American Pastry Chefs Compete to Create New Donut Prototype
Dawn Foods has announced its Donut 2.0 project, on National Donut Day (June 7). In recognition of the company’s upcoming 100th anniversary in 2020, Dawn will unveil a new donut concept that aims to delight consumers and drive the industry for the following years.
Starting on June 25, Dawn Foods will bring five award-winning pastry chefs together to compete for their chance to partner with Dawn to create a groundbreaking new donut texture at the company’s Innovation Studio in Jackson, Mich. The chefs include James Beard award recipients and chefs from Michelin-star restaurants.
“Dawn developed the first industrial donut mix nearly 100 years ago and today, this innovative and entrepreneurial spirit continues to drive our thinking. Consumers are looking for new experiences with traditional classics. We know the donut is undergoing a fun, exciting revival and no one is better poised than Dawn to take the opportunity to deliver on this. Through Dawn’s Donut 2.0 project, our goal is to help our bakery customers wow consumers with a new donut they’ve never seen before,” said Carrie Jones-Barber, chief executive officer of Dawn Foods.
The pastry chefs will showcase their concepts side-by-side to a panel of judges, including:
- Miles Jones, chairman of the board and former R&D director,
- chief marketing officer Angie Goldberg,
- senior director of global market research & insights Jennifer LaPaugh,
- director of research and development Ben Brue and
- V.P national technical sales Paul Caske.
Judging criteria for each chef will include taste, texture, creativity and originality, appearance, and feasibility.
The five Donut 2.0 pastry chefs include:
- Chef Sharyn Harding – executive pastry chef, Heirloom Hospitality, Detroit
- Chef Sandra Holl – owner and executive pastry chef, Floriole Café & Bakery, Chicago
- Chef Jove Hubbard – executive pastry chef, Chicago Athletic Association
- Chef Mathew Rice – executive pastry chef, Niche Food Group, Nashville
- Chef Toni Roberts – executive pastry chef, the Wit Hotel, Chicago
Melissa Trimmer, senior application chef at Dawn Foods, says: “Similar to the hit phenomena around the CronutTM, consumers are looking for more mashups and ‘new’ takes on old favorites. This contest brings together some of the most talented pastry chefs around the country with the skills and determination to discover the next donut sensation.”
Following the competition, the winning chef will return to the Innovation Studio and work together with Dawn’s R&D team to transform their concept into a commercial mix for bakers. Then, the new donut prototype will hit shelves in early 2020.
Recently, Dawn released its Gourmet Donuts offerings, which includes 12 new unique donut recipes for customers to create unique donuts from materials they use daily to increase profitability and drive repeat sales from consumers.