Toronto, June 28, 2021 — Before the pandemic forced us to stay home, Canadians ordered a whopping 350 million Bloody Caesars a year, cementing the now 52-year- old, Calgary-born libation’s status as a national cultural icon. The cocktail is a fixture on Canadian patios in the summer months, but the unique, savoury refresher really shines at brunch. And where there’s a Caesar, there’s TABASCO® Sauce. That’s why the iconic hot sauce brand wants to celebrate the fact that Canadians are finally able to leave their houses with the Break Free Brunch Crawl.
I want to break free
Running for eight weeks, until August 30th, TABASCO® Brand’s Break Free Brunch Crawl not only provides brunch-lovers with new taste experiences that put a “saucy” spin on staple brunch fare, but participants can also enter to win one of 56 $100 restaurant gift cards.
TABASCO® Brand has partnered with some of our favourite restaurant chains with locations across the country including Ricky’s All Day Grill, The Pickle Barrel, Sunset Grill, and Cheese Curds to offer their diners an exclusive, palate-tingling Break Free Brunch dish. Gourmets and gourmands are encouraged to share pictures of their ice-cold Caesars raised in a toast to being able to hang with friends and loved ones again, with the #BreakFreeSummer hashtag, to win. Having trouble securing a patio reservation or feeling like you want to put the kitchen skills you honed during lockdown to the test? No problem! TABASCO® Brand wants to see your made-at-home creations too. Visit tabascosauce.ca/breakfree for chef-approved TABASCO® Brand brunch recipes and mixologist-developed riffs on the classic Caesar, then take a picture of you enjoying your creations to show how you’re having a #BreakFreeSummer.
“Having brunch and a Caesar with friends is a way towards feeling “normal” again,” explains Valerie Nolet, brand manager at ID Foods, the retail distributor of TABASCO® Sauce in Canada. “We’re happy to do our own small part to help restaurants start to recover after the huge strain suffered by the industry over the last year and a half. We hope the Break Free Brunch Crawl is a fun way to get people out of their houses and into the restaurants we’ve partnered with for this celebratory campaign.”
“Canada was the very first country that TABASCO® Sauce was exported to, only five years after we actually became a nation in 1872” explains Daryl Lunney, Partner and Vice President of Marketing at C.W. Shasky Ltd., the TABASCO® Brand foodservice distributor in Canada. “The brand is part of our history and celebrating summer with a restaurant and in-home promotion is our way to make Canadians fall in love with our wide range of flavours once again. Plus who doesn’t like free brunch!”
For a list of participating restaurants and full recipes of their featured Break Free Brunch dishes as well as complete contest details, go to tabascosauce.ca/breakfree
Turn up the heat and the flavour when it comes to what’s for brunch this summer with these chef- approved recipes taken straight from the TABASCO® Brand Break Free Brunch Crawl lineup.
HOT DOG CAESAR
- 1 lime wedge
- Celery salt, to taste
- 1 1/2 oz Crystal Head Vodka
- 1/4 – 1/2 tsp (1.25 – 2.5 mL) TABASCO® Sauce (or to taste)
- 1/2 oz pickle juice
- 1/2 tsp (2.5 mL) Worcestershire sauce
- 5 oz ClamatoTM
Rim a glass with fresh lime and celery salt. Add Crystal Head Vodka, TABASCO® Sauce, pickle juice, Worcestershire sauce, and ClamatoTM. Stir to mix and garnish with a sidecar of dill pickle and ketchup chips, or a mini hot dog if you prefer.
EAST COAST CAESAR
- 1 lime wedge
- Celery salt, to taste
- 1 1⁄2 oz Canadian Whisky
- 1/2 – 1 tsp (2.5 – 5 mL) TABASCO® Chipotle Sauce
- 1⁄4 oz maple syrup
- 2 tsp (10 mL) Worcestershire sauce
- 5 oz ClamatoTM
- 1 slice bacon, for garnish
- 3-5 cheese curd, for garnish
Rim a glass with fresh lime and celery salt. Fill with ice and add Canadian whisky, TABASCO® Chipotle Sauce, 1⁄4 oz. maple syrup, Worcestershire sauce, and ClamatoTM. Stir to mix. Garnish with a slice of cooked bacon wrapped around several cheese curds.
WEST COAST CAESAR
- 1 lime wedge
- Chinese Five Spice, to taste*
- 1 oz gin
- 1⁄2 oz sake
- 1⁄2 – 1 tsp (2.5 mL – 5 mL) TABASCO® Green Jalapeño Sauce
- 1 oz celery and cucumber puree**
- 5 oz ClamatoTM
- 1 cucumber maki or 1 cucumber spear for garnish
Rim a glass with fresh lime and Chinese Five Spice (or sea salt). Fill with ice and add gin, sake, TABASCO® Green Jalapeño Sauce, celery and cucumber puree, and ClamatoTM. Stir to mix and garnish with a cucumber maki, or a cucumber spear.
*Optional: substitute with sea salt.
** To make the puree: peel and chop one cucumber and three celery stalks. Blend in a blender and strain through a sieve for 10-20 minutes, pressing down to extract juices. Discard solids and reserve juice. Keep chilled.
SUNSET GRILL GUACAMOLE SANDWICH
A juicy 4 oz sausage patty breakfast sandwich with melted cheddar cheese, two eggs, guacamole and a splash of TABASCO® Original Red Sauce on a toasted brioche bun. Served with home fries and veggies & dip.
Ingredients
• 1 brioche bun
• 1 oz (30 mL) guacamole
• 2 eggs, fried
• 4 oz (113 g) sausage patty
• 1⁄2 oz (15 mL) Cheddar cheese, melted
• 1⁄2 oz (15 mL) Swiss cheese, melted
• 1⁄2 Tbsp. (7.5 mL) TABASCO® Original Red Sauce
Method
1. Toast bun and place open-faced on a plate. Place sausage patty with melted cheeses on the bottom bun, then the eggs.
2. Spread guacamole on the top bun along with TABASCO® Original sauce. Serve with 4oz of home fries, one cucumber stick, one carrot stick and one pack of ranch.
Find more delicious breakfast recipes to make at home at www.tabascosauce.ca/breakfree
ABOUT MCILHENNY COMPANY
McIlhenny Company produces TABASCO® Brand products, which are sold in 195 countries and territories around the world and labeled in 25 languages and dialects. The 153-year-old company makes a line of pepper sauces, including its world-famous TABASCO® Sauce, TABASCO® Green Sauce, TABASCO® Chipotle Sauce, TABASCO® Habanero Sauce, and TABASCO® Sriracha Sauce.
For more information on TABASCO® Brand, please visit www.tabascosauce.ca.
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For more information or to book an interview with a TABASCO® Brand representative, please contact: The PR Department at 416.535.3939 or by email at [email protected]
