California Ag Network

Tag: CADairy2Go

  • Real CA Milk Spotlights Foodservice Innovation With 2022 Events For Professional Chefs

    The Foodservice Division of the California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB) today announced the kickoff date for the 4th Annual Real California Pizza Contest, the return of the CADairy2Go competition and the rollout of a new culinary event focusing on Cal-Mex to round out its foodservice events for 2022.

    The 4th annual Real California Pizza Contest, a search for the best pizza recipes using cow’s milk cheeses from California, gets underway on March 1st. Professional chefs and pizzaiolos from throughout the U.S, can enter their innovative recipes from March 1 through April 24, 2022, for a chance to make it to the bake-off final on June 22, 2022, in Napa, Calif. and compete for up to $25,000 in prize money.

    The CADairy2Go Invitational is inspired by chefs and foodservice operators who made quick, creative pivots to adjust their menus for the takeout and delivery model during the disruption caused by the pandemic. Now in its 2nd year, the event will feature culinary professionals representing a variety of foodservice backgrounds, such as major restaurant chains, independent restaurants, ghost kitchens and food trucks who will gather in October to compete for a chance at up to $5,000 for their innovative To-Go recipes.

    The inaugural Cal-Mex Invitational, scheduled for August, captures creations from chefs who specialize in the culinary and flavor fusion of California and Mexican cuisines.

    “Cheese is at the heart of culinary innovation – from creative pizzas to flavorful to-go and fusion dishes. As the leading producer of Hispanic-style cheese and dairy products, we’re excited to add the Cal-Mex Invitational to our foodservice outreach program and to see what the chef’s develop,”

    said Mike Gallagher, Business and Market Development Consultant for the CMAB. “These competitions offer a tremendous opportunity to partner with culinary professionals to spotlight their creativity using our sustainably sourced Real California dairy products.”

    California is a reliable, consistent source of sustainable dairy products used by chefs throughout the world. As the nation’s largest dairy state, California boasts an impressive lineup of award-winning cheesemakers and dairy processors, that are helping to drive dining innovation.

    California leads the nation in milk production and is responsible for producing more butter, ice cream and nonfat dry milk than any other state. The state is the second-largest producer of cheese and yogurt. California milk and dairy foods can be identified by the Real California Milk seal, which certifies they are made with milk from the state’s dairy farm families.

    About Real California Milk/the California Milk Advisory Board

    The California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB), an instrumentality of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, is funded by the state’s dairy farm families who lead the nation in sustainable dairy farming practices. With a vision to nourish the world with the wholesome goodness of Real California Milk, the CMAB’s programs focus on increasing demand for California’s sustainable dairy products in the state, across the U.S. and around the world through advertising, public relations, research, and retail and foodservice promotional programs.

    The Foodservice Division of the CMAB supports foodservice operators and distributors that use Real California dairy products. The CMAB offers marketing and promotional support for foodservice operators that purchase dairy products with the Real California Milk seal, which means they are made with 100 percent milk from California’s more than 1,100 family dairy farms, using some of the most sustainable dairy practices in the nation.

    For more information on sourcing cheese from California, contact the foodservice team at 209.883.6455 (MILK),businessdevelopment@cmab.net or RealCaliforniaMilk.com/Foodservice, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

  • CADairy2Go Competition Celebrates Three Winning Chefs for Innovative Uses of CA Cheese & Dairy

    The California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB) today announced the three innovative chefs who took home the ultimate to-go prize of $5,000 each in the inaugural CADairy2GO competition cook-off in Napa. Chefs Carrie Baird of Denver, Colo., Mary Grace Viado of Birmingham, Al., and Brian Mullins of Miami, Fla. took home the top prizes in their category during the first of its kind event at the Culinary Institute of America’s Copia facility.

    Inspired by chefs and foodservice operators who made creative adjustments to menus for the takeout and delivery model during the pandemic, the Real California Milk Foodservice Team invited six culinary professionals, selected from 12 semi-finalists, to compete in the cook-off final on July 28th that streamed live on the Real California Milk Foodservice Facebook channel. Two chefs faced off in each of three categories: Cheese+Mac, Cal-Mex and Innovate To-Go with the winners taking home $5,000 each and runners up winning $1,500 each.

    A renowned panel of judges – Barbara Alexander, Certified Executive Chef and Certified Culinary Educator from the American Culinary Association; Neil Doherty, Corporate Executive Chef and Sr. Director of Culinary Development at Sysco; and Duskie Estes, Culinary Personality, Chef and Co-owner of Black Pig Meat Co. and MacBryde Farm – presided over the contest and evaluated dishes based on a variety of factors including taste, innovation, and creative use of cheeses and dairy products made with Real California Milk.

