2012 Fancy Food Show
By
Carol & Joe Davis
Dining Detectives
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The
37th NASFT Winter Fancy Food Show www.FancyFoodShows.com
once again filled the Moscone Center in San Francisco. There were
more than 1,300 companies from 35 countries showcasing over 80,000
Specialty Food and Beverage items. Attendance was strong with
nearly 20,000 Food Industry participants who wanted to see what
was new, exciting and could help them grow their businesses.
This
year we particularly enjoyed the foods from around the world including
cheese and charcuterie from Italy and France, as well as some
pre-prepared items. Specialty Salts were also a hot item from
The Spice Lab www.TheSpiceLab.com
and SaltWorks www.SeaSalt.com.
We tried to stay away from the sweets but eventually gave in the
Belgium chocolates and the Snapple Jelly Belly candy
www.jellybelly.com.
The
European Meat Producers (UPEMI) make the biggest impression, as
they showcased and offered delicious tastes of their high quality
European Beef and Pork which they prepared using traditional European
recipes. Their efforts will surely help them increase their U.S.
market share.
Our
favorite pre-prepared food was the authentic Indian Chicken Tikka
Masala which is made with all natural ingredients by Tandoor
Chef www.tandoorchef.com.
We also enjoyed the high end European baked goods from Le
Chef Bakery www.LeChefBakery.com.
Our favorite seasoning was from The Dirt Man
www.Toddsdirt.com.
We
enjoyed chatting with Iron Chef Restaurateur Kent Rathbun
and learned that he defeated Bobby Flay by using
elk as a secret ingredient. The Caviar from Plaza Pacific
Imports www.PlazadeCaviar.com
and the excellent Hudson Valley Foie Gras www.HudsonValleyFoieGras.com
also impressed us. We found it quite interesting that PanaPesca
www.Panapesca.com
sold both seafood and bait! We opted to attend for two hours each
day of the show as there is so much to see....the focused approach
was perfect!
The
Summer Fancy Food Show which is even larger will be held
at the Washington Convention Center in Washington D.C. July
17-19, 2012.