After a successful launch of Chef Jenn gourmet foods at Walmart stores in the USA last year ranging from made-from-scratch appetizers and entrees to sauces, two more frozen ready meals have just joined the brand’s convenience cuisine scene that includes frozen shrimp- and crawfish-based dips and stuffed crab cakes.
Seafood Mac & Cheese and Shrimp & Cheese Grits by Chef Jenn are new options now available in 17 states. Both are distributed in 20-ounce packs, with Seafood Mac & Cheese pushing an already decadent dish over the top with a creamy and cheesy texture, generous portions of seafood, shrimp and lobster, and buttery panko topping.
Shrimp & Cheese Grits is made with stone-ground grits, shrimp, cheeses and a blend of seasonings. It can be served as brunch and lunch, as well as dinner.
“Walmart is thrilled to expand the Chef Jenn offering in our stores to provide customers with even more delicious and convenient mealtime choices featuring their seafood favorites,” said Catherine Johnson, chief seafood buyer for the Bentonville, Arkansas-headquartered chain that each week serves nearly 260 million customers at nearly 11,600 Walmart stores operating under 65 banners in 28 countries. The company rang up sales of $486 billion last year.
Chef Jenn founder and owner Jennifer McCullough got her start by making soups and prepared meals using family recipes and fresh ingredients in her home kitchen in Memphis, Tennessee, while catering elegant dinners and large celebrations. Her tasty creations can be quickly prepared as center-of-the-plate meal options, or can complement one’s own home-cooked dishes.
Chef Jenn is a certified Women Owned company featuring products prepared and packaged in the USA, though no longer at her home kitchen. Production is now outsourced at a facility in Florida that has supplied Walmart for some time. Only sustainable seafood ingredients supplied by responsible fishermen and fisheries enter the supply chain tapped by McCullogh.
“Having my dishes in Walmart stores for households across America to enjoy is a dream come true. I was ecstatic to originally be selected as a part of Walmart’s 2013 Open Call event for made in the USA products, and now am overjoyed to roll out additional Chef Jenn products,” said McCullough.
She continued, “I think consumers will be surprised by the delicious twist on classics with my new gourmet seafood casseroles. My son is one of my toughest food critics, and he quickly returned clean plates for both dishes!”
McCullough is a lifestyle expert and highly regarded, formally trained chef, having won Food Network’s reality cooking competition “Cutthroat Kitchen” in 2014. Building on her experience and growing achievements as a single mother, full-time chef and business owner, she believes in sharing first-hand knowledge for helping to create successful living and business environments that are enjoyable, memorable and efficient.
