August 02, 2022
Posted in: News, Product Spotlight
Spread more cheer this holiday season with a delicious lineup of sweet and spicy spreads from Divina. These spreads are perfect for entertaining, cheese boards, cocktail hours, gifting, baked Brie recipes and much more!
“The holiday season is one of the most festive times of the year for entertaining, gathering, and sharing delicious food with family and friends,” said Phil Meldrum, President of FOODMatch. “We are thrilled to offer our retail partners and consumers this wonderful line of spreads to enjoy in a variety of ways starting with the holiday season.”
Meet the Trio
Date Spread l Item# 20390 l Case Pack: 12/9 oz Glass Jar
This is one date that’s surely going to turn into a love story! Our date spread is handcrafted from sundried dates (and not much else!), and boasts a deeply fruit-forward flavor profile. We love it on cheese boards, topped with toast and almond butter or blended into a smoothie.
Ingredients: dates, cane sugar, citric acid (acidity regulator), fruit pectin. Origin: Greece.
Calabrian Chili Orange Spread l Item # 20391 l Case Pack: 12/9 oz Glass Jar
Get ready to be rocked by the sweet-tart-spicy combination of oranges and Calabrian chili peppers! We love this spread on everything from cheese boards to grilled sandwiches and as a glaze for meat, veggies and seafood. This is destined to become your new go-to spread.
Ingredients: cane sugar, orange purée, orange peel, citric acid (acidity regulator), Calabrian chili flakes, Calabrian chili powder, fruit pectin, red chili powder, chili pepper flakes, ascorbic acid (antioxidant). Origin: Greece.
And, back popular demand for a limited time this holiday season is the following fan-favorite:
Fig & Cocoa Spread l Item# 20382 l Case Pack: 12/9 oz Glass Jar
Real Simple magazine's pick for "Best Fig Jam," we use only certified Fair Trade cocoa in this delightfully rich and sweet spread. Pair with blue cheese, top it on ice cream or enjoy over waffles.
Ingredients: figs, cane sugar, cocoa, citric acid (acidity regulator), fruit pectin. Origin: Greece.
Recipe & Application Ideas
While there are a wide variety of ways to enjoy these three spreads, here are a few you will love!
Calabrian Chili Orange Spread: Crafted from fresh oranges and spicy Calabrian chilis, this spread hits on the ever-growing sweet/spicy trend in food and beverage. It can also be enjoyed for breakfast, lunch or dinner paired with both sweet and savory dishes.
- Grilled Fontina and ham sandwich.
- Mix with cream cheese or mascarpone and top a Belgian waffle, muffin or cupcake.
- Glazed chicken served over rice and a medley of Asian stir-fry veggies.
Date Spread: Having made many a "top trends of the year" list, dates are growing in popularity for their wonderful flavor and health benefits. This is a truly versatile spread that pairs well with sweet and savory dishes.
- Blend into a smoothie with almond butter, oat milk and banana.
- Stuffed French Toast with mascarpone, date spread, and candied walnuts.
- Moroccan chicken salad with raisins, sliced almonds, dried apricots and equal parts date spread & mayo.
Fig & Cocoa Spread: Made with Aegean figs and free of artificial coloring or flavors, our spreads are carefully crafted so that you taste the full flavor of the fruit, not just the sweetness of sugar.
- Dollop over a waffle in place of syrup and top with fresh berries.
- Spoon over vanilla ice cream and top with a few sliced cherries.
- Spread onto a grilled cheese sandwich with slices of apple and Brie.
To
request samples or more information on these delicious holiday spreads from Divina, please
Contact Us or your FOODMatch sales rep today.
May 31, 2022
Posted in: News, Product Spotlight
For more than 25 years, FOODMatch and Divina have defined and shaped the olive category in the United States as the premier producer and importer of Mediterranean specialty ingredients. FOODMatch officially established National Olive Day in the United States seven years ago on June 1st (to coincide with the new crop arrival of Kalamata olives) as a way to honor and celebrate one of the oldest and most diverse foods in the world. Each year the company has marked this commemorative day in a fun and exciting way.
And this year is no different. To celebrate National Olive Day this year on June 1st, FOODMatch is launching a new collection of Divina pre-pack deli cups. “We are reinventing our Divina deli cup program to more closely replicate our iconic olive bar experience in a pre-pack, grab-and-go format,” said Brandon Gross, VP of Marketing for FOODMatch. “Retailers and consumers alike will now have the best of both worlds – whether they prefer pre-pack and pack-out cups, the self-serve olive bar, or our popular sealed pouches and jars.
Read More...
