
Riiight, so they grouped us together and we (you know, us blogger-types) were told that we will be cooking an entire meal...oh, and see, on the right, that's Busy Mom...that's right, the one and only real Busy Mom...accept no other substitutes, she is the original Busy Mom...she picked lucky number five...like me...hence, two photos up and Tracy's look of absolute...um...joy at the the thought of cooking with a couple of, you know, moms like me and Busy Mom!
Look what we didn't make. I mean, with the help of our dessert guru Tracy, these no bake tortes were so easy, yet pretty enough to serve even at the swankiest of celebrations and there was no baking involved!
Left to right: Silvia and Sandy were in charge of appetizers; Foodmomiac and Kim made up the salad team.
Dawn and Rachel were all about the sandwiches; while, entrees where courtesy of Janice and Jessica.
Aaaand, it all looked (and tasted) terrific -- lunch time, the team filled us in about what's new in the Kraft Foods Community and about this cool new iPhone app called iFood Assistant:
- Browse through Kraft's huge collection of over 7,000 recipes
- Search recipes by category, keyword, ingredients, time or healthy living
- Make instant shopping lists for any recipe you select
- Cook along with how-to videos—just prop your phone up on the kitchen counter
- Check out "Dinner Tonight" and "Recipe of the Day" where and when it's convenient for you
- Locate the nearest grocery store, get shortcuts, snack ideas and more…
To which I immediately [raising my hand] suggested that they make the iFood Assistant mobile-friendly for those of us who [cough] don't have iPhones!!!
Then, we got down to the business of preparing food and discussed our personal meal-planning strategies, or lack thereof, especially for large families, like mine.
My biggest beef: Preparing healthy meals, without having to over-extend our family's time and budget. Honestly, both are already stretched to the breaking point. Frankly, at our house, home-cooked meals are more likely to happen on a weekend, when we visit my mother's house. My family needs quick and easy. Especially, since my kids (they are 15, 13, 10 and 8) are at the age where they are able to prepare their own meals, if need be.
Meeting Irene Rosenfeld, CEO of Kraft Foods and ranked 6th in the Forbes' list of "The World's 100 Most Powerful Women," I say, "I love what you've done with your kitchen!" She laughed. It was all good.
Bottom Line: Kraft is in the business of processing and packaging food. I get that. But, it is NOT the same company I grew up with. Americans are trying to eat healthier and it is very obvious to me that companies like Kraft are trying very hard to meet the nutritional needs of children and families (like mine) in today's fast-paced world.
Why?
Because, Kraft Foods is run by people, just like us, who are passionate about what they do, who happen to be busy folks, with families who gotta eat, too.
Was it worth the trip? Absolutely! Do I trust brands like Kraft Foods really want to help families (like mine) shop, eat and perhaps even live a little better? Well, more than I did before the trip and I really hope that I can at least help get a conversation (like this) going at your house, too.
To quote my new celebrity chef crush (sorry, Anthony) John Li (Director, Kraft Culinary Center of Excellence) in an email, puts our Kraft Foods experience into perspective:
"I am really hoping we can create some ongoing dialogue so my team really stays connected with what moms really need from a recipe perspective. All the research in the world that we conduct in my mind will never replace talking one on one with moms…"
Comfort food, indeed.
Kraft Kitchens Blogger Event on Flickr
[No payment or consideration, other than my travel and accommodations, was received for this blog post, courtesy of Edelman and Kraft Foods]
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