Dozens Of Hollywood Emmy Celebs Sample Newtowner's Biscotti
When last we left Newtown entrepreneur and baker Stephanie Schneiderman, she was packing to run away to Hollywood.
And while she had no dreams of making it big on the big screen, she did make the acquaintance of dozens of Hollywood stars who turned out for a pre-Emmy Awards red carpet event where they stuffed swag bags with selected gifts including boxes of Ms Schneiderman’s Biscotti, Etc cookies.
After just two years bringing her biscotti to the marketplace, the Newtown baker was surprised earlier this summer to be invited to be one of just a couple dozen companies providing items for the television awards showcase event in Los Angeles.
Once all the paperwork was signed and delivered, Ms Schneiderman began packing 150 gift boxes of her biscotti to ship out, ensuring the crispy cookies would be there when she arrived August 22.
“They described the event as something like a celebrity trade show,” she said. Ms Schneiderman was told that each celebrity attending the gifting event would receive at least one sample of Biscotti Etc products, which turned out to be the case.
When all was said and done, she had distributed all but a few of the nearly 200 boxes she shipped out to LA for the event.
Speaking to The Newtown Bee following her return, Ms Schneiderman said the opportunity was well worth the effort and expense, and that she was so well-received that she has already been invited to participate in a similar activity ahead of next year’s Grammy Awards, which are also being held in Los Angeles.
“If I have a great holiday season, I will probably go back for the Grammies,” she said. “I’d really like to go back if I can.”
Flying Into LA
Upon arrival at LAX Airport, the Newtowner hailed a cab and headed for her hotel, which was just a few blocks from the Nokia Theater and Staples Center, where the main event was being held. She was thrilled after checking in and discovering that except for a couple of dented boxes, everything she pre-shipped had arrived intact and ready for distribution.
Accompanied by her brother-in-law photographer Dave Honor, she headed over to the staging area for vendors around 7:30 am the next morning to get ready for the many celebs who would be coming through beginning just a few hours later.
After making a quick trip back to her room to freshen up and change, she was back at the Nokia, and at 10:30 sharp on August 23, the doors opened and the first of countless groups of television and entertainment industry celebrities began heading her way.
“Each visitor was accompanied by a young intern who was in charge of seeing that every celebrity visited every vendor,” she said. “They carried small signs identifying who they were escorting, the person’s affiliation, and their swag bags, which got really heavy by the time they finished the rounds.”
Ms Schneiderman was stationed across from a vendor sampling hot sauces, which she said drove many of the celebs back to her for a second sample of biscotti, “to cool them down from the hot sauce samples.”
She also saw vendors sampling everything from scented oils, various fashions (including hand painted footwear) and cupcakes, to hair waxing kits, sculpted peanut brittle, leather accessories, and lots of jewelry.
“It was awesome because most of the celebrities took time to learn about my hand-baked samples,” she recalled. “And they were right there, less than two feet away, so I could see their reactions as they took a bite.”
Even those attendees who couldn’t sample her wares because of dietary restrictions often had a friend accompanying them who sampled the biscotti on their behalf, Ms Schneiderman said.
Nervous At First
During the first of many waves of visitors, Ms Schneiderman said she was very nervous, but after being greeted warmly by the friendly celebrities she settled into a comfortable groove, doing a brief memorized presentation that summed up all the background on herself and her cookies in about a minute.
“Everyone was so nice, and so many promised to be in touch before the holidays to make their gift orders,” she said. “One visitor said she was planning to distribute 2,000 holiday gifts.”
From 10:30 that Saturady morning until after 3:30 pm, she stood without a break as dozens of entertainment industry folks came and went. Her only regret was not taking notes so she could remember each person who visited and a little about them and their reaction to her treats.
“But next time, I will remember to take notes,” she said.
Looking back on the experience, Ms Schneiderman was thrilled that everything went so smoothly. She even made friends with most of the other vendors, handing out her few leftover boxes of biscotti to them. She was surprised when many of the vendors returned the favor, and she ended up coming home with a leather clutch purse, a fused glass necklace, and several other items.
On the following day, ahead of her return to Connecticut, she headed to watch production crews who were busy setting up at the Nokia for the main Emmy ceremonies and red carpet the next evening. Before she left, she struck up a conversation with one production crew member, giving him the last few boxes of biscotti she had left.
“He said he would see that one box found its way to the production crew catering area. I don’t know if the biscotti made it there, but I know those guys probably enjoyed their little unexpected biscotti treat,” she said with a big smile.