    The full list of finalists and dishes for the 2021 CADairy2GO Contest is as follows:

    Cheese + Mac Winner: Skipjack & Cheesy Mac

    Chef Carrie Baird is the owner of Rose’s Classic Americana in Boulder, Colo. She competed on Season 15 of Bravo’s Top Chef, as well as Food Network’s “Beat Bobby Flay.” Most recently she was an “All Star” judge on Top Chef Season 18.

    Carrie’s winning Skipjack & Cheesy Mac dish is inspired by what she cooks for herself with a variety of tastes and textures including four California cheeses, skipjack tuna, charred broccoli, peas and corn along with togarashi, sriracha and furikake seasoning.

    Cal-Mex Winner: Mexi-Cali Shrimp Scampi

    Chef Mary Grace Viado is the Corporate Executive Chef for the Village Tavern in Birmingham, Al. She graduated cum laude from the University of the Philippines and is a graduate of the 2014 Culinary Enrichment & Innovation Program of the Culinary Institute of America and Hormel Foods. Mary Grace was the recipient of the 2015 James Beard Foundation’s Jean-Louis Palladin Professional Scholarship.

    Mary Grace took home the prize for her Mexi-Cali Shrimp Scampi, featuring cubes of blackened California panela and cotija cheeses and served with homemade arepas made with California milk.

    Innovate To-Go: Frico Pesto Melt

    Chef Brian Mullins is the owner of Ms. Cheezious® food truck in Miami, FL. He has over 25 years of culinary industry experience and has worked with prestigious brands on over 30 restaurant launches throughout North America, South America, Asia and Europe. Ms. Cheezious® is one of Miami’s most loved restaurant and food truck destinations and has been featured on several national television shows.

    Brian’s winning dish put a spin on traditional grilled cheese with fresh California mozzarella, cheesy pesto and a California Dry Jack cheese frico coating in his Frico Pesto Melt.

    “The entire group of chefs is really the best of the best and brought so many innovative ideas for takeout that consumers would really crave. The winning dishes not only showcased California dairy in creative applications but also how cheese and dairy products as ingredients help elevate everything from comfort to Cal-Mex dishes,” said Bob Carroll, VP of Business Development for the CMAB. “We’re thrilled to be able to amplify and celebrate the creativity of the foodservice community in this way.”

    As the nation’s largest dairy state, California boasts a long list of cheesemakers and dairy processors that are further driving to-go dining innovation. California leads the nation in milk production and is responsible for producing more butter, ice cream and nonfat dry milk than any other state. The state is the second-largest producer of cheese and yogurt. California milk and dairy foods can be identified by the Real California Milk seal, which certifies they are made exclusively with sustainably sourced milk from the state’s dairy farm families.

    California is a reliable, consistent source of sustainable dairy products used by chefs throughout the world. Check out the CMAB’s REAL Makers chefs who rely on California dairy for their dishes.

    About Real California Milk/the California Milk Advisory Board

    The California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB), an instrumentality of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, is funded by the state’s dairy farm families who lead the nation in sustainable dairy farming practices. With a vision to nourish the world with the wholesome goodness of Real California Milk, the CMAB’s programs focus on increasing demand for California’s sustainable dairy products in the state, across the U.S. and around the world through advertising, public relations, research, and retail and foodservice promotional programs.

    The Foodservice Division of the CMAB supports foodservice operators and distributors that use Real California dairy products. The CMAB offers marketing and promotional support for foodservice operators that purchase dairy products with the Real California Milk seal, which means they are made with 100 percent milk from California’s more than 1,200 family dairy farms, using some of the most sustainable dairy practices in the nation.

    For more information on sourcing cheese from California, contact the foodservice team at 209.883.6455 (MILK), businessdevelopment@cmab.net or RealCaliforniaMilk.com/Foodservice, LinkedIn, Facebook,

  • Chef Finalists For CaDairy2Go Competition Cook Off In NAPA

    The California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB) announced chef finalists in the inaugural CADairy2Go foodservice competition – a spotlight on “to-go” meal innovation. The competition, which will award prize money totaling $22,500 for creative use of California cheese and dairy in off premise dishes, will culminate with a live cook off event July 28that the Culinary Institute of America in Napa, California.

