The Jelly Queens, headquartered in Dallas with a commercial kitchen in Austin, was born out of a love for sustainable food, delicious flavors and words of encouragement. When company founder Donna Collins competed in season two of MasterChef with Gordon Ramsay, one of the judges advised her during the audition process that no matter what happened in the competition, she needed to get her food into production because it was some of the best he had ever tasted. Collins took his advice, and in 2012, she and her partners launched The Jelly Queens. I've tasted several of their yummy jelly flavors and can tell you that they are the real deal! All hail the Queens!
The Good Food Awards hosted an awards gala in San Francisco last week and the Queens were bestowed a coveted Good Food Award by renowned chef Alice Waters, a pioneer of farm-to-table cuisine, in the preserves category for its Blood Orange Lavender Marmalade. The Good Food Awards, now in its fourth year, recognizes the best from America’s growing movement of talented and socially conscious food entrepreneurs. The 2014 winners were selected from 1,450 entries from all 50 states in a blind tasting by 225 expert judges. Those that rose to the top on taste were then subject to a rigorous vetting process to verify they met the award’s sustainability and social responsibility criteria.
From right to left: Donna Collins and Juliet Mossman at Country Living Fair , Austin Texas with Tiffany Harelik and The Jelly Queens (photo taken from Facebook)
The Jelly Queens award-winning Blood Orange Lavender Marmalade has been part of the company’s product line since it launched at the Dallas Market Center in January 2012. The winning flavor was inspired by a trip to a lavender farm in California, where Collins discovered lavender-infused honey. “I loved the lavender-infused honey so much that I kept experimenting with things to make with it,” said Collins. "When I tasted an organic blood orange for the first time, I knew that this is what I have to put with the lavender-infused honey!” Listening to her finely tuned palate has paid off. Not only is The Jelly Queens Blood Orange Lavender Marmalade an award-winner, but despite increasing production each winter, the seasonal favorite continues to sell out.
The company’s growing product line is now sold in more than 50 specialty shops across the U.S. Locally you can find these products at the Dallas Market Center, Patina Green Home and Market (on the history McKinney Town Square) and online at www.thejellyqueens.com.