Latest (Last?) Webisode

One week to go! And I just noticed the latest, probably the last, webisode has been posted on the Häagen Dazs site. Funny stuff. I like the opening -- oh the drama and pressure of it all. That was definitely the most nerve-racking portion of the trip: Judgment Day. But, I always did get nervous getting my exam results back, and it is even worse when the people judging you are right there, saying it to your face. I can't imagine if I was getting my PhD and having my quals or thesis defense. Good thing I'm not going down that route! Haha. Anyway, it wasn't all criticism. The panel made good recommendations, and I was more interested in gauging where their tastes lie, as I may have mentioned in a previous post.

I can't believe how much the ad agency is promoting my bachelorhood. OK, maybe I can. But, is that the most interesting thing about me and this contest? I guess it was the final motivating factor in my actually entering the contest, so I can't blame them. I have only myself to blame for mentioning it.

It is definitely different watching the latest video, knowing the final outcome. And not being able to share my thoughts on it. Well, maybe another one before I forget. The comment about no more tweaking once the lid is on. I did ask for a couple more modifications after the judging, and I think I did notice a change when I got to sample my own six pints of Coco y Cacao. I do wish they had more ingredients available to us in the R&D lab, though. I was definitely shocked to hear they didn't have certain items there. I mean, come on, this is a test kitchen. But, then again, they operate on such a larger scale than any of us can even imagine, so maybe it doesn't make sense to stock what we'd normally find in our home pantries.

Oh, one last thing before I sign out. I know I'm always griping about the setup of the web page, but once again, the latest webisode did not show up at the top of my RSS feed list. And I know, it is because they put the video underneath the other two webisodes, which makes chronological sense. At least this time, they put the word "new" in the title, which is what drew my attention. Interestingly, though, I've been checking the feed every day this week, and it wasn't until this evening that I finally noticed it. I think the video has been up since Tuesday, September 11. Hmm, I wonder if that last sentence will get me some hits on the search engines.

Well, this is probably my final post before the big announcement. Stay tuned, more to come...

And the winner is...

Wish I could tell you, but I can't. Find out on Sept 21 on Good Morning America, when Sara Moulton introduces one of us!

Contact!

Imagine my excitement this afternoon when I saw an e-mail from the folks at Häagen Dazs. I mean, I really didn't expect them to be telling me I was the winner (though I hoped so), but at least it was official contact. That meant something was happening. Well, that something is they will notify the contestants of the winner next week. I can't wait! So exciting!

On another front, I got some "secret" info from a knowledgeable source last night. My friend, Charles, stopped by the Häagen Dazs scoop shop in SF Center (or is it in the Westfield portion?) last night and asked the employees about the contest.

One of them happened to be working in the store on July 14, the day they held the taste testing promotion. Charles asked her (?) what flavor was popular, and she responded "the Caribbean one". He said he didn't think there was a Caribbean flavor, and she said it was the coconut one with chocolate. She mentioned Chrissy's next, and couldn't remember Leslie's flavor. I think this was based on votes, not just her personal preference for flavors. At least, that's what I'm going to tell myself. So, if this is an accurate poll, then my intuition that SF and Miami would swing my way is at least half true. I'll find out next week.

Stay tuned...

Gourmet Magazine, September 2007

I just got my latest issue of Gourmet. Of course, my first inclination was to check for any updates on the Scoop contest. On page 22 of the issue is another ad for Gourmet/Scoop. Here's the latest blurb:

"The competition continues as the three finalists -- Christine Hanusi, Ken Wan, and Leslie Zoerb -- fly to California to see their flavor dream turn into a reality. With the help of Gourmet Executive Chef Sara Moulton and our panel of flavor experts, the contestants ferfect their ice cream vision in the Häagen-Dazs® ice cream flavor labs.


WATCH THE COMPETITION HEAT UP WITH SPEIAL WEBISODES AT HAAGENDAZS.COM/SCOOP.

Whose flavor will make the cut? Will Ken have the chance to meet someone special by becoming the flavor winner? What does "Lady Pear" Leslie think of Christine's Blueberry Belgian Waffle? Find out at HäagenDazs.com/Scoop.

TUNE IN TO "GOOD MORNING AMERICA" ON SEPTEMBER 21, WHEN SARA MOULTON REVEALS THE WINNER ON LIVE TELEVISION!"

So there it is, the "public" announcement that the winner will be announce on September 21. But, you already knew that from my post on 7/29/07. Well, I will be roaming the Yucatan peninsula in search of the finest ingredients for Coco y Cacao. :-) They'll have to fly me out from Tulum, straight to NYC. Perfect, huh? And luckily, it sounds like the damage from Hurricane Dean wasn't too bad in Tulum. I haven't heard much about the rest of the Yucatan, but it didn't seem too bad. Or, maybe because it isn't the good 'ol US of A, we don't hear much about it.

Haagen Dazs website updated (sort of)

I checked the Haagen Dazs website today, looking for new webisodes (there are none) and noticed they made the change that I suggested back on July 15. They now have the webisodes tab as the default (i.e. when you go to http://scoop.haagendazs.com, you go directly to the webisodes). I wonder if they got a lot of complaints or maybe someone in the company just knows what s/he is doing. Or, maybe someone is actually reading my blog!?

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.