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NAJLA's GONE CHUNKY™ frozen bake-at-home cookies were introduced
to the specialty food marketplace in late Spring 2002 to unanimous
acclaim. The cookie dough is hand-shaped and frozen on individual
parchment baking rounds in a unique new packaging concept. Billed
as "the all-time comfort cookies" GONE CHUNKY™ cookies
are available in five flavors: Classic Chocolate Chunk, Macadamia
Chocolate Chunk, Chocolate Walnut Espresso, Oatmeal Cherry Chunk and
Classic Gone Nuts. The company is a division of Najla's Catering,
Inc., a thriving Binghamton, New York catering business for the past
fifteen years.
The GONE CHUNKY™ product line is prepared in small batches using the
finest natural ingredients available anywhere, according to owner
and CEO Najla Aswad. "We never cut corners and we spare no expense,"
she states. "I make these cookies just like I do for my family
- using certified organic flour, premium butter and eggs, huge chunks
of gourmet chocolate, whole nuts and only the purest sugars, spices
and natural flavorings. As my cookies come out of the oven they're
warm and gooey, filling the air with sweet, tantalizing aromas."
GONE CHUNKY™ can be baked one at a time in the toaster oven, or all
at once in a standard oven, without ever having to wash a bowl or
grease a pan. The cookie dough is shaped by hand into 4-ounce portions,
frozen on the parchment rounds and packed six cookies to a box. Six
extra baking parchments are supplied for the consumer who prefers
a 2-ounce cookie: each frozen cookie can simply be cut in half and
placed on the additional parchment rounds.
Najla began her entrepreneurial adventure on April 4, 1987 when she
opened The White Pillars Inn, a five guestroom Bed & Breakfast
with a thirty-seat restaurant in Deposit, New York. She says she knew
she was destined for a life of service and hospitality from the time
she was a child, when she insisted on learning everything her mother
knew about cooking. Her favorite recipes were the big, thick, fresh-baked
chunky cookies that later became a signature of her catering business.
Operating on adrenalin and passion for excellence, Najla lived at
White Pillars for the first seven years, sleeping mostly on a couch
except for an occasional spare bedroom. Achieving 80% occupancy year
round, The White Pillars Inn quickly developed a loyal clientele of
couples who chose it as a site for their weddings and honeymoons,
as well as many Catskill vacationers who were looking for fine local
dining. The restaurant was open for breakfast, dinner and other private
parties seven days a week. Guests made a habit of spending time in
the kitchen with Najla where they watched her cook the delicious meals
they shared in this idyllic atmosphere.
Before long food sales had exceeded room sales. During this period,
jokes Najla, she also held down a "real job" as an executive
headhunter for Emergency Room physicians and personnel. Over an eight
year period The White Pillar's trademark was its "Bottomless
Cookie Jar" from which guests could help themselves liberally
at any hour of the day or night.
"My mission is to elevate the standard of what people expect
in a fine food product," she says. "I want people to know
that even if Mom didn't bake it, they can still have the best cookie
in the world without any fuss. If someone is going to crave a cookie,
I want it to be GONE CHUNKY™," she says with absolute conviction.
In the summer of 2001 she started the new division. She hired consultants
to teach her about the intricacies of owning a specialty food manufacturing
business and sought an experienced package designer to show her products
off to best advantage. In May, 2002, Wegman's Supermarkets became
her first customer for both retail and Foodservice sales. Following
closely were Zabar's, Jefferson Market, Citarella, and Garden of Eden.
Najla's joined the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade
in June, 2002 and its Chocolate Walnut Espresso cookie was immediately
chosen as a finalist in the Annual NASFT Product Awards Competition
in the "Outstanding Dessert" category.
GONE CHUNKY's ™ first national coverage took place on Tuesday,
July 9th, when Najla's cookies were featured on ABC's "Good Morning
America" with Diane Sawyer and Charles Gibson.
"We're thrilled beyond imagination with the reception we're getting,"
says Najla Aswad. "Making consumers happy is the highest form
of gratification for a company likes ours. GONE CHUNKY™, in one short
year, is gaining the kind of credibility usually reserved for much
older companies. We feel humbled and excited, all at once. I will
do everything in my power to make sure that my company lives up to
the high expectations we have generated."
For further information contact:
Najla's Catering, Inc.
PO Box 74 Westview Station
Binghamton, NY 13905
p: 607-722-4287
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