Stockpot Founder Cooks Up Finishing Sauces

Oct. 8, 2009

Kevin Fortun, founder of Stockpot Soups and Seattle-based Fortun Foods, rolls out 12 varieties of Fortun’s Finishing Touch Sauces, designed to transform casual home cooking into restaurant-quality meals. The chef-developed sauces, found in the refrigerated section, are simmered in small handcrafted batches with natural ingredients and exotic flavors that turn simply cooked meat, pasta and fish into gourmet, flavorful dishes. Just heat to a simmer and pour over meat, chicken, pasta or fish.

Fortun, who made his name with Stockpot Soups, built his reputation on bringing top quality flavor and consistency of product to foodservice operators and families around the world.  He brought Stockpot Soups to worldwide recognition with distribution in 23 countries and sold it to Campbell Soup Co. in 1998. After taking several years off from the food industry, Fortun gathered many members of his original Stockpot Soup team to create Fortun’s Finishing Touch Sauces.

Varieties, which have a shelf life of 150 days, include: BBQ (Picnic in a Pan) (a hearty, tangy sauce of summer vegetables and black beans with a hint of chipotle and hickory smoke); Four Pepper (green, black, pink and white peppercorns and spices accent this complex sauce deepened with Madeira and red Burgundy wines); Lemon Dill Caper with White Wine (with lemon juice, white wine, capers and dill); Marsala & Mushroom (fresh mushrooms and sweet Marsala and Madeira wines flavor this traditional Sicilian sauce); Mediterranean (Greek Calamata olives, anchovies and capers); Mulligatawny Curry (golden raisins, apples, brandy and fresh carrots flavor this traditional East Indian curry sauce); Asian Style Pepper (sake, oyster sauce, hoisin and garlic give the bell peppers and onions in this sauce a distinctive Far East flavor); Rajun Cajun (flavored with okra, Tabasco sauce and the holy trinity of Cajun cuisine -- fresh onions, celery and bell peppers); Santa Fe Verde (crushed tomatillos, green chilies, smoked peppers and diced jalapenos give this sauce a rich, spicy flavor); Stroganoff (with traditional veal stock, sour cream, fresh mushrooms, Dijon mustard and red Burgundy wines); Spanish Romesco with Saffron (a traditional Catalan sauce flavored with ñora chili peppers, fresh tomatoes, red bell peppers, mushrooms and olives); and Spicy Mustard with Brandy (spiked with Dijon mustard, fresh garlic and brandy).

There also are easy-pack versions for foodservice operators.

“Cooking gourmet foods can be expensive and time consuming, so we wanted to create a product that would help anyone cooking at home serve a restaurant-quality meal quickly,” says Fortun.  “The trend toward healthy living coupled with time-pressed busy lifestyles contributes significantly toward the growing demand for products like our sauces.”

Suggested retail price is $4.95 to $5.95.