Mackinac Island Fudge Challenge Revealed

MACKINAC ISLAND, Mich. - May 28, 2013 - PRLog -- Ryba’s Offering Limited-Edition Frank Beckmann Chocolate Mocha Almond Fudge During Mackinac Policy Conference

Well-known WJR Radio personality Frank Beckmann to be recognized at Ryba’s Fudge Shop Wednesday, May 29, at 2 p.m.

Ryba’s Fudge today announced it will be selling Frank Beckmann Chocolate Mocha Almond Fudge during the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce Mackinac Policy Conference.  The fudge is named in honor of Beckmann, a well-known WJR Radio personality in Detroit who inspired the limited-edition recipe earlier this year while interviewing Todd Callewaert, an owner of the popular Mackinac Island fudge company.
Ryba’s Chocolate Mocha Almond Fudge will be officially unveiled on Wednesday, May 29, at 2 p.m. with a presentation to Beckmann at the Ryba Fudge Shop near the Star Line Dock at the west end of Main Street on Mackinac Island.  

“Ryba’s offers 14 delicious flavors of hand-crafted Mackinac Island Fudge, which has been a tradition on this historic island since 1960,” said Callewaert.  “We’ve had great fun taking up the Frank Beckmann challenge to offer fudge that incorporates some of his favorite flavors – mocha and almond.  Not only have we taken on the challenge, we think the end product tastes delicious. We hope Frank and our other customers will agree.”
The Frank Beckmann Chocolate Mocha Almond Fudge will be made at the same Ryba’s location where the ceremony will take place and will be available for sale at that shop through Sunday, June 2.

Ryba’s Fudge is named for its founder, Harry Ryba (Rye-ba) who was born in Detroit at the beginning of the 20th century and began selling caramel corn out of a rented storefront on the city’s far eastside in the 1930s. Ryba went on to be known as the “Fudge King” of historic Mackinac Island, where he made hand-crafted fudge on marble slabs and fanned the sweet aroma onto the streets to capture tourists’ attention.  Ryba passed away in 1996 but left behind a major legacy in the generations that have followed in his footsteps.  The family has become a major force in the competitive fudge trade and has helped put Mackinac Island on the map.

Victor Callewaert, Ryba’s son-in-law, has managed Ryba’s Fudge Shops since 1988 with the day-to-day operations now under the guidance of his son, Todd, and his daughter, Mary Callewaert, a member of the Mackinac Island State Park Commission.

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History
While fudge was not invented on Mackinac Island, Mackinac Island's fudge has become the most popular fudge in America. In the nineteenth century, maple sugar sweets were manufactured by the local Odawa in nearby L'Arbor Croche, packaged in birchbark containers called mokuks and shipped from Mackinac Island in steamships touring the Great Lakes to the confectioners in the big cities of America. After the Civil War, Island shopkeepers kept up with the tourists' requests for sweets by stocking the mokuks along with Whitman's and Stuart's candies and chocolates.

Mackinac Island's fudge is an Island institution that is now known worldwide. Fudge fanatics have been dubbed fudgies: a term that has become synonymous with tourists in Northern Michigan.

Each August, the Island celebrates it's sweetest souvenir with the Mackinac Island Fudge Festival (www.mackinacislandfudgefestival.org).