Harry & David: Pears, Moose Munch & Friends

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Harry & David: Pears, Moose Munch & Friends

There is a reason that Harry & David, known for their flavorful pears, beautiful gift baskets and multitude of treats (Moose Munch!), has been been around since 1910 and has employees that have worked for the company for 20, 30, even 50 years. They are dedicated to product quality and intent on taking care of their employees. These are just a couple of things that struck me in my recent trip to Medford, Oregon, and the surrounding areas of Jacksonville and Ashland.

Harry & David: Pears, Moose Munch & Friends
Others who attended (such a fantastic group of people!)…

Left to right:
Brenda of A Farmgirl’s Dabbles
Carrie of La Pomme de Portland
Brian of A Thought for Food
Sandy of Reluctant Entertainer
Heather of Farmgirl Gourmet
Me (doing my best Vanna White with the Harry & David sign)
Matthew of A Good Time with Wine
Gaby of What’s Gaby Cooking
Julie of Peanut Butter Fingers
Aggie of Aggie’s Kitchen
Maggy of Three Many Cooks
Not shown:
Sommer of A Spicy Perspective (stuck on a plan that evening)
Kelly of Martha Stewart Living (she joined us later)

Magnolia Inn – Jacksonville, Oregon
I can’t simply gloss over our accommodations for this trip because Magnolia Inn in Jacksonville, Oregon deserves every compliment I can throw its way. The two owners, Robert and Susan, are nothing short of charming and hospitable.

Harry & David: Pears, Moose Munch & Friends

From the thoughtful decorations (seriously, Susan thinks of everything) to the homemade treats each afternoon, it feels like a place you could call home for a week.

Harry & David: Pears, Moose Munch & Friends

I’m very tempted to make a special trip back to the area with my family just so we can stay at the Magnolia Inn.

Harry & David: Pears, Moose Munch & Friends

Our fabulous hosts:
The hospitality didn’t stop with our comfortable accommodations. To say that Sandy and Paul Coughlin know how to entertain would be a sorry understatement. Sandy fills her fantastic blog, Reluctant Entertainer, with ideas to make casual and fancy entertaining effortless and memorable.

Harry & David: Pears, Moose Munch & Friends

They invited us to their warm and comfortable home for a lovely dinner, peppered with tasty Harry & David products, set under glowing lights in their beautiful backyard.

Harry & David: Pears, Moose Munch & Friends

They thought of every detail and managed to make us feel so welcome and relaxed.

Harry & David: Pears, Moose Munch & Friends

The Pear Orchard:
This is where we got into the nitty-gritty and started to learn about the growing and harvesting of Harry & David’s famous pears.

Harry & David: Pears, Moose Munch & Friends

Matt Borman, the director of the orchards, educated us on the ins and outs of caring for the trees and the fruit. While Harry & David grows a variety of different pears, they are most well-known for the Royal Riviera pears, which are found nestled in almost all Harry & David gift baskets. The extreme temperatures found in the Rogue Valley are not only good for growing grapes (leading to thriving vineyards in the area), but it also a hospitable environment for Royal Riviera pears.

Harry & David: Pears, Moose Munch & Friends
The contraption seen on the right is a heater to safeguard the delicate fruit during harsh temperatures.

Speaking of wine, Harry & David announced to us that they will be launching their own line of wines in 2013, including nine varietals. We had an opportunity to taste the wine. My personal favorites were the Sauvignon Blanc and the Pinot Noir. The wine will be a wonderful addition to Harry & David’s line of products.

Harry & David: Pears, Moose Munch & Friends

Back to the pears…During the 4 to 5 weeks of harvest each year, the 300-350 pickers at Harry & David harvest 700 tons of pears per day. Each person responsible for picking the pears is trained to treat each pair as gently as a newborn kitten.

Harry & David: Pears, Moose Munch & Friends
Gaby demonstrating that we do what we have to do to send a tweet.

The pears are carefully picked and carried to insure that as few of them as possible are bruised. Any fruit that does have broken or bruised skin is sent off to make concentrate or baby food.

Harry & David: Pears, Moose Munch & Friends

At the Harry & David Packing Plant & Around Ashland

Now, if you met a third-generation candy maker, who spent his day perfecting chocolate creations, what would you hope his name would be? Well, “Charlie” of course. And so we met Charlie and learned the ins and outs of making Harry & David’s cakes and confections.

Harry & David: Pears, Moose Munch & Friends

From our perches above the factory floors, we witnessed pears being carefully transported towards the gift baskets, pan after pan of peanut butter and jelly bars being constructed by diligent workers, holiday boxes being filled for the Christmas season and yards upon yards of ribbon being cut to decorate those boxes and baskets.

