Bummer!

Hey Everyone!

I am SO BUMMED out! I missed the public debut of Coco y Cacao, but don't worry, I'm still in the running. Still, I feel like I totally dropped the ball on this one when I discovered that they already held the tasting promotion in SF back on July 14! Could the test locations bode well for Coco y Cacao?


I think that was the day after I first discovered the new "webisodes". I was even in the City that day.

I knew the were holding out on me! I suppose they didn't want me to influence the vote. And you know I would have called on the Coco y Cacao Nation to descend upon SF Center. Aaargh! And you know how "uni-motional" I am. I'm really upset that I didn't do the Google search earlier. It's like showing up for the championship game and forgetting your freakin' sneakers.

Oh well, now when I win I can say it was legitimate. Another interesting find on that page is the actual date of the flavor launch -- September 21, 2007 on Good Morning America. Hmmm, I'll be basking on the beach in Tulum, Mexico or else exploring Chichen Itza. Guess they'll just have to fly me to New York direct from Mexico. It would be fitting, eh? I could say I was exploring Mexico for ingredients: chocolate from the ancient Mayans and Aztec spices. Oh, and apologies to any cultural groups I may have offended with my choice of names. I have no idea if there is such a thing as Aztec chocolate. I just needed a different name; Mexican chocolate is so common, and chocolate originated with the Mayans. So Aztec sounded good for the heat of pepper.


Some other intersting things I found on this latest Google search:
Someone's Xanga blog saying I have a look-a-like out there. And her blog has a link to a SlashFood posting about last year's (2006) Scoop contest. I find it interesting that two of last year's flavors are similar to this year: Caramelized Fig and Walnuts (2006) vs. Caramelized Pear and Toasted Pecan (2007); and of course Toasted Coconut Sesame Brittle (2006) vs Coco y Cacao (2007). I don't think Leslie knew about last year's flavors, and I certainly did not. Actually, had we known, we probably wouldn't have chosen our respective flavors. I'd guess this is especially true for Leslie; I mean even the name is similar. Note to next year's entrants: pick a caramelized fruit with some nut, or else go with a tropical theme. Ha ha!

I searched SlashFood for "haagen dazs" and came across this posting:
http://www.slashfood.com/2007/03/14/does-haagen-dazs-newest-flavor-sound-familiar/
which points out something I had noticed: that they made no mention of the creator of the flavor. I thought the whole bit about Thailand was made up, too, but found out Thailand was an inspiration for the inventor, Amber Antonelli (she posted a follow up comment). Cool thing is, she also won the prize money.

I'm unaware of any monetary prize for this year's contest, but if they turn a runner-up flavor into a regular product, maybe they'll at least mention the inventor this time.

New "Webisodes" Posted on Häagen Dazs [dot] com

Apparently there have been new web episodes posted on the Häagen Dazs site for a week now. Maybe some of you have already seen them.

1) http://scoop.haagendazs.com
2) Click on the tab named "webisodes"

Don't know how I missed them. OK, yes, I do know. They put the new content in a separate area of the site. Personally, I think they should have put the newest content on the front page, but I guess they want people to continue voting. Speaking of which, don't forget to vote for Coco y Cacao while you are on the site.

But, the problem with the site is that it is Flash based. Not that that's a problem in general, but I think it doesn't work for people who decide to use RSS feeds. I've subscribed to the Brightcove feed, but it didn't show the new webisodes, so I had no idea until I happened to notice from a search on Brightcove for "haagen dazs", and lo and behold, what is the fifth video listed? It's the one with Judiann Woo on the first frame, entitled "The Ice Cream Adventure Continues ". Confession: the RSS feed does show the new webisodes AT THE VERY BOTTOM of the list. At least that's where they show up for me (I'm running Firefox). Try it for yourself. Let me know if you don't get the same results, because I'd really like to know why they show up AT THE BOTTOM! Duh! Who's going to go all the way to the bottom of a list when this is supposed to be a live bookmark? Don't you think the latest stuff should be listed FIRST, at the TOP? Can you tell I'm a bit annoyed with this? I think I've had issues with the Brightcove hosting from the beginning. Well, maybe not me, but definitely some people I know. I mean, they had (and continue to have) problems voting. It seemed pretty clear to a geek like me, but even other computer geeks I know have asked me for instructions on how to vote. One of my best friends from high school, who I think is hyper-intelligent, even had problems voting. Are we all just so smart that we are dumb?

Enough with the bitching. Here's a short guide to the webisodes:

#1 "Putting a Face to the Flavor ":
Since this is my blog, I'm just going to talk about myself. It's my party and you can cry if you want to...

I have to admit, I was glad to see the title of this webisode, as I remember saying this in my final interview. Good to know I had at least one good sound bite. AND, Sara Moulton actually talked about me specifically. How cool is that?

#2: "The Ice Cream Adventure Continues"
Some funny moments of me in this episode. Nice contrasts between my supposedly being "very methodical" and being "comfortable in the kitchen".

Chrissy got a great description of her flavor from Jacques.

And then the drama...

"That realization doesn't work. As for today, I don't really believe in it."
-Jacques Torres, Mr. Chocolate

I'm hoping this is all for dramatic effect and the next webisodes will have Jacques singing my praises. Haha, I hope!

P.S. If you've seen the recent episodes of Scoop on the Food Network, that was last year's (2006) contest. So, don't worry, I'm still alive and have a shot at winning it all.