Top Honors for Sweet Baby Ray's at Ribfest

With 17 world-class rib vendors and dozens of other food vendors, the annual Naperville Exchange Club’s Ribfest is always a Mecca for barbecue lovers. This year’s event, which ran from July 3 through July 6 at Knoch Park in Naperville, Ill., featured Sweet Baby Ray’s restaurant, which won first place in the event’s Best Ribs competition, and earned second place in the Best Sauce competition.

Accepting the prize money and trophies included the Sweet Baby Ray's cooking competition team, consisting of "Sweet Baby Ray" himself, Dave Raymond, along with his nephew, Duce Raymond, and cooking competition partner Ron Nunes.

Duce recalls feeling speechless when their names were announced as victors. “As we prepared for this competition, we were just ecstatic to be welcomed back to the festival,” Duce Raymond said after the event. “When the panel of judges announced our names and said that we won, my jaw dropped. It was an amazing moment.”

Interested in trying the award-winning fare? Sweet Baby Ray’s Barbecue Restaurant has two locations: 249 E. Irving Park Rd., Wood Dale, Ill. (630) 238-8261, and 800 E. Higgins Rd., Elk Grove Village, Ill. (847) 437-9555.

The Sweet Baby Ray's gang will even be displaying their winning trophies at the Wood Dale location, and in two weeks the hardware will be moved to the Elk Grove Village location.

To learn more, visit http://www.sbrbbq.com/.

Deerfields Gluten-Free a hit at 4th of July Parade

On a beautiful 70-degree day, Deerfields Bakery handed out 10,000 gluten-free Triple Chocolate Brownies and Lemon Buttons to an enthusiastic crowd of parade goers along a 1-mile route in Deerfield. "Gluten-free brownies, gluten-free cookies," we shouted to the crowd. One man ran up to the truck and said to me, "I'm a celiac and I just tasted both the cookie and brownie and they're delicious. Thank you so much for what you are doing!" From non-celiacs we heard comments like, "Wow, this is gluten-free!" and "That's cool."

Watch "Hopkins" Thursday Nights on ABC and pay attention to the background music by breakthrough singer songwriter Elza

Don't miss the show Newsday reporter Verne Gay calls, "The best unscripted show on commercial television this season." "Hopkins" is ABC's newest documentary mini-series, and airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. EST (9 p.m. CST). The story continues this week, taking viewers inside Baltimore's renowned John Hopkins Hospital to meet both the seriously ill and the doctors who treat them. Molded from 1500 hours of footage, "Hopkins" showcases a raw and honest look at the dilemmas and decisions of some of the world's most talented doctors and the turmoil-ridden families of the patients they treat.

You may be asking: "Why is Kurman telling me this?" Our client Elza is the featured female singer/songwriter debuting 12 future hits (we hope) during the series.


There's been a lot of media interest in "Everything to Me," from Elza's namesake album "Elza," and "Wide Open." Her new album (not yet released) "Gettin' Free" can be heard on iTunes and at http://www.elzamusic.com/. You can also learn more at Sonicbids.com.

Elza's music is not new to the television scene; she has been featured on numerous network series including the WB's Smallville. Her soulful, acoustic sound forms a compassionate musical score and compliments the struggles and heroic efforts of the doctors featured on "Hopkins." This spotlight on Elza'a talent as a singer and a songwriter has catapulted her to new heights. We expect her to keep rising as the star she is!



To schedule an interview with Elza, please contact Cindy Kurman at Kurman Communications 312-651-9000.

Press here to check out Elza's website or here for the press release.

Deerfields Bakery Launches Gluten-Free Baked Goods

Deerfields Bakery, the much loved North Shore gem, has recently launched a gluten-free product line. Available at the bakeries three locations in Schaumburg, Deerfield, and Bufffalo Grove, the line includes delicious baked goods, pastries, desserts, and custom sweets. "You won't even be able to tell these products are gluten free," said owner Kurt Schmitt. Since so many households have to buy separate food to accommodate allergies, Deerfields bakes their gluten-free products for everyone to enjoy. In the mood for Blueberry Cream Cheese Coffecake, Mini Chocolate Cupcakes with Ganache, or Triple Chocolate Brownies? Check out Deerfields new gluten-free products! For more information, or to buy the treats online, check out http://www.deerfieldsglutenfree.com/.