Celebrity-chef-backed products

[Chimayo Joe]

I'm having my first meal from Michelin-starred chef Gordon Ramsay soon.  I was surprised to see Chef Ramsay frozen entrees at Walmart last night. 😛 I wasn't aware he was doing that either. I'm not expecting Chef Ramsay's fish & chips to be any good, but I couldn't resist the purchase.  I would not have expected him to put his name on that sort of thing.

[Kerala]

Even Marco Pierre White sold Knorr when he could.

 

Edited September 27, 2023 by Kerala (log)

[Laurentius]

Celebrity chefs flogging products is nothing new.  Paul Bocuse was a paid "Ambassador" for Zwilling/Demeyere.  Tom Keller is famously omniamorous about licensing his name.

[gfweb]

Brings to mind Rao's.  Their supermarket sauces are fine but their frozen lasagna is so bad that an airline wouldn't serve it.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

2 hours ago, gfweb said:

Brings to mind Rao's.  Their supermarket sauces are fine but their frozen lasagna is so bad that an airline wouldn't serve it.

 

Rao's is Campbell's now.  I bought a jar of their sauce last night.

 

[rotuts]

@JoNorvelleWalker

 

hopefully on sale.

 

and lets not forget Auguste Gusteau, author of ' Anyone can Cook ' :

 

 

 

albeit posthumously.

 

 

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

7 hours ago, rotuts said:

@JoNorvelleWalker

 

hopefully on sale.

 

and lets not forget Auguste Gusteau, author of ' Anyone can Cook ' :

 

 

 

albeit posthumously.

 

 

 

 

Indeed, on sale.  Still, expensive stuff.

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Not only on sale, Rao's was still expensive even with the senior citizen discount I forgot to mention.

 

[Margaret Pilgrim]

I've been using Rao's marinara for some 30 years.    Of course I can make its equal at home but a jar on the shelf saves some rainy days or unexpected drop-ins,

[Margaret Pilgrim]

On 9/27/2023 at 8:21 AM, gfweb said:

Brings to mind Rao's.  Their supermarket sauces are fine but their frozen lasagna is so bad that an airline wouldn't serve it.

Source?

[KennethT]

13 hours ago, Margaret Pilgrim said:

Source?

I think that line was hyperbole.   Personally, I do like their marinara sauce but I've never tried their (or any) frozen lasagne.

[AlaMoi]

if you come across it, Classico Tomato & Basil is pretty dang good....

[Chimayo Joe]

7 hours ago, KennethT said:

their (or any) frozen lasagne.

I haven't had much of Rao's frozen food, but I've had the lasagna, and it's about average for a frozen lasagna, certainly not worth the extra money you pay for something with the Rao's brand.  I've had Rao's frozen pepperoni pizza which wasn't bad for a frozen pizza but was far too pricey for what it is.  The only other frozen Rao's item I've had was mushroom risotto. I knew there was no chance that was going to work, but I tried it anyway.  The flavor was okay, but the texture was sludge.  
 

BTW, Chef Ramsay's fish & chips were pretty bad. Heavily battered fish nuggets and dry flavorless chips.  

Edited September 29, 2023 by Chimayo Joe (log)

[Laurentius]

16 hours ago, Chimayo Joe said:

not worth the extra money you pay for something with the Rao's brand.

IMO, ever since Rao's was sold, its products haven't been worth paying a premium for.  I think they subsist now on brand loyalty, not excellence.

[blue_dolphin]

12 minutes ago, Laurentius said:

IMO, ever since Rao's was sold, its products haven't been worth paying a premium for.  I think they subsist now on brand loyalty, not excellence.

 

This sale that caused you to perceive a sudden drop in product value, when did it occur?

The acquisition by Campbell's was announced less than 2 months ago and I’d imagine most of the shelf-stable product in stores was manufactured in advance of that event. 

[Laurentius]

36 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

This sale that caused you to perceive a sudden drop in product value, when did it occur?

 

2017.  That was when Rao's Specialy Foods was sold to Sovos Brands.  Sovos greatly expanded production and quality suffered.

 

If you're interested, there's a Robb Report of how Sovos industrialized Rao's before flipping it to Campbell's.

 

There are sad parallels here with other acquisitions and mergers.  Eddie Bauer, Abercrombie & Fitch, Williams-Sonoma, big brew, etc., etc.  Before it's over, I'm sure there'll be a Rao's credit card.

Edited September 30, 2023 by Laurentius (log)

[rotuts]

for me Rao's products are simply very over priced..

 

' Rao ' simply a historical name that has been leveraged for a premium price.

 

that being said   the jared sauce starts out w crushed tomatoes

 

vs tomato paste , which gives the product a different taste .

 

at least the jar I had some time ago.

 

this premium price is very frequently discounted to try to capture sales.

 

ive found s distinct taste difference between jared tomato sauce 

 

that has tomato paste as its primary ingredient vs crushed tomatoes.

 

Campbell's purchased the brand to try to leverage its business into

 

a more expensive strata .

 

the WSJ buzz is that Campbells significantly over paid.

 

so good luck to them .

 

the majority pays for the label 

 

and Rao's is a tastier jared sauce than tomato paste brands.

 

but still vastly over priced.

 

and once you doctor the jared sauce to your liking 

 

vs plain out of the jar 

 

doent seem to be worth the premium.

 

 

[btbyrd]

I used to buy Rao's tomato sauces, but now I can source inexpensive cans of Bianco DiNapoli tomatoes locally, I have no interest in pre-made sauce. I know they're pizza sauce tomatoes, but they're great on pasta too. And they're also a celebrity-chef-backed product.