Madisono's Mad Pops debut at Findlay Market

Those of you who follow this blog know that posts do not show up regularly. I would like to say that I am working on doing a better at this. I hope to post at least once a week and maybe more. There are some great things happening at Madisono's and I love to talk about it.
What is a Mad Pop you ask? A Mad Pop is a frozen fruit pop, made with real fruits and madisono's sorbet. Imagine Alphonso mango sorbet with pineapple or Madiosno's lemon sorbet and blackberries, or red raspberry sorbet and fresh strawberries. Each fruit batch is made from scratch and then poured into the molds. Everything about this concept is done by hand and in very small batches. I think this would qualify as artisan. Once frozen they are removed and then packaged. This idea has been brewing for a long and I am finally able to introduce some initial products for people to try and get some input on them. I have been overwhelmed at flavor possibilities. So many flavors and so little time.
Pops are nothing new, we all had them as kids but they were just frozen juice, with fake food colors and artificial flavors. Even today they are still made with crappy ingredients. Mad Pops is offering something very different. There is so much fruit in these you can feel it. The lemon blackberry is made with blackberries from Madison's Ridgeview Farm in Adams County. We froze many pounds of berries just for Mad Pops. The inspiration for pops is found in the Mexican Paletas. My sister in law is from Panama and all through Latin America paletas are everywhere, made with real fruits and simple ingredients. Paleta shops are showing up in places around the country and now they are available here. We have some big plans for Mad Pops here in Cincinnati. More on that later. If you get to Findlay Market stop in to Madison's for a Mad Pop and let me know what you think. Have a good holiday weekend.
Thanks for supporting Madisono's Gelato
Matt

NPR Pitango Gelato Story

This morning I was snoozing through a 5:30 am wake up. I am not sure which cycle it was, maybe the first or second, but the alarm clock started up just as a story came on about Pitango Gelato. Steve Inskeep introduced the story and needless to say I was awake! Click on Pitango for the NPR story. At the end of the story something resonated with me. The venture capitol person being interviewed said that they are trying to figure out if artisan can become mainstream. The interviewer then follows up with a summary of the concept of whether or not high quality ingredients can be used and then sold at a high price.
Will artisan go mainstream? This poses an interesting argument. What is artisan and what is mainstream? I can think of several artisan companies that are in the mainstream. LaBrea breads from the west coast, and many of the fine cheeses produced domestically and abroad still maintain a method of production that is not much different from when they started out. The difference is that they just make more. There are many craft beers on the market today and many chocolate companies that use rustic techniques to produce their products. Small food companies make quality food using techniques that they have to use, because they can't afford the alternative. They may also believe that certain techniques produce the best quality product. Most of the time ingredients and technique are what make things taste better than the mass produced stuff. I am not sure that the issue is whether or not artisan can go mainstream or not it is whether or not the artist can produce enough to be in the mainstream.
The other issue brought up in the story was whether or not high quality ingredients can be used and then sold at a high price? Recently the New York Times ran an story from Julia Moskin on the price of artisan ice creams. How can they justify the $10.00 pint? Price is based on many factors. The use of high quality ingredients commands a higher price at the end. There is no other way about it. The issue is will people pay for it? When I ran a small shop I used to make cranberry chicken salad. People placed orders in advance for weddings and parties. It was very good. We used the highest quality ingredients available. When food reps would come in and notice that I was using Hellman's they would always offer their product for half the price with the slogan, "they will never know the difference." The other brand was cheaper and would increase my profits but it was not as good as Hellman's. And my customers could taste the difference. I had an offer to use already cut celery, and chopped onions, but in the end the cheaper foods would never amount to a better product, just a cheaper one. I never had to try these products because I already knew. You can't use cheap products and then charge a high price. Not many people run food costs at home or do the math on potion costs when they cook a meal. Bacos or bacon? I think we all know that you can't fake the real thing and it is worth every penny.
I got up, had my tea and breakfast then headed off to make more gelato. I'm not worried about artisan going mainstream. I just hope that there is not the same silly debate over artisan as there was over organic. Remember that? At first it was organic then certified organic and then biodynamic, and now it has settled on local. Which has always made more sense. Let's leave the titles out and just enjoy good food, made with quality ingredients, that are made locally.
Thanks for supporting Madisono's

Blueberry, Peach and Nectarine at Findlay

I spent a good part of Tuesday processing fruit from my parents store for some new flavors. These will be dipped at findlay and served at Prima Vista restaurant. Don't look for them in pints but if you want a pint to take home just ask. The Findlay staff will be happy to assist you.
Many of you know that Madisono's is a partner with Sustain Brands. Sustain brand foods are popping up all over town. Many of them are sold at Madison's @ Findlay 110 W. Elder St. They have salsa, fresh salsa and some soups. If you click here, there is a link about Sustain Brands if you want to know more about them and their philosophy on foods.
Thanks
Matt

Big Award for Madisono's!

