And the best brownies go to….the losing Oscar nominees.
That’s a big win for Silver Spring baker Leigh Lambert, owner of Naughty Bits Brownies, whose sweets will be among the giveaways in the gift bags received by non-winning nominees in the five major categories (best actor, actress, supporting actor, supporting actress, director).
Billy Crystal, who will be hosting the February 26 awards, also takes home the goodies.
Lambert says this is only food product in the infamous Oscar swag bag, which mostly includes high-end items like vouchers for trips to private islands, extravagant purses, jewelry and more. Last year’s bag was reportedly worth $75,000.
I first wrote about Naughty Bits Brownies in my Table Talk column in the November/December issue of the magazine. They’re real standouts—not too cakey and not too fudgy, with a dense crumb and crackly top. And the clever flavor varieties really work—i.e. Cabana Banana Boy is studded with coconut and dried banana and topped with chopped macadamias mixed with sea salt.
Ironically, Lambert said that Distinctive Assets, the Los Angeles marketing company that selects items for the gift bags, hasn’t even tasted the brownies. An account executive spotted them on Jasmere, an online firm that works similarly to Groupon, and contacted Lambert.
“They liked the look—it’s very LA,” says Lambert. “They liked the attitude.”
For the Oscar package, the nominees will get one of each of the six flavors of the brownies, plus a variety Lambert developed specifically for the occasion. The Starlet, topped with chocolate-covered Pop Rocks and sprayed with edible gold, is like eating Rice Krispies that keep on popping—or maybe more like chocolate champagne, says Lambert.
“You can nibble on the same brownies as George Clooney,” she writes on her website. “Well, almost.”
The full line of brownies, in addition to the limited-edition Starlets, is available at www.naughtybitsbrownies.com. Selected varieties are also available at Zen Tara Tea in Bethesda, Capital City Cheesecake in Takoma Park and Society Fair in Old Town Alexandria.
