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Mushrooms in the News: 06-30-17

Sonic Drive-In’s news to trial a blended burger (“Sonic Slinger”) in select markets has grabbed impressive headlines, appearing in The New York Times, Food & Wine, Fast Company and The Packer, among others. Fast Company noted how Sonic is the “first large chain to test a blended burger, a mushroom-beef burger with less fat and calories than the traditional version, a flavor that some consumers say is better, and a much smaller carbon footprint.” The article also references data from the sustainability study and touts how other foodservice categories have already started to adopt blended burgers.

Blended Burger Project local market coverage also continues to be strong. Top highlights from the week include:

• We coordinated a cooking segment with Let’s Talk Live in Washington, D.C., which featured BBP participant, Chef Danny Lledo, of Slate Wine Bar’s blended burger. The segment hit on key points of the contest, the health benefits of mushrooms and how consumers can use this technique for their Independence Day weekend.
• Cleveland.com highlighted the BBP and the local restaurants who are participating, noting that “Mushrooms have always been one of beef’s best friends, but the James Beard Foundation and The Mushroom Council have turned it into a campaign for the environment.”
• Pittsburgh Post-Gazette quoted Chef Fiore Moletz, owner of Burgh’ers in Lawrenceville (a winner for the 2015 BBP): “We get a lot of athletes who are training, and they come in and don’t want all the calories of a regular burger… this is a much tastier burger because of the umami.”
• The Green Bay Press-Gazette featured the two St. Norbert College employees who have entered the contest, and also included a highlight video.

Since the launch of BBP, more than 2,100 posts have been posted to Instagram and Twitter by more than 1,000 users. Top posts this week include:

 

NOTEWORTHY ARTICLES

Blend Coverage

• The Newest Burger At Sonic Blend The Beef With Mushrooms So You Eat Less Meat – Fast Company Reposted in: Global Advisors,
• Sonic’s new burger blends beef with mushrooms so you eat less meat – The Optimist Daily
• Sonic to test blended burger – The Packer
• Here’s How Sonic’s New ‘Slingers’ Are Revolutionizing Burgers – Food Beast
• This fast-food restaurant is testing a new ‘blended burger’ – Mother Nature Network
• Sonic blends beef with mushrooms for a greener burger – Business Green
• Blended burger adds twist at six local restaurants – The Northwest Current (print)
  Reposted (in print) in: The Georgetown Current and the Dupont Current
• BurgerFi Tests the Popularity of the Plant-Based Beyond Burger – The New York Times
• Sonic to Bring ‘Blended’ Beef-Mushroom Burger to Fast Food World – Food & Wine (online)
• Is Sonic’s New Blended Burger About to Set a New Fast-Food Trend? – SheKnows
• Mushroom Blended Burgers – Trend Hunter
• Sonic To Test New Slinger Featuring Innovative Blended Burger Patty – Chew Boom
• Taste, trust are the keys to getting consumers to eat healthier, more sustainable food – SmartBrief
• The New Must-Have Item at Restaurant Chains Is a High-Tech Veggie Burger – Grub Street
• St. Norbert’s smoky burger hits national stage – Green Bay Press Gazette (Wisconsin) – includes slideshow/VIDEO Repost in The Tennessean.
• Healthy blended burgers – Let’s Talk Live (WJLA) – video
• Gregory Gourdet Does Ice Cream, Australia’s Proud Mary Opens, and More – Eater PDX
• Five Restaurants Creatively Blend Burgers for James Beard Contest – Pittsburgh Post Gazette
• Burger at Portland’s Riot Could Have a winning blend – Portland Press Herald
• Where’s the beef? Mostly there, in the Blended Burger Project (Recipe) – Cleveland.com
• Chef Jamil’s Mighty Murf Burger – WWSB abc 7 (video)
• St. Nortbert College in national burger competition – NBC26 (video)
• The secret to a healthy, delicious burger – Local DVM.com (video)
• Local Ties to National Burger Competition – WIXX 101 (radio)
• Meal deals at casinos in Reno/Sparks – Reno.com
• It’s time again for the annual Burger Bash at Cedar’s Cafe – Florida Today
• Get ready for $5 burgers during Louisville Burger Week – Courier-Journal
• Would Texans have ‘beef’ with a James Beard Blended Burger Project menu? – twcnews.com

Mushroom Nutrition, Recipes and Other News

• Recipe for Fitness: Tofu-Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms – Paste Magazine (Online)

NOTEWORTHY SOCIAL/ DIGITAL ACTIVITY

Most Popular Mushroom Channel Social Posts

MC Facebook: (Repost) Lasagna Stuffed Portobellos video

• 446 Reactions
• 14,782 Reached

Blenditarian Facebook: We are so excited to see 5 new blended burgers on Chef’d! Order the recipes based on the 2016 James Beard Foundation#BlendedBurgerProject winners: Cedar’s Cafe, The Orchard , Logan Junior Chef, Wood’s Kitchen and Bareburger! ?

• 34 Reactions
• 2,434 Reached

MC Twitter: (Fruits & Veggies Twitter Party): A3. These slow-cooker bbq mushrooms make prepping for a party SO easy. Just add toothpicks! #MeetUpandEatUp https://t.co/AxYEXXQ93Nhttps://t.co/ExZa9qNVgi

• 29 Engagements
• 86,984 Reached

Blenditarian Twitter: Check out Part 2 of our #Buffalo chef spotlight!? https://t.co/a56DzkbyZ6#BlendedBurgerProject https://t.co/WqYnpjS36p

• 11 Impressions
• 40,131 Reached

MC Instagram: What’s more “summer” than this Mushroom & Veal Blended Dijon Burger? Enter to win $500 in groceries with @VealMadeEasy’s summer sweepstakes: vealmadeeasy.com/sweepstakes #win #contest #veal #mushrooms #burgers #theblend

• 210 views

Blenditarian Instagram: Repost from @maxdales – #GetBlended with Max Dale’s this summer. Take the #BlendedBurger Challenge and taste the difference. To find out why blended is better – check out the video! Then stop by Max Dale’s … and be sure to vote online! bit.ly/BlendedBurgerMD@beardfoundation

• 47 views

This week’s keywords used in conjunction with #blenditarian content include: