New Training DVD Offers Effective, Real-Life Strategies
for Turning Complaining Customers into Customers for Life

Zingerman’s understands that most customers DON’T complain—they just take their business elsewhere (and tell everyone else about their bad experience). And with the marketplace more competitive than ever, most companies can’t afford to lose a single client. That’s why Zingerman’s is sharing systems for providing exceptional customer service in its highly anticipated second training DVD, “Zingerman’s 5 Steps to Effectively Handling a Complaint.” These are the tried-and-true tools as practiced throughout the organization praised by Saveur (“When it comes to service, few establishments can rival Zingerman’s,”) and Inc. magazine ([Zingerman's is] “The Coolest Small Company in America”).

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Highlighting the culinary contributions of Jewish immigrants from Salonika, James Beard Award-nominated chef Alex Young and Zingerman’s co-founder Ari Weinzweig are preparing a special dinner on Tuesday, April 7 at 7pm. Alan Saltiel, the director of the Life Sciences Institute at the University of Michigan, whose family is Greek-Jewish and settled in the United States from Salonika, will share family recipes from his grandmother, aunts and parents.

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Zingerman’s Creamery Lauches “Baracky Road” to Celebrate New Administration

Ann Arbor, MI—To mark the historic inauguration of Barack Obama on January 20, Zingerman’s Creamery has created “Baracky Road” gelato and is shipping nationwide beginning Monday, January 12 at www.zingermans.com. Baracky Road is the brainchild of gelato-maker Josh Miner, who “just wanted to find some way to mark the occasion and, given President-elect Obama’s well-known taste for good food, I thought this was appropriate.”

Based on traditional Rocky Road, the gelato is made Sicilian-style with Michigan milk and cream, butter roasted Virginia peanuts, chocolate chips (made at the Creamery from Callebaut and Valrhona chocolates), dulce de leche from Argentina and handmade marshmallows from Zingerman’s Bakehouse. Asked whether he’d try to get some of the gelato into the new President’s hands, Miner was hopeful but realistic. “I’m a Chicago native and have had the pleasure of meeting the Obama family on many occasions. I’d love to get his feedback, but I don’t imagine gelato is the first thing on his mind right now. We just wanted to have some fun with it.”

Miner also noted the paradox in celebrating the new administration with something that recalls “rocky road.” “It wasn’t intentional,” he notes “but, given the shape of the country, it’s a pretty fair description of what’s facing his administration.”

Baracky Road is available to ship nationwide in limited quantities from www.zingermans.com or by calling 888-636-8162. Six 12-ounce cups are $75. It is also available in Ann Arbor at Zingerman’s Creamery, 3711 Plaza Drive (734.929.0500), Zingerman’s Delicatessen, 422 Detroit Street (734.663.3354) and Zingerman’s Roadhouse, 2501 Jackson Road (734.663.3663).

For more information or for photos and packaging samples contact Pete Sickman-Garner, Marketing Manager, 734.904.0644 or pgarnerzingermanscom.

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Zingerman’s Creamery was founded in 2001 by John Loomis as Southeast Michigan’s only artisanal cheesemaker. They have won several awards for their cheeses from the American Cheese Society, and their cream cheese has been hailed by the New York Times (“This Cheese Stands Alone.”). The Creamery brought a traditional Sicilian gelato machine over from Italy and began selling gelato out of their shop and at other Zingerman’s businesses. The gelato has been voted Best in Southeast Michigan by the Detroit’s Metro Times in both 2007 and 2008. Currently, Zingerman’s Creamery gelato is available at all Zingerman’s locations and select retailers in Southeast Michigan.

For immediate release
Contact Pete Sickman-Garner, pgarnerzingermanscom, 734.904.0644

African Americans in the White House Dinner Highlights the Influence of Black Chefs on the Presidential Table

The day after Barack Obama is inaugurated as America’s 44th President, Zingerman’s Roadhouse will look back at the culinary history of the White House and the prominent role that African American cooking has played there. At the 4th annual African-American dinner, special guest Adrian Miller will discuss the influences of black chefs both in the White House kitchens and on the campaign trail and Chef Alex Young has developed a menu that highlights the blending of presidential preferences with foodways that have their roots in African cooking. Also, featured are exclusive desserts from Zingerman’s Bakehouse developed especially for this occasion.

“I’m especially excited to have Adrian here,” notes Zingerman’s co-founder Ari Weinzweig. “We met through the Southern Foodways Association and he’s taught us so much over the years about the history of African American cooking.” The menu includes a crab and sausage gumbo developed by Hercules, the enslaved chef of George Washington, Dolley Johnson’s Devilled Almonds and Jefferson’s favorite macaroni pudding. From the Bakehouse come Jumbles, an unusual caraway and rosewater cookie popular at Christmas and taken from Martha Washington’s Rules for Cooking and Maple Hickory Nut Meringues made during the Coolidge administration

Zingerman’s Roadhouse hosted their first dinner celebrating African American culinary heritage in 2005 and have made it an annual event most recently featuring Sallie Ann Robinson and the history of Gullah cooking in 2007. Reservations for the $45 dinner on January 21st at 7pm are available at 734.663.3663.

For more information on the event, contact Pete Sickman-Garner, 734.904.0644 or pgarnerzingermanscom.

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Adrian Miller is former Special Assistant to President Clinton and is currently Senior Policy Advisor to Colorado Governor Bill Ritter, Jr.  His experience in law has taken him from Washington D.C. to Denver Colorado and on the campaign trail in an informal role supporting Democratic initiatives, candidates and ultimately, President-Elect Obama. His passion for food leads him to spend his free time as a certified barbecue judge for the Kansas City Barbecue Society, and as a board member for the Southern Foodways Alliance, an organization dedicated to preserving and promoting the diverse food cultures of the American South. He’s currently writing a history of soul food in America.

Zingerman’s Roadhouse, part of the Zingerman’s Community of Businesses, is a full-service restaurant established in the old Bill Knapp’s building on Ann Arbor’s west side in 2003 and features a full range of traditional American foods along with a full bar specializing in small batch bourbon and the finest American beer and wine. Roadhouse chef Alex Young has been nominated for the James Beard Foundation’s Best Chef in the Midwest in 2007 and 2008. Zingerman’s founders Ari Weinzweig and Paul Saginaw were awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by Bon Appetit in 2007.

Zingermans.com Announces Limited-time Gelato Shipping Across the Country

Ann Arbor, MI—Once only available at Zingerman’s business in Ann Arbor and select retailers in Southeast Michigan, Zingerman’s Creamery gelato will be available for shipping across the country at zingermans.com. The limited time offer will extend through the holiday season. “It’s been a frequent request from our customers on the phone,” notes Zingerman’s Mail Order managing partner Mo Frechette. Adds gelato-maker Josh Miner, “We’re still making it in the same small batches but we’ve ramped up production to meet online holiday demand though the quantities are extremely limited.”

Made from fresh Calder Dairy milk (one of the last farmstead dairies in Michigan), Zingerman’s Creamery gelato features the same hard to find, top shelf ingredients that have distinguished Zingerman’s as a specialty food retailer for a quarter century including Mexican vanilla, Scharffen Berger chocolate, organic demerara sugar, dulce de leche from Argentina and coffee from Zingerman’s Coffee Company. The gelato is made in the traditional Sicilian style using equipment brought over from Italy by the Creamery.

For more information, contact Pete Sickman-Garner at 734.904.0644 or pgarnerzingermanscom.