    Inspired by chefs and foodservice operators who made quick, creative pivots to adjust menus for the takeout and delivery model during the pandemic, the Real California Milk Foodservice Team invited 12 culinary professionals to compete in the CADairy2Go preliminary round. This list was winnowed to six finalist chefs and their creations to compete in a live cook-off event July 28th at the Culinary Institute of America’s Copia location in Napa.

    During the live event, emceed by “Check, Please! Bay Area” host, Leslie Sbrocco, dishes will be evaluated by a panel of three leading culinary professionals: Barbara Alexander, Certified Executive Chef and Certified Culinary Educator from the American Culinary Association; Neil Doherty, Corporate Executive Chef – Sr. Director of Culinary Development at Sysco; and Duskie Estes, Culinary Personality, Chef and Co-owner of Black Pig Meat Co. and MacBryde Farm.

    The 2021 CADairy2Go finalists are:

    In the “Cheese+Mac” category, Carrie Baird of Rose’s Classic Americana in Boulder, Colo., preparing Skipjack & Cheesy Mac, a dish inspired by what she cooks for herself with a variety of tastes and textures including four California cheeses, skipjack tuna, charred broccoli, peas and corn along with togarashi, sriracha and furikake seasoning. She will compete against Alex Sadowsky of Twin Peaks in Dallas, Texas, who will showcase California Cacio e Pepe Cheese and Mac, a twist on the classic “cheese and pepper” dish using triple cream California brie and a California manchego.

    Under “Cal-Mex”, Gina Galvan of Mood for Food Consulting in San Juan Capistrano, Calif. brings inspiration from family travels to Ensenada to her Surf & Turf Torta entry made with California panela cheese and lobster grilled in adobo butter, skirt steak, chorizo and California cotija cheese fries. Her competitor, Mary Grace Viado of Village Tavern in Birmingham, Ala., will showcaseMexi-Cali Shrimp Scampi, featuring cubes of blackened California panela and served with homemade arepas.

    In the “Innovate to Go” category, Marti Lieberman of Mac Mart in Philadelphia, Pa. will be presenting her Rangoon-inspired entry, Mac’n Snax, which brings portability to her five-cheese, ranch mac and cheese made ready for easy snacking or entertaining. She will face off against Brian Mullins of Ms. Cheezious® in Miami, Fla. who marries grilled cheese with fresh California mozzarella, cheesy pesto and a California Dry Jack cheese frico coating in his Frico Pesto Melt, a partnership of cheesy, gooey and crunchy.

    The cook off, hosted July 28th at the CIA’s Copia facility in Napa, will be streamed on Facebook live at 10:30 a.m. PT (Cheese+Mac), 12:30 p.m. PT (Cal-Mex), and 2:30 p.m. PT (Innovate To-Go) atfacebook.com/realcamilkfoodservice. Additional details on the competition and the chef competitors is available at CADairy2Go.

    “We were inspired by the creations of the CADairy2Go chefs who really pushed themselves to create recipes that not only spotlight the best of California dairy but also hold up to the rigors of takeout and delivery to ensure a positive consumer experience,” said Nancy Campbell, Business Development consultant for CMAB Foodservice. “This is where dairy shines, bringing flavor and functionality to foodservice operators in an affordable package.”

    As the nation’s largest dairy state, California boasts a long list of cheesemakers and dairy processors that are further driving to-go dining innovation. California leads the nation in milk production and is responsible for producing more butter, ice cream and nonfat dry milk than any other state. The state is the second-largest producer of cheese and yogurt. California milk and dairy foods can be identified by the Real California Milk seal, which certifies they are made exclusively with sustainably sourced milk from the state’s dairy farm families.

    California is a reliable, consistent source of sustainable dairy products used by chefs throughout the world. Check out the CMAB’s REAL Makers chefs who rely on California dairy for their dishes.

    About Real California Milk/the California Milk Advisory Board
    The California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB), an instrumentality of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, is funded by the state’s dairy farm families who lead the nation in sustainable dairy farming practices. With a vision to nourish the world with the wholesome goodness of Real California Milk, the CMAB’s programs focus on increasing demand for California’s sustainable dairy products in the state, across the U.S. and around the world through advertising, public relations, research, and retail and foodservice promotional programs.

