Fancy Food Show 2016

    Another great year at the Fancy Food Show in New York City. Once again I was overwhelmed with the innovative food and beverages that came out. There is a real passion for food from the people that come out to this event. It’s not just about getting your product noticed but being excited to share what you have created and to make a difference. The quantity of vendors are hard to cover closely over just 3 days. You certainly have to go in with a plan on what your looking for and what to accomplish.
    I feel my first takeaways or what I noticed overall at the event was the several different types of chocolate vendors. There’s nothing wrong with chocolate but there was a lot of show for that this year! Another condiment I noticed that still is very popular but has more varieties of it is Sriracha. The one brand that stood out to me the most was the local New York Bushwick Kitchen brands. I remember them from last year and their booth and packaging are very easy to read. Less is more I always think. I tried their Weak Knees Gochujang Sriracha which had a great flavor and texture! It wasn’t a smooth sauce which was unique in a good way. Another brand of sauce that I really liked and is also a newer brand at the show was Fix Hot Sauce. They had a Sriracha sauce that was really amazing! I see this brand going far.
    There were plenty more condiments I came across and was in abundance just like the chocolate. Last year’s big condiment; Sir Kensington was featuring their new vegan mayo this year called Fabanaise. It was made with the juice aquafaba which you find in cans of chickpeas.
    When it came to branding that stood out, and bonus if it was really tasty Slap Ya Mama Cajun products took the gold. I couldn’t stop laughing to myself about that name. The way it sounded and with it’s southern personality was just funny! I tried their Cajun pepper sauce which was so flavorful and perfect spicy. The sales guy told me, if you had a little butter you have your perfect buffalo sauce, and he was right. I was able to take home some seasoning packets, can’t wait to use those. Other brands and booths did jump out. There are so many vendors who have to have something unique about your product to catch my eye. One product that had classy and well designed packaging was Suckerpunch. The mix of color and old world illustration looked really nice. They were sampling some of their pickles which were really good. A cocktail mix Bittermilk also had some impressive design. Same idea of the old world look but with a modern approach. The mixtures were good, I sampled their Tom Collins. An extension of the brand that was also there and had good design was their brand Tippleman’s.
    Another big showmanship at the event was gingerbeer. Who would of thought, I feel every year there are a couple more companies there selling gingerbeer. It’s all very good and could be the new soda before we know it. Of the several gingerbeers I saw and tried I will have to mention Top Note. They recently re-did their branding which was well thought out. The color schemes was interesting but worked well. The product itself was very tasty too.
    This show has a lot to cover, I just mentioned some of the US offerings above. Their international reach is another overwhelming factor. I have a little more to say and will have in another post.

Fancy Food Show Part 2

I wanted to have a separate post going into more detail the vendors I met and food I tried at the Fancy Food Show this year in New York City. I think the first vendor that had the largest impact on me and was a crowd favorite was Sir Kensington. As I was walking toward to convention center I was greeted by a large billboard with Mark Ramadan and Scott Norton who brought the brand to life. There is a whole back story that I invite you to read on their website: http://sirkensingtons.com/story In the end they did walk away with a Sofi award for outstanding condiment, specifically their special sauce. Overall I did enjoy the product, dijon was my favorite as well as the packaging. It was cute.

Another favorite of mine during the show was Slate Roof Creamery. Two gentlemen, Mark and Rik were running the booth and director of operations. The products were different types of butter which were very tasty! Original concepts of theirs were sweet butters but now they’ve introduced more savory flavors which were very very good.

Some of the brands and foods I came across during the show were unique, such as Just Hemp Foods from Canada. Packaging and design drew me in first followed by a pleasant sales person. They certainly played up the Hemp name referencing the drug, either way it was a tasty and healthy product. They were sampling their hulled hemp seeds, and toasted salted hemp seeds. I personally enjoyed the hulled hemp seeds. They had a creamy texture and were not crunchy. The product could easily be eaten as is or added to a smoothie or shake for lunch. They also sell hemp seed oil and protein powder.

During the show I tried to avoid friend, fatty foods but the brand The Perfect Bite which sold frozen food, defrosted as appetizers, snacks, sides, amongst other things was surprisingly good. At the time they were sampling their mini quiches which were so good they tasted freshly made. I wish they had more out to sample but if I was convinced with the one then they were truly quality. They lived up to their name as the perfect bite.

Turning the corner I was welcomed by sunny Florida Natalie’s Juice. The booth was so welcoming I had to stop and try their juices. It certainly put a smile on your face trying their variety of juices such as orange, grapefruit, and lemonade. I gave them two thumbs up and brownie points for being so pleasant!
Once again I was blown away by a frozen food. It was a New York local company which I wasn’t familiar with. Artichoke Pizza, which started and still is currently a real pizza store front with locations in Manhattan and other spots. I have a lot of pizza places on my list to go to in New York so I don’t know how this missed the list. They were sampling their frozen pizza line and it was just like you walked into their store and ordered a fresh slice. It was packed with flavor and fresh ingredients. Once again very very impressed with the frozen food quality.

I will end this post with a very cultural, genuine experience I had with Made In Morocco. A rep from the company saw me walking the floor and insisted I come check out their booth. It could of came across as salesy but I was having such a good time I was Ok checking it out. Once I got closer I could hear this beautiful Moroccan music and a festively decorated booth full of sweets, food, and Moroccan tea being served. I felt like I was in another country being handed all sorts of food to try and given a glass of their tea in a proper Moroccan glass. It was quite the experience and their food and style of cooking is so unique with the smell and spices they use.