When culinary innovation meets local goodness, magic happens in the kitchen. Recently, we had the privilege of hosting Heather Kerner, the mastermind behind The Good Crust, in our test kitchen. Heather’s visit was nothing short of a gastronomic journey, blending creative pizza dough ideas with the goodness of locally sourced Maine Grains.

Exploring the Highlights

During her visit, Heather showcased a range of delectable creations that left our taste buds tingling with excitement. Here are just a few highlights from her inspiring session.

1. Fougasse: Heather’s take on this classic French bread was nothing short of sensational. She transformed the humble bread into an artisanal masterpiece with locally-sourced Maine Grains.
2. Rustic Tomato Galette: A rustic and savory delight that celebrates the flavors of local ingredients. The flaky, golden crust paired perfectly with Maine Grains’ wholesome goodness.
3. Breakfast Pizza: Who said pizza is just for lunch and dinner? Heather’s breakfast pizza was a revelation, featuring a perfect blend of flavors to kickstart your day.
4. Breakfast Roll: A delightful twist on traditional breakfast rolls, Heather’s creation incorporated Maine Grains’ nutritious touch, making it a breakfast worth savoring.

Maine Grains – The Heart of It All

What makes Heather’s creations truly exceptional is her commitment to using locally sourced Maine Grains. These grains add a unique, wholesome flavor to her dishes and support our local community.

Maine Grains has been a vital part of our culinary journey, ensuring that each dish crafted in our test kitchen carries the essence of our region. From artisan bread to pizza dough, these grains have become the heart and soul of our culinary creations.

From Land O’ Lakes®, we added Extra Melt® White Cheese Sauce. This tremendously versatile product will give you the consistency you need from batch to batch and operation to operation. This Extra Melt Cheese Sauce comes in six, 5lb convenient, ready to use bags. Use all at once or as needed throughout the day. This cheese sauce maintains appearance, texture, and taste for hours on end. Perfect for restaurants and cafeterias.

From Lamonica, we added New England Clam Chowder. This creamy chowder is simmered in small batches and made from only wholesome ingredients like tender clams from cold Atlantic Ocean. Easy to make with just a few items from your kitchen, you can have a thick, creamy and hearty meal for your customers in minutes.

From Ready Seafood, we added Fresh Picked Lobster Meat. This premium lobster offering is perfect for discerning chefs who want simply perfect product. The meat is steamed and hand-shucked, consistently following proprietary methods of Ready Seafood, to ensure the perfect freshness, succulent texture and sweet flavor of Maine lobster cooked in your kitchen, but without the mess or hassle. Available as claw/knuckle or claw/knuckle/leg, this Fresh Lobster Meat is perfect for premium menu items such as lobster rolls and lobster salads. It’s ready for immediate use: no thawing, inventory management or labor. Each pack has been processed within 12 hours of harvest and has a 12-day shelf-life.

A few weeks ago we added a 12″ sheeted pizza dough from The Good Crust, now we’ve added the 16″. A great reason to get more of that 100% whole wheat crust made from Maine Grains’ without the rounding, and stretching required with dough balls. This sheeted pizza dough is perfect for busy K-12 School kitchens. This sheeted dough allows cafeteria cooks to jump straight to topping their Maine Grain pizza dough with student favorite toppings. Each pack comes with twenty 16″ pre-sheeted doughs.

And from Luzinanne, we added Iced Tea Pouches. Luzianne Iced Tea is specially blended for iced tea. This tea is always clear, never bitter and delivers smooth refreshment. Luzianne selects teas from tea producing countries around the world to maintain consistent test, color and clarity. This specially blended iced tea is ready in minutes, no boiling required, just steep in cold water and in 3-5 minutes you’ll have the authentic Luzianne taste ready for your customers. And for more menu options, try blending it with flavors like mint, strawberries and raspberries.

New Item Details:

Dennis Food Service delivers thousands of foodservice products and supplies to restaurants and food operations in Maine and New Hampshire. If you have a question or are interested in becoming a customer contact us or call 1-800-439-2727

From The Good Crust, we’ve added 12″ Pizza Dough, sheeted. Get that 100% whole wheat crust made from Maine Grains’ without the rounding, and stretching required with dough balls. The perfect canvas for your artisan creations. In a busy kitchen, convenience is key, and this dough delivers. This sheeted dough allows you to jump straight into the fun part – topping your pizza with favorite ingredients and getting it into the oven in no time. Not only is this Maine Grain pizza dough perfect for traditional pizza creations, but it also opens the door to a world of experimentation, including calzones, stromboli, bialys, focaccia, and knots. Each pack comes with twenty 12″ pre-sheeted doughs.

And from Rosina, we’ve added Buffalo Style Chicken Meatballs to our line of delicious frozen products. These buffalo-flavored meatballs are made with quality chicken, real bread crumbs, and carefully selected flavors and spices. These easy-to-prepare meatballs come in a convenient .5 oz size and are perfect for creative appetizers and main dishes that customers will love. Spice up your menus and increase your business by ordering Rosina Buffalo Style Chicken Meatballs today!

New Item Details:

Dennis Food Service delivers thousands of foodservice products and supplies to restaurants and food operations in Maine and New Hampshire. If you have a question or are interested in becoming a customer contact us or call 1-800-439-2727

From Hormel, we added Bread Ready® Premium Top Round Sliced Roast Beef. This whole muscle slice, roast beef is truly a premium product that delivers a natural beef texture and rich beef flavor. Made from a top round (cap off) and cooked to a medium degree of doneness. The TRUETASTE Technology allows for a true meat flavor, clean ingredient statement, longer shelf life, and enhanced food safety. Each package comes presliced for ease of portioning, convenience, and reduced labor costs. This sliced roast beef comes ready to use and is perfect for sandwiches, wraps, and party trays.

