Buyers' Picks-May 2003

Sabra Coe Young, Taste Unlimited, Virginia Beach, VA
By June we’re all enjoying good weather, so Father’s Day is a good occasion for a cookout or casual party. Barbecue sauces and rubs sell well, as do sweet-and-salty snack mixes. We put a lot of these products together in grab-and-go gift packs in the $20, $30 and $50 price ranges along with items like chips and salsa or fishing- or golfing-themed gifts. My picks include:
• Big Rick’s Original Barbecue Sauce
• Char Crust Smoky Spicy Southwest Rub
• Taste Unlimited Beach Crunch
• Blue Crab Bay Co. Crab House Crunch
• New Canaan Farms Black Bean & Corn Salsa

Michael Young, Olives Gourmet Foods, Edmonds, WA
We put together gift packs with local businesses. Our barbecue gift pack features rubs and sauces as well as beer from the local wine shop and barbecue utensils from a nearby housewares store. We also do one with three types of cheese, a cutting board and cheese knife and the book French Cheese. My picks include:
• Joseph Schmidt Chocolate Golf Balls
• Barbecue gift packs
• Fischer & Weiser Original Roasted Raspberry Chipotle Sauce
• Tom Douglas Rub with Love gift pack
• Cheese gift pack

John Ingersoll, Chestnut Hill Cheese Shop, Philadelphia, PA
Our customer base is knowledgeable about food so we’re a very ingredients-focused store. Things like olive oil and fine Balsamic vinegar and cheese are what people look for when buying gifts. They want savory items over sweet. We also do gift baskets on request incorporating those types of products. My picks include: • Smoked salmon
• Olives
• D’Artagnan demi glace
• Jardine’s barbecue sauces
• Chips and salsa

Julie Truax, The Attic, Madison, IN
Cherchie’s mustards are a best-seller with us for men. Authentic barbecue is just catching on here and we don’t do a big business for cookout season, but Char Crust rubs are a steady seller and Rothschild’s Raspberry Salsa is great for grilled chicken. We have a new line of spicy pickles and relish that should be popular for cookouts and picnics. Coffee gifts do well, too. My picks include:
• Cherchie’s Champagne Mustard
• Char Crust rubs
• Robert Rothschild Raspberry Salsa
• Neighbors Coffee
• Wickles “Wickedly Delicious Pickles and Relish

Ed Barbee, The Jelly Jar, Gatlinburg, TN
We have our own kitchen where we make a line of jams, jellies and preserves. We sell these in gift boxes of four, six or 12. Strawberry, Huckleberry and Wild Plum do well. We also make Pumpkin Butter and Apple Butter. Barbecue sauces and hot sauces also sell well for Father’s Day. My picks include:
• Tennessee Fire hot sauce
• Jelly Jar preserves
• Joe’s Hell Sauce
• Bone Suckin’ Sauce

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