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Business & Tech

Fancy Food Show – Like No Other Trade Event

El Cerrito Patch food contributor Renate Valencia took on the Winter Fancy Food Show in San Francisco this week – a daunting challenge with 80,000 products from around the world.

I ate my way through the 37th Winter Fancy Food Show. Not a delicate way to put it, but accurate. 

San Francisco’s Moscone Center was once again home to this significant trade-only event that ran January 15-17. More than 18,000 buyers, chefs, brokers, importers, journalists and others connected to the specialty food trade checked out over 80,000 products from around the globe. 

Specialty foods and beverages involve “quality and innovation,” according to event sponsor and owner National Association for the Specialty Food Trade. We’re talking infused butters, Jamón Serrano, varietal chocolate, single estate teas and the world’s great cheeses — to name a few. 

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This was a full-service trade show. Odwalla Juices founder Greg Steltenpohl gave the keynote, and classes on the food business also were available, like “Getting on the Shelf: The Retail Buyer Pitch” and “Using Condiments to Transmit Global Flavor Trends.”

Themes of entrepreneurship and social responsibility infused the event, and the ever-increasing role of social media was manifest.

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Every vendor had a pitch, and the retail food industry isn’t behind the curve when it comes to selling image or lifestyle. I picture myself in a sleek kitchen standing in front of my Wolf 6-burner gas range sweating chopped heirloom onions in the pasture butter I just grabbed from my Sub-Z – and marketing people know it. They know about your culinary fantasies, too, no matter how niche.

Show trends included gluten-free products; alternative oils; fusion snacks, like flavored popcorn and seaweed; nut waters, like coconut and almond; and stevia, the sugar alternative made from plant leaves. BBQ sauces, salsas and infused oils were out in full force, and I noticed many a pickle and fruit gel. 

Whether you embrace celebrity chef products or commence eye-rolling, the concept is here to stay. Mario Batali cookware was in residence — very good stuff, actually. Rick Bayless’ Frontera Foods showcased a gourmet Mexican line. Corrado Manuali served up helpings of his mother-in-law Lidia Bastianich’s pastas and sauces, and Duff Goldman, the Ace of Cakes, whose star is burning brightly at the moment, has his name on a full line of cake mixes and  decorating paraphernalia that took up significant real estate. 

There were numerous interesting products — some so new they’re not yet available.  Toronto-based Antoine & Muse blew me away with their roasted Sunflower oil, which tasted like liquid sunflowers, and Peru’s Naturik featured a very nutty oil made from sacha inchi seeds, or Incan peanuts, that’s high in Omega 3, 6 and 9. 

Soy products were everywhere. Oakland’s Hodo Soy Beanery offered up Curry and 5-Spice Nuggets and Spicy Yuba Strips — all standouts. Sushiparty Soy Wrappers in assorted colors and flavors, like Turmeric Yellow and Paprika Orange, were introduced by Yamamotoyama of America, and Foodology’s Guacamame, a higher protein, lower fat “guacamole” made from edamame, was a winner — and you’d swear there was avocado lurking in there somewhere. Japan’s Ma-Ma Foods microwaved a Kon-Niku Rice Burger for me. The burger was made of a blend of yam and soy, and the bun was a dense rice mixture.  

There were frozen foods. Marina del Rey’s The Comfort Gourmet offered Kid’s Mac & Cheese with roasted squash or carrot puree — you know, to fool your tykes into eating vegetables. Oregon outfit Chez Gourmet from Marie had tasty Vegi Patties on sample, like Savory Pecan. Scratch-made Shrimp & Grits from Mississippi’s No Time 2 Cook! had good flavor and creaminess. 

Even a person preferring savory to sweet wouldn’t be able to resist the fine confections at the Fancy Food Show. Importer Crown Candies gave out samples of Mexican borrachitos — melt-in-your-mouth soft caramels filled with spirits. Kona Bar’s Tahitian Vanilla was everything a milk chocolate bar should be — with a hint of good vanilla and Kona coffee. Sherman Oaks’ Plush Puffs Gourmet Marshmallows were pillowy and lacked the tough skins of their mass-produced brethren. Xan Confections, out of Irvine, suggested I try a Mini BigMouth, constructed of crisp rice with marshmallow, caramel, peanut butter and milk chocolate. It was good.  

I liked the Teriyaki Sauce from Oscar’s Fine Foods in Livermore. Soy Vay’s Wasabi Teriyaki, too. 

Korean seaweed snacks were in the house. Ocean Snack Dried Roasted Seaweed in flavors like coconut and teriyaki are hopefully coming soon to a 99 Ranch Market near me. The sheets can be used to wrap rice, as a garnish, or eaten as-is. 

Culinary experimenters are sometimes called crazy. Crazy like a fox is more like it. New York Deli Style Pumpernickel Wraps from Tumaro’s Gourmet Tortillas have your corned beef, sauerkraut and mustard “burrito” yen covered. Napa Cookie Company gave out their Wine Snaps — crispy shortbread cookies with a hint of wine that pair well with cheese. 

On the subject of cheese, I must have sampled every blue cheese known to man at the show — even smoked and blueberry-infused, but the Bay Area’s own Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company’s Original Blue shone bright. 

Laura Santtini’s Taste #5 Umami line was a popular draw. Sleek tubes of Taste #5 Umami Original Paste, and soon-to-be-released Taste #5 Umami Far Eastern Vegetarian Paste — the latter created with Nobu Matsuhisa — add that fifth flavor element to savory dishes via glutamates. #5 Umami Dust is coming soon, too.  

Coconut water madness lives on, and Burlingame’s New Attitude Beverage had Blue Monkey Instant Coconut Water packets. Made with sugar, dried coconut powder and salt, they’re perfect when you don’t want to schlep cans and bottles. This isotonic drink is rich in minerals and electrolytes — and will hook you. The powdered version comes close to the fresh. 

Almond Water from LA’s Victoria’s Kitchen was very nice. This subtle, still beverage of French extraction won’t knock your taste buds for a loop, but you don’t always want that. Sometimes you need cool and calm. 

Three cheers for New York City’s GuS Grown-up Soda! Don’t you hate it when you find a cola with reduced sugar, only to learn that the missing sugar was replaced by artificial sweetener?  GuS’s  Dry Cola — dry as opposed to sweet — solved that problem for us. When you try this line you’ll be ruined for mass-market brands. 

Japan’s Kanesho offered me a Honey Apple Vinegar drink — and it was an eye-opener. The vinegar tasted along the lines of Bragg’s, and I was told this kind of vinegar and water tonic is popular in Japan. Not as tart as you might think. 

Marketed as an alternative to soft drinks, edgy ávitāe caffeinated water generated strong reactions — both positive and negative — in my circle. Whatever you think of the concept of water with added caffeine, check out their website for the spin. 

Next year I’ll have to spend some quality time with drink mixes, prosciuttos and Spanish oil-packed seafood.

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