Mezzetta Napa Valley Bistro: Marisa Churchill

By JULIETTE ROSSANT Ever since Super Chef dipped a piece of bread into Rocco DiSpirito's heavily touted Bertolli pasta sauces last year (see Branding: Rocco DiSpirito and Bertolli) Super Chef haa been looking for a better prepared sauce. Why? Many celebrity chefs put their signature on bottled and packaged pasta and barbecue sauces - something most people keep in their pantry for an easy emergency meal. Lidia Bastianich, Mario Batali, Emeril Lagasse and Bobby Flay all have or have had bottled sauces. Recently, Super Chef received two bottles of Mezzetta Napa Valley Bistro Gourmet Pasta Sauces that arrived in a handsome wooden box usually used for fine wines – and that is the point of the sauce. The whole line of bottled sauce contains wine sourced from the Napa Valley Appellation Varietal wine. The other interesting point about these particular sauces is that Specialty food producer G.L. Mezzetta, which makes the pasta sauces, hired Marisa Churchill to serve as the company’s Executive Chef. Marisa has worked at Rubicon, The Slanted Door and Lulu and other top restaurants, and appeared in the second season of Bravo's Top Chef. The Home Style Mariana and Creamy Marinara are made with Napa Valley cabernet and imported Italian San Marzano plum tomatoes. They have a fresh tomato and garlic taste, and a definite richness from the added wine. Both are thick with crushed tomatoes, and visible herbs and spices. The Napa Valley Bistro also produces Fire-Roasted Marinara, Artichoke Marinara, and six other sauces with California tomatoes (instead of Italian) including Arabbiata, Porcini & Portabella, Putanesca, Roasted Garlic, and Tomato Basil. The two pasta sauces Super Chef sampled were a definite improvement over Bertolli – somehow tasting fresher, livelier and less sweet (although still too sugary with a faint tinniness). They would both make a good meal poured over pasta and sprinkled with a good grated Parmigiana Regina. Are they better than homemade? Not really. But Super Chef has never tasted a bottled sauce better than properly made homemade, yet. Get a can of imported tomatoes, a bit of basil, garlic, salt and pepper, and maybe a dash of wine and you could probably make a better sauce in your own kitchen, if you don't put too much salt, or spoil it in some way. But that is another story.... Super Chef is looking forward to the more products coming out of Marisa's kitchen. Previous articles: Branding: Rocco DiSpirito and Bertolli [Products & Endorsements - complete] Technorati Tags: superchefblog, Juliette Rossant, super chef, celebrities, chefs, food, restaurants, cooking, branding, cuisine, blogging, food blogging, cookbooks, cookbook reviews --> back to Super Chef