Recently I had the wonderful opportunity to venture into New York City to have brunch with Chef Mario Batali to kick of the year long birthday celebration for Hellmann’s. That’s right – 100 years! Wow. That is a long time. To think that Hellmann’s has been adding flavor to recipes since before my grandparents were born.
Did you that Hellmann’s was “born” in New York City?
According to Wikipedia.
In 1905, Richard Hellmann from Vetschau, Germany, opened a delicatessen on Columbus Avenue in New York City, where he used his wife’s recipe to sell the first ready-made mayonnaise. It became so popular that he began selling it in bulk to other stores. In 1912 he built a factory for producing Mrs. Hellmann’s mayonnaise. It was mass marketed and called Hellmann’s Blue Ribbon Mayonnaise. It was so successful, Hellmann closed his delicatessen by 1917 to devote full-time to his mayonnaise business.
While Hellmann’s Mayonnaise thrived on the U.S. East Coast, the California company Best Foods introduced their own mayonnaise. Best Foods Mayonnaise became popular on the West Coast, and was operating a major plant in San Francisco in the first half of the twentieth century.
In 1932, Best Foods bought the Hellmann’s brand. By then both mayonnaises had such commanding market shares in their respective halves of the country that the company decided that both brands and recipes be preserved.
To help fans join in on the birthday celebration, Hellmann’s has come up with several fun ideas.
Shoppers Can Take Home a Piece of History: Beginning in May, consumers can add a piece of history to their shopping carts with special edition 100th birthday labels available on select sizes of Hellmann’s throughout the year.
Hellmann’s @ 100 Supports Feeding America®:
As Hellmann’s celebrates its rich history of feeding America’s families during some of their greatest moments, it also is marking the occasion with support for those most in need. As part of the brand’s 100th birthday celebration, Hellmann’s is helping provide one million meals to Feeding America this year to help the fight against hunger nationwide.
I guess you are wondering what having lunch with Chef Mario Batali has to do with Hellmann’s 100th birthday celebration?
Hellmann’s has teamed up with Chef Batali to show consumers just how easy it is to add a modern twist to Hellmann’s Classic Blue Ribbon Recipes.
Hellmann’s has a video content series available both on YouTube and Facebook that feature Chef Batali how-to tips and modern touches to some of America’s most beloved Hellmann’s recipes.
At the luncheon event Chef Batali showed guests how to create an amazing Chicken Pasta Salad, perfect for summer time picnics and backyard barbecues.
Here is the video version of his must-try recipe. If you are reading this on e-mail you can find the recipe on Hellmann’s YouTube page or Facebook page.
Guests were able to take Chef Batali’s Chicken Pasta Salad and add our own ingredients to it. For my Chicken Pasta Salad I added orange rind, lemon zest, broccoli, red peppers, asparagus and beets. MMMMM!!! It turned out so good! So good in fact that I am planning on making this salad for my family.
It’s amazing how just adding a few simple ingredients can really jazz up a classic recipe.
We were all treated to a variety of appetizers, entrees and even a dessert all made with Hellmann’s.
My favorites were the Salsa Burger, Chicken Parm and of course the Chocolate Cake.
The whole dining area was set up so lovely. It was also fun to see Chef Batali whipping up the Chicken Pasta Salad right in front of us.
I even have the wonderful opportunity to meet with Chef Batali in person. 🙂
What I liked best about this special luncheon is that it reminded me just how many things you can make using Hellmann’s mayonnaise. Of course you can make a tasty sandwich with it, but you can also create other crowd pleasing recipes such as chocolate cake, Parmesan Crusted Chicken and of course Chicken Pasta Salad, to name a few.
You can get in on the birthday celebration AND win a fabulous contest too!
On the Hellmann’s Facebook page you’ll find an app that lets you co-create a dish with Mario Batali. It’s called Hellmann’s Making Over the Best. Each recipe you virtually create gives you an entry into the contest.
When you virtually co-create a recipe you have a chance to win a seat at the Blue Ribbon Table at Hellmann’s 100th birthday celebration in September in New York City. The table is going to be so huge that it’s going to beat the current world record holder in the Guinness Book of World Records! That means those who get to attend will be participating in a record breaking event. How cool is that!
Simply add ingredients, suggest a new technique and write a personalize recipe description on the Facebook page app to add modern twist on a classic Hellmann’s Blue Ribbon recipe.
I’ve visit the Facebook page several times and have played around with the app. I love the recipe creations fans are coming up with. Plus when your friends create a recipe they will appear around the virtual table so you can see what your Facebook friends came up with too.
For more information, or to add your own personal touch to one of the recipes, visit Facebook.com/Hellmanns.
For more information and recipes visit www.Hellmanns.com. Also check them out on Pinterest (be forewarned… there are a lot of yummy recipes posted there) and on Twitter. Check out the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag #Hellmanns100.
Good luck! I hope I’ll see you in September (I’ll be there!).
Kimberly
*I was not compensated for this post. I am a Hellmann’s brand ambassador and I am sharing the information with my readers for their benefit and enjoyment. All opinions expressed are my own unless otherwise noted.
Sarah L says
That was a fun luncheon. Now I’m hungry.
kate says
yummy… lucky you =) looks like you had a blast
md kennedy says
OMG you got to meet Mario? I love how he cooks and especially loved the book about Spain and the food there that he did with GP. Lucky you!
Hedy @ Penny for my Thoughts says
I LOVE Mario Batali! I saw him talking about this promo on the Chew the other day/
Denise Taylor-Dennis says
What a fun event. I had not heard of this chef before but then again I don’t watch much TV. Is Hellmann’s sold in CA. I think it is sold as Best Foods but I really don’t know.
Tammy S says
What a fun day you must have had. Who would have thought you could make a chocolate cake with Hellmanns mayonnaise. Wow!
Karen Glatt says
This is such great tasting food created by Mario Batali. I must make his Chicken Salad. Hellmann’s mayonnaise is 100 years old! Awesome. Great tasting mayonnaise that my family loves!