The sign says it all. A big thanks to Cincinnati Magazine for the award. I am grateful for such and award. Did you know that we make our own gelato bases from scratch? This means that all of the ingredients are mixed and then pasteurized at the plant. Did you know that we make four different gelato bases? They are neutral, chocolate, dark chocolate and cinnamon. The sorbet bases are also made from scratch. Each sorbet has it's own recipe. This is why Madisono's tastes so good.
This past weekend was quite busy. Saturday morning I set up for the Lady Distance Classic 5k/10K run in Blue Ash. The morning was cool and crisp. We sampled mango sorbet, lemon basil sorbet, dark chocolate gelato, French vanilla gelato, and caramello with sea salt gelato. Thanks to all of you who stopped by for samples. We will be back next year with some new flavors. If you shop at Whole Foods you would know that this past week was local week and that means demos. I traveled to Columbus on Saturday to the Dublin store and sampled to the masses. What a great event! I brought home some organic dog treats and met some great people. Sunday was another demo at the Upper Arlington store which turned out to be a great day too. Thanks to all of you who sampled and purchased Madisono's. Yes the Maple Nut with Brown Sugar is crazy delicious. I am looking forward to lunch on the land in September.
On Tuesday of this week I am going to make some peach, nectarine and blueberry gelato. I got some great fruit from my parents store at Findlay Market and can not wait to offer them to all of you. They will be available for dipping this weekend. Thanks again to Cincinnati Magazine for the award.
Thanks to all of you for your support.
Matt

Cincinnati Ride June 13 2010

Today I am serving gelato and sorbet at the Cincinnati Ride for Breast Cancer Research located at Sawyer Point. The weather looks good and I am looking forward to it. Thanks to all of you who took part in the event and to those of you who stopped by to sample!

Here is a list of locations where you can find Madisono's Gelato and Sorbet

Bigg's Hide Park
Bigg's Mason
Bigg's Anderson
Bigg's Pleasant Ridge
Bigg'sDelhi
Whole Foods Mason
Whole Foods Rookwood
Pipkins Market Blue Ash
Garnish Catering Blue Ash
Ferrari's Little Italy Maderia
Cork and Bottle Buttermilk
Cork and Bottle Covington
The Party Source
Madison's At Findlay Market (Dipped Fresh in the store )
Sunshine Foods Hyde Park
Carl's Deli Hyde Park
Coffee Emporium Downtown
Luigi's Market Mason
Pitrelli's Mason
College Hill Coffee Company
Keller's IGA
Dillonvale IGA
Meiner's Meats Bridgetown
Servati's Western Hills
Wyoming Wines
Wyoming Meats
Please consider purchasing Madisono's from one of these fine retail locations. My sorbet is dairy free and did you know that Madisono's is made with 8% butterfat and fewer calories than regular ice cream?
Thanks
Matt

Cincinnati Flower Show

I am proud to announce that Madisono's is teaming up with Chef's Choice Catering to offer 8oz individual serving cups at the 2010 Cincinnati Flower and Garden Show. My new flavor, Honey Lavender, will make it's debut at the show. Made with honey and real lavender, this flavor is incredible. The texture is like nothing I have ever made before and I can not wait to share it with all of you. Chef's choice will also offer Lemon sorbet and Chocolate Gelato in 8oz cups. These 8oz single serve cups are now available at the following locations:
College Hill Coffee Shop,
SilverGlades on 8th,
Madison's At Findlay Market,
Angelo's Pizza in Montgomery,
Abby Girl Sweets on 5ht St.
Lookout Joe Mt. Lookout
The cups are available in the following flavors. Chocolate, Vanilla, Strawberry, Dark Chocolate Orange, Honey Lavender, Chocolate Chip, Lemon Sorbet and Red Raspberry Sorbet. Honey Lavender is just now coming out so give that a week or so before it is available in those locations, but don't forget to ask them for it.

Madisono's is now available at Madison's Market 110 W. Elder St. dipped by hand Tuesday through Sunday. Last week was the soft opening and it was anything but soft! Thanks to all of you who bouht a cup. Madisono's offers a huge portion for just $3.00. Compared to other offerings of gelato around town this is a great deal. Just because Madisono's bases are made from scratch with local milk, all natural ingredients, just because we use the finest ingredients available and just because it is made is small batches does not mean that it has to be expensive. We will offer fresh cut strawberries as a topping this week and will debut our Sorbet Fizz menu very soon. Thanks for your support
Also try my new Caramello with sea salt. Only available at Madison's or Via Vite.



Matt

Soapbox Cincinnati

Last week I had the great pleasure of talking with Elena Stevenson from Cincinnati Soapbox. She had called to set up a time to do a phone interview about Madisono's Gelato and we were able to connect last Thursday. Elena had some great questions. I say this all the humility in the world but I love being interviewed. Let me explain. I spend all day, all night thinking about my business. I even dream about it. Sometimes they are good dreams but most of the time they are anxiety based for one reason or another. Owning and running a small business is hard, regardless of what the business does. While thinking about my business, be it about finances, new flavor names, pricing, sales, inspections, sales leads and everything else, there rarely comes a time when things are in real perspective. When being interviewed, the questions cause me to think about my business in a different way. I recalled my days at the Findlay market farm shed, working on the farm 9 years ago, selling shiitake mushrooms, and all the great milestones since I founded Madisono's. I would never, in a normal day have time or the reason to take all of that into account within a 10 minute stretch. For me, the interview is like looking back on a scrap book with fond memories. It also helps me to see just how far I have come and how much work has gone into where I am now. Sometimes I get caught up in the details of the now and forget to look at the real picture. Interviews help me put it all back into a framework that despite the immediate challenges of the day, I am doing what I love to do. Create. I am excited about dipping fresh gelato at Findlay Market. I am excited about the warm weather and I have much more to share with all of you. For now here is the link to the interview.
Thanks
Matt