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Producer

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The Jelly Queens Kitchen
Contact: Donna Collins Yamini
City: Melissa, TX, 75454
Phone: 972-768-2608
About Us
After several roller coaster years of creating The Jelly Queens, a little organic jelly and jam company, that has won over 18 world awards, I am very clear that it really does give me a voice. The Jelly Queens and I get to be a voice for all good things, especially food. Good, sustainably grown, farmer-friendly, local, organic, healing food! And Texas, home of The Jelly Queens, is a hot, juicy bed for sustainable agriculture and exceptional cooking! So how did I get myself into this, you might ask when all I was aiming for was a little hobby?
It all started with FOX’s, mega-hit cooking show, MasterChef.

39,000 people auditioned and 100 were chosen, including me, to battle it out to become the second season’s winner. Believe it or not, at the end of the show some amazing friendships were formed.

And on a crisp fall evening, about six months after the show wrapped, seven of us gathered to make dinner for 200 people at one of the most beautiful homes in Dallas. I knew being on

MasterChef was gonna change my life, but dinner that night created a wave that has not stopped rolling. I call it the jelly roll – we are on a jelly roll. The Jelly Queens since that day has changed, morphed and grown.

I could even say it has taken on a life of its own.

One of my mentors said to me, “Be prepared, people will come and go, there will be ups and downs, but it will be a great adventure. It will take as many as 10 partners, 10 times to get it right, 10 incarnations, some will be good and some will be bad, some will give and some will take, but each incarnation will better than the next. Stay the course because you are spot on, keep your eye on creating a wave of delicious conscious awakening.”
And he was right, partners have come and gone, friendships made and lost, but the concepts, brainstorming, and devotion to goodness have been nonstop. Just like our recipes, there are lots of ingredients, people, places, things, times and events that have contributed to The Jelly Queens creation. I knew from the very beginning that change was part of creation. What I did not know was how much I would love each incarnation of The Jelly Queens, (even the ones that included hard lessons, maybe those are the best), or how much I wanted each to be “The One,” or how hard it would be to let things go, or how each lesson, trial, and tribulation would teach me about what I really want and who I really want to share this process with…or how much I would love and wish blessings on those who have walked with me .
Practices
If you know The Jelly Queens, then you know we are all about adventure. We love the road trips that have take us from the city to the country. Trips that show us the bounty of Texas and beyond. Our trips have taken us from coast to coast, where we have gathered ingredients, friends and foodie fans. Although most of our produce is local to Dallas and Austin, we have farms from California to Georgia that help us achieve our flavor profiles. We use the culinary traditions that have been passed down for generations, some dating back to 1856.

We do all this to show you show the importance of our #1 core value; devotion to organic living through sustainable agriculture and food manufacturing.

2023 World Biscuit and Jampionship Founder
2022 World Biscuit and Jampionship Founder
2022 Best Business New World Report - Jams and Jellies

2021 Top 20 Spice Rubs, Barbeque News Magazine

2021 International Spicy Flav Awards Winner

2021 World Biscuit and Jampionship Founder

2021 World Food Championship Sponsor

2021 Converse College 100 - Distinguished Alumni Award

2020 International Spicy Flav Awards Winner

2020 Best of Dallas Hall of Fame-Best Business, Jellies, Jams, Preserves

2020 SMU Profiles In Leadership Award Winner

2020 World Biscuit and Jampionship Founder

2020 World Food Championships Sponsor

2019 International Flavor Awards Winner

2019 Best of Dallas and Business Hall of Fame -Best Business, Jellies, Jams, Preserves

2019 Gladiator in a Skirt

2018 Outstanding Woman of the Year Honoree - Small Business

2018 World Food Championship Sponsor

2018 Best of Dallas -Best Business, Jellies, Jams, Preserve

2017 World Food Championships Sponsor

2017 Good Food Awards Winner

2017 Best of Dallas -Best Business, Jellies, Jams, Preserves

2016 Best Gourmet Edible

2016 Best of Dallas -Best Business, Jellies, Jams, Preserves

2016 Fiery Food Challenge Winner

2015 Good Food Awards Finalist
2015 Best of Round Rock - Best Business, Jellies, Jams, Preserves

2015 FONA International Top 10 Trends
2015 Gourmet Gold Awards Winner
2014 Good Food Awards Winner
2014 World Marmalade Awards Winner
2014 World Jampionships Winner
2014 Quest for the Best Finalist

2014 World Marmalade Awards Best Commercial Label