Private Selection

Sarah and I were asked through BzzAgent to review the Private Selection brand of frozen appetizers, pizza and deserts. We were given coupons loaded on our Kroger card for a free pizza, dessert and appetizer.

Going into this Sarah and I were already trying different brands of ready made, pop in the oven appetizers. Not everyone has the time during the holidays to make from scratch appetizers for every holiday gathering. The Private Selection appetizer we chose was the Mediterranean Inspired Hors D'Oeuvres Collection. I placed the 9 pieces on a baking stone and placed them in the oven. In 12 minutes they were ready. The pastry was the flakiest we encountered among all the selections we tried. All were tasty. Sarah's favorite was the feta-sun-dried tomato phyllo roll. Mine I have to say was the spinach pesto puff. Each selection tasted as though I had made them fresh that day. Private Selection wins with a grand prize in the freshest tasting frozen appetizer section. The bonus with the Private Selection brand is it is at cost point about 20%-35% lower than competitors.

Our pizza choice to try was the Margherita. Now to be realistic I was comparing this to my favorite California Pizza Kitchen and my other favorite Newman's Own. Both of these other lines carry the Margherita style pizza. Sarah felt the Private Selection brand was not as good as the California Pizza brand, but at a price point of 30% cheaper she agreed it was comparable. I felt it beat out both the California Pizza and Newman's Own in the crust department, but was not a fan of the halved tomatoes instead of diced tomatoes. Overall I gave it a thumbs up as did Sarah. Just a reminder to Mom's out there, these pizzas are "adult pizzas" in my opinion as the flavors and combinations are a little mature for the under 15 set.

Sarah and I could not decide on a a dessert so we got two. We purchased the Private Selections Chocolate Ganache ice cream and the Private Selection Cream Puffs. I have to say that I asked myself several times while eating both of these why I was paying so much more for brands that were NOT superior. The ice cream was smooth and creamy. Sarah is an ice cream connoisseur and she fell in love with the Chocolate Ganache. Her exact words were, "This is chocolate heaven!" I love the cream puffs. The pastry was fresh tasting and the cream mixture was sweet with a hint of vanilla. These two will remain on our shopping list.

Over all, I have to say that I now will try more of the Private Selection Brand foods. With our taste test we found that Private Selection was fresh tasting, quality made and at a much lower price point making it a good buy in our opinion. Do you want to try them for yourself? I have five (5) $2.00 off coupons that I will mail out to the first five who comment on this blog!