The Hardest Part About Launching A Frozen Food Line, According To Andrew Zimmern - Exclusive
Fans who have always wanted to try Andrew Zimmern's cooking can rejoice — he has finally launched a frozen food line, exclusively available at Walmart. The "Family Dinner" host has put a lot of labor and love into home-cooked meals over his years on the big screen, some of his most popular recipes being French onion soup, one-pot Chinese chicken wings, and crab cakes. Now, he has put some of his favorite meals into the form of frozen entrées, and he recently revealed the most difficult part of transitioning from the stovetop to the freezer.
"We invested so much in the quality of the meat and the quality of the noodles and of the gravy," the Emmy winner told Mashed in an exclusive interview. While one could assume that maintaining tasty flavors was the most difficult part of creating the four new offerings, it was actually making sure that the product was affordable. "The trickiest part is maintaining the price point, with the Swedish meatballs probably being the best example," Zimmern said. The Swedish meatballs are seasoned and adorned in a savory gravy atop pre-cooked noodles, but Zimmern told us that he'd wanted to do more.
The original ideas had to be adjusted to keep the cost of meals low
"I wanted to put a dollop of lingonberry preserves, which is how it's usually served, in a little pocket, like an oversized ketchup packet," Andrew Zimmern explained of his Swedish meatballs offering. The dish is normally composed of ground pork and beef with a side of lingonberry preserves for dipping. Although Zimmern wanted to mimic the "traditional" dish, it just wasn't feasible to keep costs — and therefore the end price-point — low.
Because of their commitment to quality meat, noodles, and gravy, the "Bizarre Foods" star explained, "We had no room to spare." Eventually, Zimmern was able to compromise by simply advising the consumer to try Swedish meatballs with their favorite preserves in the serving suggestion. "Along the way to get to that point was a lot of discussion," the television personality added. He detailed the process as a "triage of decisions" that is the result of "mak[ing] anything that's excellent." In addition to the meatballs, his line includes a pulled pork mac and cheese, meatloaf, and turkey dinner — just in time for the holidays.
Andrew Zimmern's new frozen food line is now available exclusively at Walmart. Keep up with his latest recipes on his website or Instagram.