Harry & David: Pears, Moose Munch & Friends

Around every corner was a friendly employee, dutifully working at their job or hustling off to another part of the factory. We even stumbled upon a lunchroom celebration where cake was being presented to an employee who worked at Harry & David for 50 years.

Harry & David: Pears, Moose Munch & Friends

We each tried our hand at packing a gift basket for a loved one (mine only stayed together because of the careful instruction by Pam, one of the packing trainers who helped us). You’ll be glad to know that the basket I’m giving away was not packed by me. I’ll leave that to the experts!

H&DCollage1Harry & David: Pears, Moose Munch & Friends3

Disclaimer: Harry & David provided the gift basket for this giveaway and paid my travel expenses for the trip. However, I was not compensated to write this post.

 

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Comments

  4. Brooks says

    Dara, it’s rare that one gets an opportunity to go behind the scenes at a terrific operation such as Harry & David, but to be a part of a group of talented bloggers makes it that much sweeter. Thank you for sharing your lovely vantage point with us!

    Reply

  9. Wanda says

    Just love Harry and David and your pictures are wonderful. Looks like a great trip and next time invite me please!!! 😉
    Really loved reading your post and following the rest of the “gang” on the trip.

    Reply

  22. Debbie says

    Wow! Makes me want to hit out for the Magnolia Inn right now! Thanks for such a wonderful give-away… good luck to all!

    Reply

  55. KarlaJ says

    Looks like you had a wonderful time at Harry & David, and the Magnolia Inn looks amazing! Thanks for the opportunity to win this basket, Dara.

    Reply

  56. Marianne Coughenour says

    Just had pears and cottage cheese for lunch: oh, wish they were Harry and David’s Royal Riviera! Yum!

    Reply

  61. Debbie says

    Makes me so homesick. We are from Medford but now live in Phoenix, AZ. We miss home so much esp when I see pics like this. Harry and David is such a great place to pick up fruit, veggies, and kitchen items. I love their Royal Rivera Pears. They are the best! Getting this basket will be like a piece of home.

    Reply

  90. Steph walker says

    I lovedabou learning about providers like Harry and david. Love that they recognized their employee’s 50 years of service. Kudos!

    Reply

  92. Steph walker says

    I loved learning about providers like Harry and david. Love that they recognized their employee’s 50 years of service. Kudos!

    Reply

  97. Sarah says

    I’ve loved Harry & David ever since I was little and we would get the catalogs! I can never resist how good their fruit looks. It was very fun to get a peek behind the scenes.

    Reply

  102. Sherry D. says

    What beautiful pictures and a wonderful trip! I know Harry & David is known for their outstanding fruit….but their Moose Mix…oh my!

    Reply

  107. Jo H says

    I LOVE Harry and David . . . look forward to their wonderful fruits and nuts every year. What a huge treat!

    Reply

  179. Lori Hoff says

    It’s refreshing to learn Harry & David not only offers divine treats, but also treats their employees so wonderfully!

    Reply

  185. Natalie J Vandenberghe says

    I love visiting Harry & David–it looks like you had a fabulous time. Thanks for the giveaway!

    Reply

  196. Amy Tong says

    What a wonderful event you had there. This is a gorgeous giveaway. I would love to taste those sweet and juicy pears and apples. 🙂

    amy [at] utry [dot] it

    Reply

  206. Sandy says

    What a great post, Dara. Thanks for taking the time to add all of those photos! Harry and David is my “go to” gift baskets for when I need to send a special gift (like my husband’s boss). They are great for sending to families with children as well. Did you check out the fun holiday gift boxes? Actually, I never really need a reason to order from them.

    Reply

  208. Laura O says

    hi Dara – I pinned it and I already follow you on FB! Thanks!
    ps – Looks like you all had a lot of fun!

    Reply

  209. Lauren S. says

    What a lovely trip you had! I was just looking at a Harry and David catalogue a week ago and remembering the one time I had the Royal Riveria pears…they were so juicy I couldn’t believe it!

    Reply

  210. Sandy @ RE says

    What a fantastic recap, Dara. It was such a pleasure to hang with you for 3 full days. You are so fun, lively, beautiful, talented, PLUS you got my little bootie out the door running with you! Yay! Don’t enter me for the giveaway, but I’ll spread the love! xo

    Reply

  232. Betsy says

    I always loved looking through the catalog when I was a kid and loved when my parents got a box of fruit in the mail.

    Reply

  233. Annalise says

    I’ve loved all of your photos from the trip, looks like you all had a lovely time! So jealous you got to experience Sandy’s hospitality first hand!

    Reply

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