Betty Crocker Remixes Old Standards and New Traditions to Declare 2008: The Year of the Supper Club
Web Site Puts Soulful Recipes and Tips at Fingertips to Encourage New Traditions For Impressing Girlfriends or Bonding with Children
09/25/2007
Black-eyed peas cornbread salad. Sweet potato pie smoothies. West African peanut stew. These are some of the tasty, crowd-pleasing, soul food dishes that could grace the table of your supper club this fall and beyond. Remixed in the Betty Crocker Kitchens, they are just a few of the more than 100 soulful recipes available via General Mills’ Serving Up Soul™ Web site. In partnership with celebrity-hostess entrepreneur B. Smith, the site is a one-stop online shop. It offers the convenient recipes, advice, and instructions women want to feed their passion for soul food and their need for quick and easy cooking and entertaining tips. Beginning this month, www.servingupsoul.com will also feature step-by-step instructions to help consumers bring back the supper club tradition of gathering with friends and family to slow down, reconnect, and “dine-in” regularly.
“Serving Up Soul is an excellent resource for anyone seeking inexpensive solutions to feed friends and family with the heritage and flavor we’ve grown to love,” said Shirley Dolland, test kitchen manager and 25-year culinary veteran responsible for developing the site’s recipes. “At the heart of African-American food celebrations is the theme of sharing. So, we want consumers to extend the gathering, cooking, laughing, and catching up that traditionally only happens around the holidays to all year long. It’s something consumers say they’re looking for more of, and we’re happy to help.”
A new survey* commissioned by General Mills shows that more than half of women polled, or 57 percent, place a priority on spending quality time with girlfriends. Additionally, seven out of 10 African-American Moms surveyed place a priority on spending quality time with their children, and two-thirds feel it is important to pass on soul food dishes by teaching their kids how to prepare them. These are just some of the reasons why General Mills is declaring 2008: “The Year of the Supper Club.”
Servingupsoul.com’s speed-scratch recipes offer preparation shortcuts to help beginners and experienced chefs bring their “A” games to any dining experience. The site also offers entertaining tips from B. Smith and registers visitors for an electronic newsletter that delivers the freshest food advice every month. The Soul Kitchen section of the site details a list of recommended staples every kitchen should have – from a cast iron fry pan to potato masher and muffin tins – and step-by-step instructions for stress-free hosting.
“Some of these recipes just might surprise your guests,” said Dolland. “They pair convenience prepackaged products with fresh ingredients in new ways to create quick and delicious meals, snacks, and desserts that can become your family’s new traditions.”
To kick off the “return to dining-in” movement, General Mills will host a series of community supper clubs this fall, beginning in Baltimore and Birmingham. Additionally, a collection of tips and step-by-step instructional fact sheets are available via www.servingupsoul.com. The advice will help ensure fun and stress-free gatherings – from an extended family dinner or holiday event to a supper club with girlfriends or an afternoon of cooking with the kids. The tips include checklists and specific ways Moms can share the cooking experience and teach kids the fundamentals, entertaining tips, and supper club discussion topics and party themes to help women focus on the fun instead of the anxiety about being a great hostess.
“We want to make it easy for women to host family gatherings and girls’ nights out at home,” said Nancy Sacco, marketing manager, General Mills Multicultural Marketing. “We’ve asked women what they want and created a resource that caters to those needs. Serving Up Soul is a terrific tool we can all use to more confidently prepare and serve soulful treats. We hope consumers will use it to establish their own monthly supper club tradition.”
Some of the more indulgent recipes on the site include Cinnamon Fried Ice Cream and Gingerbread Pancakes. For a lighter twist on a traditional dish, consider Oven-Baked Cinnamon Catfish – dipped in yogurt and breaded with whole-grain cereal. Whether sharing a precious moment by preparing dinner with the kids or prepping for a supper club party for girlfriends at your home, General Mills’ Serving Up Soul Web site is the ideal destination for hosts and hostesses alike. The site is sponsored by some of General Mills’ most popular brands including Honey Nut Cheerios®, Yoplait®, Betty Crocker Warm Delights®, Grands!® Biscuits, and all Hamburger Helper®/Chicken Helper® varieties. Visit www.servingupsoul.com for more information.
Other survey results include:
- Seven out of 10 African-American women surveyed, aged 24-29, are hesitant to play hostess because they are less confident in the kitchen.
- More than a third of 20-something African-American women cite macaroni and cheese as their favorite soul food dish, while more than a third of 40-something African-American women cite greens as their #1 preference.
- The vast majority, or 73 percent, of African-American women polled learned to cook from their own mothers/stepmothers, and eight out of 10 mothers place a priority on spending quality time with their children, in an effort to get to know them better as they mature or help them develop stronger self-esteem.
*The proprietary study was conducted by SurveySpot, the Internet panel of Survey Sampling International (SSI)with 504 African-American women between the ages of 24 and 49.
About General Mills
General Mills, with annual net sales of $13.4 billion, is a leading global manufacturer and marketer of consumer foods products. Based in Minneapolis, Minn., General Mills’ mission is to innovate to make people’s lives healthier, easier and richer around the world. Its global brand portfolio includes Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Green Giant, Häagen-Dazs, Old El Paso and more. It also has more than 100 U.S. consumer brands, more than 30 of which generate annual retail sales in excess of $100 million. General Mills also is a leading supplier of baking and other food products to the foodservice and commercial baking industries.
For More Information, Contact:
Heather Woodard
Fleishman-Hillard Inc.
314-982-0289
Kim Bow Sundy
General Mills Multicultural Marketing
763-764-2591
