NASFT 34th Annual Fancy Food Show, San Francisco

On January 18th, 2009, 1,250 exhibitors from around the world, representing over 30 countries and territories, descended upon San Francisco, CA, for what was to be the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade's 34th Winter Fancy Food Show. Widely recognized as the premier marketplace for the specialty food industry, the Fancy Food Show is exactly that - chock full of fancy foods - all of Moscone Center's 198,000 square feet! For us at FoodAndHome.com, this was our smorgasbord! With over 40 food and product categories, the five of us couldn't help be drawn into the myriad of tastes and flavor combinations: bacon-flavored chocolate, tea-infused chocolate, bacon-flavored mayonnaise (Baconnaise), and rose-flavored water - as well as interesting and clever products: 30-minute poultry and pork brines, tea and hot chocolate on a stick, steak jerky marinated in dark beer, and cajun and ginger-mango seasoned skewers. The list could go on and on! Intently watched at this specialty food event is where the trends are heading. A blaringly obvious one was the proliferation of "convenience-factor" foods. The specialty food sector has caught up with the American lifestyle! Tea, cocoa, and honey on a stick, "just add water" mixes and soups, flavored/seasoned skewers and stir sticks, 30-minute brines and gourmet marinades, prepackaged spice mixes of international flavors - all of these eliminating one or more steps in the accomplishing a delicious task, which equates to saving time...and saving time is what Americans love, even us fancy ones. Of notable mention was Melville Candy Co.'s Tea and Coffee Spoons: All Natural Clover Honey Tea Spoons. Simply add one spoon to your favorite cup of hot tea and viola! Other flavors include Chocolate Caramel Spoons, Mulling Spice Spoons, and Peppermint Spoons. Also in the spotlight was Fire & Flavor's 30-Minute Brines. Brining typically takes several hours, but Fire & Flavor's 30-Minute Brines are concentrated, making dinner an (almost) effortless meal. Chocolate made a definite splash this year. And with the addition of some eccentric and decidedly interesting flavor combinations, we think it's an awesome splash! Without question, The Tea Room's Organic Tea Infusions Chocolate Bars was most alluring. I, in particular, was drawn to the Argentinian Yerba Mate Tea Blend & Cacao Nibs Dark Chocolate Bar, which has the highest cacao content in their line with 72% cacao. Delicioso! Joseph Schmidt's Mexican Chocolate Truffle was undoubtedly another favorite of mine. As I turned away from the booth, biting into the dark chocolate truffle, I was floored! How could something so petite elicit such a response? It was spicy (cinnamon and allspice) and hot (a hint of habanero), yet smooth and delectable! I was completely taken aback at just how exquisite chocolate could taste! Another vendor, seeing my reaction, smiled widely and promptly headed for Joseph Schmidt's booth. Hope his supervisor didn't see that. Flavored waters and oils were on ample display as well. One of our favorites of the flavored waters was undeniably Sence Rare European Rose Nectar. This rose-flavored, uncarbonated water, made from the concentrate of pink rose petals, sugar, and water, was not only refreshing, but downright sumptuous! Even the packaging was opulent. In the oils department, Sonoma Farm was my favorite with their Hot Pepper Infused Extra Virgin Olive Oil...I'm a "hot" lover (excuse the pun)! "Gourmet" BBQ and grill sauces, spices, and rubs were all the rage! Zip-It Steak Sauce was a favorite for just about all of us (think Cabernet and Blue Cheese). Their sauces are cream-based making them rich and thick - and according to them, you can create your own flavor intensity depending on how much butter you decide to add to your recipe (and speaking of recipes, they've got quite a few on their website). The Spicy Gourmet was my personal favorite. I love Indian and Indonesian fare, but can never seem to cook the recipes just right because of all the spice layering involved. The Spicy Gourmet makes that easy with their prepackaged spices...and, if that wasn't good enough, they use only 100% Organic Fair Trade spices. Last, but not least, were the cheeses! The American Cheese Society had an entire section to themselves, but that wasn't the only section on the show floor displaying cheese...oh, no! The international section, with companies from Italy, France, Spain, and Germany, to name a few, was also cheese-dense. Cheese was everywhere! Our group loved Rogue Creamery's Echo Mountain...I believe the word used was "divine!" Hailing from Oregon, they cleverly named one of their other fine cheeses "Oregonzola." I love it! photos courtesy of Winston Cho and the individual companies via the Fancy Food Show