FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact: Jason Elzy [email protected] Rhino Entertainment (818) 238-6220
“HEAD CHEF” CHEZ RAY SEWELL GOES FULL CIRCLE FROM BEATS TO BEANS WITH GRATEFUL DEAD COFFEE
Grateful Dead Productions and Chez Ray Sewell are delighted to announce the arrival of Grateful Dead Coffee. The coffee – organic, fair trade, kosher, culturally authentic – rolls out with four new roasts: Morning Brew Roast, Turn On Your Love Lite Roast, Load-Out Roast, and Drop Dead Dark Roast.
Chez Ray, the Grateful Dead’s long-time touring chef, has created Headliners’ Organic Coffees, in collaboration with master roaster Paul Thornton of Coffee Bean International (CBI). Together, they bring an artist’s interpretation to each roast. Chez Ray’s extended association with the Grateful Dead gives him a unique perspective from which to design these distinctive and imaginative coffees. Chez Ray’s storied history touring with the Grateful Dead has led him full circle back to his roots – “from beats to beans,” as he likes to put it.
“Creating this coffee has been a way to pay tribute to my years with the Grateful Dead,” says Chez Ray. “Each roast is unique in a way that reflects the music and the history. Load-Out Roast, for example, was designed for the worker bees, the roadies, who sometimes have to work all day or all night. High caffeine and low acid makes it the perfect brew for them. Each roast is carefully crafted so that you can taste the journey – and experience the history.”
“I am so grateful to have the opportunity to develop this extraordinary Grateful Dead Coffee in alliance with Grateful Dead and Rhino Entertainment. They’ve been very supportive of my creative vision and teaming with them has been incredible. But above all, I would like to thank the Grateful Dead for decades of inspiration.”
“Working with Chez Ray to create a Grateful Dead organic coffee is a perfect fit based on Chez Ray’s deep knowledge of the band and understanding of the type of products we strive to deliver to our fans and consumers,” said David Lemieux, legacy manager for the Grateful Dead. “The coffee blends are tasteful and appealing, giving consumers a unique option for their morning brews.”
Grateful Dead fans and coffee drinkers alike will delight in sampling the new coffee roasts and collecting the stunning artwork. With each sip, you too can relive the authentic story of the 60’s San Francisco trip!
Grateful Dead Coffee is now available at www.chefchezray.com, and will be rolling into grocery and specialty food retail shelves this spring
For more information on Grateful Dead Consumer Products & Brand Licensing contact: Sara Nemerov, [email protected] or Jasen Wright, [email protected]
About Chef Chez Ray Chef Chez Ray Sewell (Chez Ray) is a native of San Francisco’s North Beach Bohemia. Being surrounded by coffeehouses, beat poets, jazz, theater, music and the arts, his wild persona prospered there. In his early years, Chez Ray apprenticed in classic French cuisine by a third generation of the master chef, Augusta Escoffier, and was further trained under black hats in his hometown of San Francisco.
As Chez Ray tells it, “I was raised in the North Beach district of San Francisco, surrounded by Bohemians, beat poets, balladeers and, of course, coffee houses. As a young man, I spent my days studying French cuisine and nights experiencing legendary bands of the era. This time in our history marked the birth of American cultural and culinary revolutions and launched my lifelong career as chef to iconic families of the era –the Grateful Dead, Chet Helms and the Family Dog, Wavy Gravy and the Hog Farm, Ken Kesey’s Band of Merry Pranksters, and the Flying Karamazov Brothers.”
Befriending these five “tribes” as a young man led to further friendships with many more icons of the 60's and 70's. Chez Ray has had the privilege of feeding such luminaries as Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Hot Tuna, Timothy Leary, Carlos Santana, Ram Dass, James Brown, Wavy Gravy, the Neville Brothers, the Tibetan Monks, and many, many more.
Chez Ray says, “You are what you surround yourself with,” and he has been surrounded by some of the most remarkable and playful people on the planet. From becoming of fan of the Warlocks to creating feasts backstage with the Grateful Dead, Chez Ray has produced culinary theater -- an amazing union of food and entertainment. Future plans include a book as well as new products already in the works.
As Chez Ray says, “Life is a feast, and feasting is the genesis of celebration.”
About Rhino Entertainment Based in Burbank, California, Warner Music Group’s Rhino Entertainment was founded in 1978 and is the world’s leading pop culture label. Emphasizing flawless sound quality, bonus tracks, informative liner notes, award-winning creative packaging, an offbeat sense of humor, and a strong social conscience, Rhino continues to set the standard for excellence in the reissue business it pioneered in both the physical and digital worlds. Rhino is also expanding the definition of what a catalog music company is, as evidenced by the label’s recent name and likeness representation deal with Frank Sinatra and its multi-faceted relationship with Grateful Dead. The vast Rhino catalog of more than 5,000 CDs, videos, and digital exclusive albums features material by Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, The Doors, Chicago, Black Sabbath, John Coltrane, Yes, Alice Cooper, Linda Ronstadt, The Ramones, The Monkees, Carly Simon, Curtis Mayfield, among many others.
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