Artisanal Mayonnaise Shop Satirized on SNL Releases a New, Parody-Inspired Flavor When comedian Kevin Hart mentioned garlic-truffle mayo in an SNL skit parodying modern Bushwick, Empire Mayonnaise decided to make his Brooklyn dream a reality.
By Kate Taylor
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When you're talking about artisanal mayonnaise in Brooklyn, sometimes the jokes write themselves.
One of the highlights of Kevin Hart's Saturday Night Live episode last weekend was a skit satirizing the modern state of the rapidly gentrifying Brooklyn, N.Y., neighborhood Bushwick. The skit begins with a The Wire-style shot of three guys hanging out on a corner and ends with a bougie bonanza of dog sweaters, spin class and artisanal mayonnaise.
Brooklyn residents might recognize the shop selling $8 mayonnaise as the storefront of Empire Mayonnaise, an upscale mayo company that charges up to $10 for jars of mayo. While the company sells flavors such as Sriracha and Ghost Pepper Mayo, it did not sell Garlic Truffle, Kevin Hart's character's flavor of choice – until now.
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"The Garlic Truffle is a must try!" BOOM. #empiremayo #garlictruffle #snl #thewire ;-) pic.twitter.com/7lBNzcuOL6
— Empire Mayonnaise Co (@empiremayo) January 21, 2015The Garlic Truffle flavor will likely only be offered for a short limited edition run, says Empire Mayonnaise co-founder Elizabeth Valleau, as the company already sells two garlic flavors and a best-selling white truffle flavor. The upscale mayo business has embraced the parody, which brought an influx of customers.
"Our business is primarily wholesale but we have had quite the infusion of curious walk-ins and emails!" Valleau says.
You've got to appreciate a company that can take a joke – no matter how much they charge for their mayo.
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