From Crestview, we added Skin On Turkey Breast Roast. This ready-to-cook raw roast comes packaged in foil to preserve freshness and is the perfect alternative to a whole turkey. Deliver that traditional turkey roast flavor on a sandwich or as a home cooked entree option at your establishment.

From Highliner Foods, we added Frozen-At-Sea Haddock Fillets. Icelandic Frozen-At-Sea Haddock Fillets are wild caught in the pristine waters of Iceland and frozen at sea for peak freshness. Representing Haddock at its best, these recipe-ready fillets are easy to prepare and cook to desired perfection, preserving this species’ famously mild, sweet flavor and melt-in-your-mouth, flaky texture. A versatile choice for a range of menu applications.

From Pacific Gold, we added Fully Cooked Mussels. These farm-raised, frozen mussels in whole shell come directly from the cold waters of Chilean Patagonia. They are the perfect choice to bring the ocean flavor to your favorite recipe.

We added two different pizza dough balls this week. From The Good Crust, we added their small batch Artisan pizza dough balls made with 100% “Maine Grains” fresh stone-milled flours. These dough balls come individually wrapped making them perfect for retail sale. From The Dough Co. we added an all-natural pizza dough ball. There is no artificial dough conditioners or preservatives in this dough. These are both great choices when it comes to school cafeterias.

From Valay, we added Barista Edition Oatmilk. Made from liquid oats, meaning this oat milk isn’t overly sweet or excessively heavy. This Barista Edition Oatmilk is fully foamable, putting you in total control over the density and performance of your foam, so you can showcase your latte art skills. Non-dairy, nut-free, and gluten-free, this oat milk is a perfect addition to add to your cafe, restaurant, or convenience store.

From San Jamar, we added BestGuard® Oven Mitts. With exclusive technology, these mitts provide superior heat protection while keeping your hands cool. The Angled cuff provides ease-of-movement and comfort. The WebGuard Plus, made with Kevlar®, provides extra durability and protection between thumb and forefinger, while Kevlar®-reinforced stitching ensures the insulation stays in place.

And finally, from Morcon, we added Valay® Premium Roll Towels and the compatible dispenser system. The Valay® family of premium roll towels consistently delivers high-quality performance that will exceed your expectations. This 800′ premium roll towel offers superior strength and absorbency in addition to a bright, white color that provides a sense of cleanliness and sophistication that will impress any food service owner, educator, or office manager. Meeting EPA guidelines for post-consumer content, this 100% recycled premium roll towel is also an environmentally friendly option. The Valay® Hardwound Towel Dispenser offers reliable dispensing and a sleek design that looks great in any setting. When paired together, these products save on product and labor costs while still providing a clean and professional look.

New Item Details:

Dennis Food Service delivers thousands of foodservice products and supplies to restaurants and food operations in Maine and New Hampshire. If you have a question or are interested in becoming a customer contact us or call 1-800-439-2727.

From Culinary Lites®, we added black-hinged containers. These containers offer increased value and affordable alternatives to foam and paper clamshell containers. These microwavable safe containers will withstand temperatures to 230˚F under heat lamps or in warming units. The clear, anti-fog lid is vented to allow steam to dissipate, keeping food looking fresh and appealing while eliminating order errors. Stacking will not block the vents to preserve the texture of the food, and the positive stack maintains the food presentation during transport. The secure snap closure ensures freshness and eliminates messy spills. Offset tabs make it easy to open and reclose. The durable, cut-resistant polypropylene allows your customers to eat right out of the container. Each container has a capacity of 47.5 oz.

From Oringer, we added Pineapple Dessert Topping. Add the perfect finishing touch to your dessert offerings with this Oringer Pineapple dessert and sundae topping. Crafted from fresh pineapples with a soft texture and tropical sweetness, this topping offers all the sweet flavor your customers crave. The pineapples are coarsely cut, making them easy to scoop up in every sweet bite. The cut pineapples are packed in a thick, sweet sugar syrup that will impart your desserts with extra pineapple flavor. Each pack comes with three 3/4 gallon resealable containers that will keep your establishment well-stocked with this delicious topping. The built-in handle makes holding and moving this large container easy. To maintain this product’s freshness, it’s recommended to refrigerate after opening.

From local Maine Company, The Good Crust, we’ve added three Whole Grain Pizza Dough Balls. Each of these small-batch Artisan Pizza Dough Balls is made with 100% “Maine Grains”. Maine Grains’ flour is unadulterated, perfectly fresh, and full of flavor. Great for head chefs, school cafeterias, and everyone in between. These doughs are relaxed and easily stretched. Light and structurally sound for your favorite toppings. The crust that stands out from the rest. And not just for pizza. The Good Crust is ideal for bialys, focaccia, knots, and stromboli.

And finally, from N’joy, we’ve added disposable Salt and Pepper Shakers. N’joy salt shakers offer your operation a convenient, disposable option for tabletops. Each case contains 48 – 4oz shakers with an aperture that delivers the perfect amount of salt. Certified and natural, these shakers provide the ideal salt seasoning for sandwiches, fried foods, salads, soups, and more. Customers appreciate having access to add flavor to their meals. Perfect for operations that enjoy convenience, portability, and restaurant readiness.

Dennis Food Service delivers thousands of foodservice products and supplies to restaurants and food operations in Maine and New Hampshire. If you have a question or are interested in becoming a customer contact us or call 1-800-439-2727.