Kefir Kommunity

Appetizer round

-wax beans

-mandarinquats

-sardines

-rice cakes

Entrée round

-mangosteens

-mustard greens

-dried shrimp

-yak strip steaks

Dessert round

-black pepper crackers

-plums

-chamomile flowers

-KEFIR!

That’s right, tucked inside both chefs’ picnic basket of surprises – by this point, Nicolson and Porcelli had been eliminated, leaving only Squibb and Petrillo – was a tall bottle of kefir, which the chefs and judgesall pronounced “keh-FEER.” (As is commonly done outside the United States.)

Allen asked the judges, “What IS kefir?” and judge Geoffrey Zakarian explained its liquid yogurt consistency, adding that, as a native Armenian, cool kefir is “dear to me.”

With 30 short minutes on the clock for the final dessert round, Squibb went the exotic route, using pakora flour to whip up a batter for her Chamomile and Kefir Pakora. She then brewed and reduced chamomile tea with sugar to create a Chamomile and Plum Reduction, topping the finished product with fresh raspberries and dusting it with powdered sugar.

As for Petrillo, he narrated, “I taste the kefir and it tastes like yogurt. It’s delicious! I know that sugar and water will bring out the flavor of the chamomile flowers,” so he made Chamomile and Kefir Custard with Vanilla French Toast and Caramelized Plums.

(Can you hear our stomachs rumbling?!)

The judges were huge fans of both kefir concoctions. The loved Squibb’s dessert simply because it’s fried – how bad can it be, really? – and their main critique was they only wish there was more of it to eat.

As for Petrillo’s masterpiece, the judges deemed it playful yet sophisticated, although they felt the balsamic vinegar he used was a bit too acidic.

So, whose kefir-inspired dish was on the final chopping block? Unfortunately, Squibb was the one to hear those dreaded words out of Tim Allen’s mouth: “Chef Kate, you have been Chopped.” The judges felt Petrillo had delivered “near perfection” in the prior two rounds, nabbing them the coveted $10,000 prize and the title of Chopped Champion.

Hey Chef Petrillo, did you know $10K can buy you about 3,333 bottles of Lifeway kefir? Hit us up at your local Whole Foods – we’d love to see ourselves featured in some of the other delicious recipes on your menu at Caviar Russe in NYC. And PS: We’re Russian, too!

Lifeway kefir is jampacked with seven to ten billions CFUs of probiotics, live and active cultures that occupy your GI tract to calm tummy troubles and boost overall immunity.

We matched them head to head – see which occupier emerged on top.

Danny DeVito hawks Limoncello, Rachel Bilson swears she eats Magnum ice cream bars every day and Mr. T pitied the fool who didn’t eat his namesake cereal in 1984. 

Now, John Stamos has joined the celebrity food endorsement game, appearing in commercials for Dannon Greek yogurt. Says Uncle Jesse of his creamy new gig: “I am a proud Greek and a proud yogurt eater. And when the call from Dannon came in, and after I tasted Dannon Oikos, I couldn't say no.”

Which got us thinking: Who would be the perfect celeb to endorse Lifeway kefir? A few ideas:

Heidi Klum If you’ve ever watched Project Runway, you know the supermodel is a big fan of immunity, meaning a contestant cannot be kicked off the show. Lifeway kefir is all about immunity – our probiotics keep your immune system supple and strong. 

Angelina Jolie The drop-dead gorgeous actress and mother of six recently revealed that her kids like to eat crispy crickets for a snack - a Cambodian tradition. If Pax and Maddox are that into bugs, they’ll love kefir, which is full of “good bugs,” aka probiotics.

Mila Kunis The Russian bombshell should have been chugging our stuff while filming Black Swan – our carbs could fuel her endless hours of dancing, while research shows low-fat dairy can help people stay slim…a prerequisite for psycho ballerinas.

Maxim Chmerkovskiy We can totally envision this Russian Dancing With The Stars personality sashaying across the stage, swiveling his hips, and ripping open his black silk button-down shirt, to reveal a giant Lifeway Pomegranate Kefir chest tattoo.

Kiefer Sutherland For obvious reasons – his first name!

Who are we missing? Tell us your pick and why!

 We hope everyone had a lovely, relaxing Labor Day weekend. Though we’re sad to see the summer come to an end, as we look back on the past few months, we’re pleasantly surprised to see how much excitement has taken way here at Lifeway. Check it out:

We debuted two fabulous new products -- BioKefir Shots and Helios Goat Milk Kefir. 

A viewer wrote in to Dr. Manny asking about the health benefits of kefir. Where did they head for a shining example of kefir production? To our manufacturing facility in Morton Grove, of course!

Lifeway gets a nice mention in this piece about smoothies from ABC News Los Angeles (KABC) food coach Lori Corbin. Here's the accompanying video:

We admit it, our DVR is filled with about ten too many reality TV shows with the words “runway,” “love” and “bachelor” in the titles. But we have also picked up a good TV viewing habit lately: Watching chef Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution  on ABC Friday nights. The Naked Chef has traveled from his British homeland, where he has been credited with helping revolutionize the school lunch system, to Huntington, West Virginia, named the nation's unhealthiest city by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Beloved food critic and chef Katie Lee whipped up a delicious kefir and fruit smoothie this morning on the CBS Early Show. Here's the video of her kefir creation: