June 2019

Members and guests had a fabulous time exploring the Puustelli® Kitchen Showroom and cooking with “Chef Anna” on Wednesday, June 12th!

Bjorn Freudenthal, co-founder of the Minneapolis showroom, kicked off the evening with an introduction to Puustelli which has been in business for 100 years. The cabinets and designs have been the favorite for kitchens in Finland for over 30 years. The showroom is set-up with a variety of functioning kitchen areas so the consumer can have a “real” experience shopping for their design preferences. Many options can be viewed for kitchen, bath and bar cabinet layout and options, finishes, countertops, and hardware. If anyone is looking to update their kitchen with sleek, modern, eco-friendly lines then Puustelli is a must stop and shop to see all the possibilities.

The food fest kicked off with a glass of prosecco wine and appetizers. Chef Anna spoke a bit about her cooking philosophy which is essentially recipes are merely a starting point! The group then broke up between five cooking stations to work together to prepare our Nordic inspired meal for the evening. The five recipes included; Nordic Summer Vegetable Soup, Lohikeitto (Finnish Salmon Soup), Vispipuuro (Whipped Cranberry Porridge), Karjalanpiirakka – Karelian Pasty and a variety of juicing beverages. The group was also offered a Raspberry Gin beverage and wine throughout the evening. Chef Anna floated among the groups to talk about the recipes and lend a helping hand. People could also move between groups to experience all the different tasks. The conversation was loud and lively!

Once all the recipes were prepared the group served themselves from each station and enjoyed more conversation until good-byes were said.

Here is the refreshing Raspberry Gin recipe for summer enjoyment.

Ingredients:

½ cup fresh raspberries, divided

2 ¾ oz. gin (or vodka)

2 ¾ oz. limoncello

Juice of 1 fresh squeezed lime (lemon juice will work too)

¾ cup sparkling water

Sugar

Ice

Puree half the raspberries in a food processor or blender. Place smashed raspberries into a shaker with ice. Add gin, limoncello and fresh squeezed lime juice. Shake to blend.

Dip rim of serving glass in water and then in sugar (if desired). Pour raspberry mixture into prepared glass, garnish with a whole raspberry and top with sparkling water.

**Thank you to Debra Zwiefelhofer for providing the program recap****

On May 23, FCS Professionals and guests gathered at Land O’Lakes in Arden Hills for an evening of fabulous food, a dynamic speaker, awards and recognition!

After a delicious dinner (including some Land O’Lakes products!) we were treated to a presentation by our own member (and President-Elect) Vicky Cherne.  Vicky is currently the Manager of Consumer Affairs and Customer Concerns at Land O’Lakes.  Her department plays two roles–one to be the voice of the brand to the consumer and second to be the voice of the consumer back to the business.  At one point in time it was merely thought of as the “complaint department”  customer care is now reached beyond handling consumer gripes.  The platform for communication has changed also from being primarily phone contacts to now encompassing Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and YouTube.  Vicky shared how consumer ratings effect customers perceptions of a product.  A consumer review is trusted 12 times more than a manufacturer’s description and 92% of people will look at product reviews before making a purchase.  Consumers are wary of too many 5 star reviews as it is perceived as “fake” or “paid to give high marks.”

Vicky also talked about the new world of self-service and artificial intelligence in the form of chat bots and voice assistance.  These tools can be very helpful to companies but can be frustrating for consumers to interact with.  The third trend discussed was consumers need for personalization.  In a contact center, that might mean a customer’s contact info popping up on their screen to better assist.  In marketing that might be personalized emails, personalized selections or suggestions based on past consumer behavior.  These can be well received by customers but as we discussed, can also give pause to consumers feeling like companies know too much personal information (big brother is watching!).

After Vicky’s presentation the annual meeting and awards portion of the evening began.  Guests were welcomed (Catherine Fox, Dorothy Rademacher, Royalee Rhodes, Sharon Smith, Karoline Stoerzinger, Sydney Wyffells and Karen Wyffels ) and introduced as well as recognition of two new members Sierra Kaptain and Molly Lass.  The 2018-19 officers each presented a brief report on their respective areas.  The full reports were provided in the annual report.

Next it was time for awards. Karen Smith, Nominations Chair presided over the awards ceremony.  

Award winners:

FCS Professional of the Year—Susan Vance

Volunteer of the Year– Vicky Cherne

Spirit Award– Marge Ryerson

Behind-the-Scenes Star– Alyssa Ambrosius

Emerging Leader Award:  Lisa Krause

Award winners were presented with a  certificate and a beautiful plant.  The meeting closed with a reminder to sign up for the final 2018-19 program of the year–a Nordic cooking class limited to 25 participants!