May 09, 2022
Posted in: News
We are thrilled to announce that Divina Sour Cherry Spread has been awarded the prestigious SOFI Gold Award by the Specialty Food Association! We are so grateful and honored for this recognition and look forward to celebrating our big win at the 2022 Summer Fancy Food Show.
Meet the Trio
Item 20389 | 9oz glass jar
- Perfect for specialty deli displays & cross merchandising with cheese
Item D0398 | 3.5lb pail
- Ideal for menu applications, assemblers, prepared foods, restaurants & more
Item 81289 | 0.7oz portion pack
- Wonderful for cheese trays, airlines, catering, assemblers, snack packs & more
About Divina Sour Cherry Spread
The sour cherry season is fleeting - typically just a few weeks - so we made it our mission to capture the bright, tart/sweet flavor all year-round in our handcrafted Mediterranean jam. Available in a 9oz glass jar, 3.5lb pail or 0.7oz portion pack, pair this versatile spread with your favorite cheese, pastry or even roast with ham or Brussels sprouts. Be sure to contact your FOODMatch sales representative for samples and more info.
For more on Divina Sour Cherry Spread, check out the latest episode of The Dish with Divina!
For more information on this year's SOFI winners and the Fancy Food Show, visit the Specialty Food Association.
January 06, 2022
Posted in: News
Going for the gold has never looked so good! The new crop of Divina Roasted Yellow Tomatoes is in stock and ready for ordering. We offer two different packages – bag and pail – each stored frozen to lock in that summer-fresh flavor all year long.
Read More...
March 08, 2021
Posted in: News
It feels like only yesterday that my father was telling me bedtime stories filled with Greek mythology and legend. It was those stories that captivated an imagination made real by my first trip to Greece in 1993. The lands of antiquity didn’t disappoint. I can so clearly recall the cerulean blue sea, the clay stone, the beaming sunlight, the craggy land scattered with olive groves and the wondrous meals built on the holy trinity of wheat, grapes, and olives. It was those incredible olives I wanted everyone back home to experience. I had never had olives so delicious. In the words of Lawrence Durrell, it was a taste as old as cold water.
My connection to the Mediterranean was solidified when I founded FOODMatch three years later in 1996. Lakis, our first Kalamata grower, warmly welcomed me into his home and I was filled with anticipation as he and his family expressed the love of their land and the pride in their just-harvested olives. I shared my vision for bringing his harvest to appreciating families back in America. It was a partnership and relationship that would grow over the years as he led us to other growers with the same deep care, stewardship, and pride in their family’s harvest.
But as we often come to find, relationships are never without complications. Like the year Lakis’ olive grove was hit by a hail storm leaving him without a harvest. It was a tense moment. But even through those challenging times it was our fundamental trust in each other and shared purpose that built a relationship to span these 25 years.
Reflecting on our 25th anniversary, this mutual trust, appreciation, and purpose propelled us forward to a place I could not have imagined the first time I sat at Lakis’ dining table. It has been the fulfillment of a dream to help create a reliable market for those family harvests and reward our consumers with authenticity and deliciousness while having a positive impact on the environment, local economies, and traditional agriculture.
Connection has always been important to me. It defines how I navigate life. I’m drawn to genuine connection, something particularly challenging to nurture over the past pandemic year. The joy of my years working in a retail cheese shop was guiding shoppers to new discoveries, new tastes, and seeing a smile emerge from the delicious experience we had shared. It’s a longer path to bridge the connection from a farmer in Greece to an olive bar shopper or restaurant patron here in America. But it is made possible by our relationships and our unwavering commitment to quality, taste and education.
Food is love (as imperfect as love is) and building on connections and relationships, one at a time, helps bring people, communities and societies closer to filling a profoundly human need: shared experience and understanding. If our 25th year has taught us any single lesson, it is the value of experience, empathy and kindness.
I often remember a meal – or more specifically, a server I once met at a restaurant in Paris. I was struck by her passion and knowledge as she seemed to understand the nuance of every taste and texture the dish she was bringing would offer. I finally complimented her deep expertise. She admitted her formal training was as a Maître Saucier, a position no longer available at any level due to budget concerns. Yet, it was the secret sauce in a restaurant. “The sauce is the poetry.”, she said.
At FOODMatch, our secret sauce is the relationships built over the last 25 years. Sustained through challenging harvests brought by climate change. Sustained through times like when we had to flee our little office a few blocks north of the World Trade Center. Sustained through port strikes. Sustained through a pandemic. As you can see, sustainability is more than a trendy buzzword around here. And now, after 25 years, I find myself most profoundly thankful for the trust and connection that has sustained us and will continue to carry us forward.
I offer my most heartfelt appreciation and cheers to everyone who is a part of this journey. Twenty-five years in and it still feels like we are only getting started.
With love and gratitude,
Phil
