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Watsonville-Salinas:
Weather has been mild with mostly foggy mornings and sunny afternoons. However, yesterday morning we were surprised with unexpected light rainfall in our Watsonville-Salinas regions. What originally felt like heavy mist-fog transitioned into light showers, which resulted in muddy furrows, crates and pallets. Despite the slight disarray from the moisture in the fields, fruit was unaffected. The next 7-10 day forecast looks mild and temperate in the low-mid 70s to kick off summer. Overall, quality is good with counts mostly 16-18 - downsizing slightly, but packs are clean and quality is nice. Organic counts are 24-28 and numbers should be consistent through July. Bushberry quality is holding up great and volumes are increasing each week.
Santa Maria:
Weather was also wet in our Santa Maria growing region, with a warming trend ahead over the weekend and into next week with temperatures expected to be in the 70s and nighttime lows in the 50s. Counts among conventional berries are mostly in the low 20s. We are seeing some darker fruit in the afternoons, but overall quality is holding strong and labor is not an issue at this time. We are currently still planting our fall crop and expect this fruit to begin harvest in late August- early September.
Blueberries:
Georgia Blueberries:
Oxnard Organic Blueberries:
The Oxnard organics season will finish tomorrow.
Central Valley Blueberries:
Oregon Blueberries:
Mexico:
We currently have a few fields during their peak of production, some others are decreasing. With the current weather conditions, it has been difficult for field personnel to control heat and moisture related crop defects and concerns. Overall, despite the heat quality is good and most minor defects include undeveloped fruit, uneven-ripening and overripe fruit. The season is coming to an end shortly, with the last day anticipated for June 29th.
Georgia Blackberries:
For up-to-date weather conditions in all of our growing regions, click on the region below. Wunderground.com is our go-to weather resource for fast and reliable weather updates.
California Giant Executive Director of International Business Development, Nader Musleh, has been hard at work. This week, we received our first blueberry export in the United Kingdom (by air). The fruit arrived in excellent condition with no issues in processing. The blueberries were packed last Saturday and distributed Sunday in Lidl Stores. We are so pleased with this endeavor and proud to be bringing accessibility to the California Giant label across the globe.
Our Chef Invitational finalists will be en route to Monterey this Sunday - the foodservice culinary competition is here and we are thrilled to be able to meet with the chefs, foodservice representatives, guests, sponsors and more. We can't thank our guest speakers enough for taking the time to attend and present at our first ever Foodie Forum Tuesday morning from 9-11AM at Tehama Golf Club. Have you met the speakers? If not - here's a quick glimpse at what to expect. We are looking forward to this new addition to the Chef Invitational and know our speakers and their industry insights and perspectives will bring inspiration, collaboration and energy to the room to initiate the day.
Meet the 2019 Foodie Forum Speakers:
Chef Luis Reyes is a corporate chef for Sysco West Coast Florida. In 2018, he took the title of California Giant Berry Farms Top Chef at the 1st annual Chef Invitational with his award winning berry, tomato and beet salad recipe. Reyes was born and raised in Puerto Rico and specializes in bringing a vibrant, flavorful latin-flare into his dishes, and does not steer away from taking risks in the kitchen. He served as the California Giant Berry Farms Chef Ambassador during his tenure as Top Chef, frequently sharing creative berry recipes and trends with the team and serving as an advocate for innovating with berries in his kitchen.
Denis Boaro is the owner and general manager of Basil Seasonal Dining of Carmel, and Gusto Handcrafted Pasta and Pizza of Seaside, CA. Denis joined the 1st annual Chef Invitational in 2018 as part of the official judges panel. In the last year, Denis has taken the innovation and creativity from the Chef Invitational and seized the opportunity to innovate with berries in his very own menus. He has since established a valued partnership with California Giant and has introduced a variety of creative, delicious seasonal menu items incorporating fresh California Giant berries at both of his restaurant locations - proving fresh berries complement a variety of textures and flavors on the menu.
Tony Baker is executive chef of Montrio Bistro in Monterey, CA and founder and owner of Baker’s Bacon. For 25 years, Chef Tony has demonstrated his commitment to sustainable ingredients and local purveyors through his work as executive chef at Montrio Bistro - which is consistently voted “Best Restaurant in Monterey” by local reader polls. Unable to find bacon that met his high standards for freshness and ingredients, Chef Tony Baker founded his own brand in 2011. Baker’s Bacon began with a partnership between long time smoke master and bacon expert Steve Sacks at Prime Smoked Meats in Oakland, California. Baker and Sacks worked together for over a year experimenting with cures until they settled on the recipe that is still in use today. The goal was and is to make real bacon – Bacon The Way It’s Supposed To Be!
Ashley Walterhouse is a health foodie, fitness fanatic and California Giant Berry Farms blogger and influencer through her blog Fit Mitten Kitchen. Ashley specializes in creating delicious, healthy recipes, and sharing those recipes in hopes to inspire others to love living healthy. She creates approachable recipes from real ingredients such as California Giant berries, and regularly engages and reaches the California Giant consumer and beyond through an array of creative, relatable recipes and content through her various platforms.
Will we see you there? Please email tsmith@calgiant.com if you would like to attend the Foodie Forum Tuesday 9-11AM. See you soon!
