Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Monterey Meringues Launches!

Internationally Renowned Entertainers Re-Imagine The Classic French Meringue and Create a Featherweight Delicacy that turns Desserts into Works of Art!

Carmel, CA, January 20, 2015 - Leigh Zimmerman and Domenick Allen share the ultimate recipe for success: a heaping spoonful of love, a massive sprinkling of creativity and equal parts sweetness and style.

Married for more than 20 years, the internationally renowned entertainers have reached great heights of success in virtually every genre — from Broadway, television, the Hollywood big screen, glittery Las Vegas and the arenas of Rock & Roll. And now they’ve conquered the kitchen.


Working with their daughter Cayleigh, this family of trained chefs has re-imagined the classic French meringue and created a featherweight delicacy that turns desserts into works of art. They have elevated the concept by combining the sweet treats with the colors and energy of classic rock, creating a Psychedelicious™ gourmet munchie that appeals to all generations, from Boomers to Millennials.

After living abroad in London and developing their initial concept, the family moved to the Central Coast of California in mid 2014. They started Monterey Meringues in Monterey, a city perfectly suited to premiere their newest innovative culinary adventure — creating bites of meringue in deliciously different flavors, colors and shapes.

They wanted to land in the special place known for its artistic, musical and literary legacy, fine dining and superb wines, and especially for its breathtaking natural scenic beauty.

But there was another reason they felt the draw of Monterey. At the start of what became known as the Summer of Love in 1967, the city became the epicenter of the musical universe, hosting the world's first rock festival, the Monterey International Pop Festival.

Inspired by that history and counterculture spectacle, the family fell into their creative comfort zone in Monterey and continued to refine the “psychedelicious” concept they trademarked for Monterey Meringues.

All three family members have undergone intensive culinary training. Leigh studied the art of baking meringues and macarons at Le Cordon Bleu in London. Domenick learned at the Waitrose Cooking School in London and both received private tutelage in master classes led by renowned French Chef Nicolas Houchet. Adding Cayleigh’s instruction at the Westminster Kingsway Culinary College, the entire family became well-versed in culinary technique and flavor.

“We wanted to create a product that was light, fun, sweet, gluten-free, dairy-free, and in that relatively new concept of bite size,” said Leigh.

They found the meringues they sampled in Europe too large and too dry, so they came up with their own smaller version with the perfect sweetness and lightness — “crunchy on the outside and marshmallowy on the inside, that just melts in your mouth” she said.

All of the meringues are handcrafted with the highest quality ingredients, which are locally sourced, whenever possible. Monterey Meringues contain only natural colors and natural ingredients, with no additives, preservatives, cholesterol or GMOs. And meringues are dairy-free, gluten-free and fat-free.

Following are some of the fun and “groovy” categories sold through the online store at www.montereymeringues.com (each with a Top 10 hit parade of flavors such as Monterey Pop-Corn, The Almond Brothers, Purple Haze-lnut, Yellow Sub-meringue and more). With a mantra of “music, meringues, peace and love,” a portion of their proceeds support music education and music rehabilitation):

ZZ Toppers: One of a kind, bite-sized meringues uniquely topped with a rockin' treat.
Magic Mushroom Meringues: Groovy mushroom-shaped Meringues sprinkled with intense magical flavors.

Mama Cass: A Big Mama meringue, 10 times the size, 100 times the taste.

Dazed and Infused: One-of-a-kind, bite-sized meringues uniquely topped with a rockin’ treat and infused with flavored buttercream or ganache.

Carmel Clouds: Coconut macaroon cookies made with a delicate foundation of French meringue, rolled and baked in snow-white powdered sugar.

Inna-Gadda-Divinity: Divinity candy, a traditional Southern delicacy, is reinvented with swirling blue Pacific waves and gummy candy whale tails.

Rock-Tails: Mini meringue “shots” with a subtle essence of “spirits” make this a truly unique meringue “loaded” with smooth flavors and no alcohol.

Contact:
Marci Bracco Cain
Chatterbox Public Relations
Carmel, CA 93923
(831) 747-7455
marci@chatterboxpublicrelations.com
http://www.montereymeringues.com