"harry and david" news and stories

For those of you who put off shopping for gifts until the last minute, beware: the one fallback option that you thought you could always count on is in trouble.

Yes, Harry & David is filing for bankruptcy. The mail-order giant purveys an (odd, when you think about it) mélange of perfectly picked pears, chocolate bonbons and assorted other goodies. They always come neatly nestled in a veritable mountain of tissue paper and excelsior and are packed in such an elaborate arrangement of boxes, baskets and bows that the trappings easily overwhelm the recipient into thinking that you far spent more time and effort on the gift than you actually did.

Stumped on what to get your great aunt in Toledo for her 76^th birthday? How about the All-Occasion Double Delights Discovery gift box? What about the neighbor who trudged through the snow to feed your cats while you were cavorting in Cabo? Hello, All-Occasion Gift Basket!

But the company is in trouble.

I think if we all try really, really hard, we can have a food recall every single day this week. We're already off to a great start.

Harry and David has recalled 8 oz. bags of their espresso beans because the bags might have milk as an "undeclared ingredient" inside. The bags have a Used By date of August 28, 2005.

This recall comes on the heels of other recalls this week, including Sam Adams beer (glass) and Malt-o-Meal cereal (salmonella).

Harry & David is known for their gourmet gift baskets and the high quality fruits, nuts, chocolates and other goodies that they ship out. They are not the "go-to" source for Valentine's Vay chocolates, however, because many consumers feel that they will get better chocolates from a source that specializes only in chocolates. This decision, although seemingly logical, is not necessarily the right one to make. A multi-brand taste test in Money Magazine placed Harry & David's chocolates above those from Vosages Haute-Chocolate, Whittman, Godiva and Target's Choxie.

Brands from all different price categories were chosen and evaluated for quality of the chocolate, the "accuracy of flavors," packaging appeal and value by a group of women (since they are somewhat more likely to receive chocolates on Valentine's Day than men).

The specific chocolate selection used in the taste test was Harry & David's 1-lb. Grand Collection, which includes a variety of milk and dark chocolates with nuts, caramels, toffees, fruits and berries. It retails for $29.99.

Fruitcake is the ugly stepchild of Christmas foods. There are some who have learned to love it and there are some that just never will. 47% of people say that they would toss a fruitcake into the trash without even tasting it if they got one as a gift and 11% say that they would simply regift the cake to an unsuspecting friend or relative. With so many unwilling to make time to try to learn to like fruitcake, when you actually do come across a good one, you might not even realize it. Mondo Fruitcake is a blog that is dedicated to reviewing fruitcakes from various sources, evaluating the booziness of each cake, as well as the quality of the ingredients and the flavors.

If 47 of people really are throwing away their fruitcakes, perhaps the Mondo Fruitcake bloggers should start up a P.O. Box where people can ship those unwanted cakes. A fruitcake can last for years when stored properly and that would give them plenty of blogging fodder until next Christmas.

Source

 Peeps and grocery-store chocolate candies are all well and good, but the end of Lent calls for something of a splurge. Fortunately, the purveyors of fine chocolate and other goodies are more than happy to oblige the impulse to celebrate the season. Here at Slashfood, we are happy to indulge whenever the opportunity arises, but these luxury Easter chocolates are really ideal for a special occasion.

1. Harry and David may not be the "go-to" chocolatier for some, but their Chocolate Praline Eggs are somehow shaped inside a colorful, real eggshell and need to be broken out before eating. A half dozen eggs are $29.99.
2. Robert L. Strohecker's Assorted Rabbits are chocolate bunnies designed to have three different flavors of filling inside different parts of the rabbit: toasted almond ears, an almond butter crunch head, and a caramel pecan body. Available in both milk and dark chocolate, this is one bunny you won’t get bored with. They are $30.95 a pair.
3. Neiman Marcus' Chocolate Easter Bunny is hand poured, hand decorated and hand wrapped. At nearly 5-pounds, it is one very big, but festive, bunny. Use it as a centerpiece, then serve it for dessert. Each bunny is $99.