    The Foodservice Division of the CMAB supports foodservice operators and distributors that use Real California dairy products. The CMAB offers marketing and promotional support for foodservice operators that purchase dairy products with the Real California Milk seal, which means they are made with 100 percent milk from California’s more than 1,200 family dairy farms, using some of the most sustainable dairy practices in the nation. For more information on sourcing cheese from California, contact the foodservice team at 209.883.6455 (MILK),businessdevelopment@cmab.net or RealCaliforniaMilk.com/Foodservice, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

  • CADairy2Go Chef Competition Celebrates Innovation In The To-Go Space

    The California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB) today announced the launch of an inaugural foodservice competition challenging professional chefs to create innovative “to-go” dishes using California dairy products. The “CADairy2Go” competition is inspired by chefs and foodservice operators who made quick, creative pivots to adjust their menus for the takeout and delivery model during the disruption caused by the pandemic.

    The Real California Milk Foodservice Team hand-selected twelve culinary professionals to participate in the first-of-its-kind event, representing a variety of foodservice backgrounds, including experience in major restaurant chains, broadline distributors, independent restaurants, ghost kitchens and food trucks.

    Each chef will submit one dish in either the Cal-Mex or Cheese+Mac category, as well as a second dish under Innovate-To-Go, which allows for creativity beyond their assigned category. All dishes must be optimized for the takeout or “to-go” experience and incorporate sustainability sourced California cheese and other dairy ingredients.

    The 2021 CADairy2Go participants are:

    • Carrie Baird – Rose’s Classic Americana – Boulder, CO
    • Victoria Elizondo –Conchinita & Co. – Houston, TX
    • Gina Galvan – Mood for Food – San Juan Capistrano, CA
    • Gina Genschlea – Revolution Winery & Kitchen – Sacramento, CA
    • Nelson German – alaMar Kitchen & Bar, Sobre Mesa – Oakland, CA
    • Heidi Gibson – The American Grilled Cheese Kitchen – San Francisco, CA
    • Marti Lieberman – Mac Mart – Philadelphia, PA
    • Brian Mullins – Ms. Cheezious® – Miami, FL
    • Tamra Scroggins – Grill Concepts – Los Angeles, CA
    • Alex Sadowsky – Twin Peaks – Dallas, TX
    • Manish Tyagi – Aurum – Los Altos, CA
    • Mary Grace Viado – Village Tavern – Birmingham, AL

    Participating chefs will win cash prizes from $500 to $5,000. Two finalists from each category will earn a trip to Napa, where they will compete in a live cook-off event July 28th at the Culinary Institute of America’s Copia location. The final cook-off will be captured in a live broadcast that will be streamed in celebration of the chefs and their creations. Additional details on the competition and the chef competitors is available at CADairy2Go.

    “The past year has challenged chefs to be strategic in creating dishes that are not only comforting but can also hold up for an off-premise dining experience. This competition leverages the off-premise dining trends that emerged during this time and celebrates chefs who worked to respond quickly to consumer needs,” said Nancy Campbell, Business Development consultant for CMAB Foodservice. “Dairy is an essential ingredient for bringing to-go menu innovations to life and provides the flavor and flexibility to any style of cooking – from plant-forward to comfort and everything in between.”

    As the nation’s largest dairy state, California boasts a long list of cheesemakers and dairy processors, that are further driving to-go dining innovation California leads the nation in milk production and is responsible for producing more butter, ice cream and nonfat dry milk than any other state. The state is the second-largest producer of cheese and yogurt. California milk and dairy foods can be identified by the Real California Milk seal, which certifies they are made exclusively with sustainably sourced milk from the state’s dairy farm families.

    California is a reliable, consistent source of sustainable dairy products used by chefs throughout the world. Check out our REAL Makers chefs who rely on California dairy for their dishes.

    About Real California Milk/the California Milk Advisory Board
    The California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB), an instrumentality of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, is funded by the state’s dairy farm families who lead the nation in sustainable dairy farming practices. With a vision to nourish the world with the wholesome goodness of Real California Milk, the CMAB’s programs focus on increasing demand for California’s sustainable dairy products in the state, across the U.S. and around the world through advertising, public relations, research, and retail and foodservice promotional programs.

    The Foodservice Division of the CMAB supports foodservice operators and distributors that use Real California dairy products. The CMAB offers marketing and promotional support for foodservice operators that purchase dairy products with the Real California Milk seal, which means they are made with 100 percent milk from California’s more than 1,200 family dairy farms, using some of the most sustainable dairy practices in the nation.

    For more information on sourcing cheese from California, contact the foodservice team at 209.883.6455 (MILK), businessdevelopment@cmab.net or RealCaliforniaMilk.com/Foodservice, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.