Sunday, January 21, 2007

Show Notes - Fancy Food Show - Sunday

I made it about 3/4 of the way through the show floor today. It’s a huge show with 22 million square miles of booths (okay, I have no clue how big it is, but it covers the north and south hall of the Moscone Center if that means anything to anyone). Though some of the booths were grouped by region of origin, there wasn’t much else to help navigate through the show. Lots of sampling and I have to say that I was pleased that the reception I got at every booth, including the ones where it was obvious I was there as a consumer, not a member of the press. Here are my notes, in no particular order.

- Figs are great. I enjoyed many figgy things such as Orchard Choice dried figs, several different fig pastes and a fig jam.

- Caffarel (represented in the States by Daprano.com) has some new products, including a chili pepper gianduia.

- Lara Bar has reformulated their chocolate bars, now called Jocolat. I didn’t like them the first time around (they were called Maya the nibs were intensely bitter and acrid for some reason) but the new ones are fantabulous and sure to be one of my new faves for snacking.

- Terra Nostra has come out with a new Robust Dark & Roasted Almonds (60% cacao) bar - all organic and with a new package design.

- Jelly Belly has come out with a bunch of new stuff, but the thing that interested me most was their new lollipop which reminds me of Linda’s Lollies. They’re big, very sold and in true Jelly Belly fashion come in oodles of flavors. I picked up Tangerine, Root Beer. Cotton Candy and Lemon. (I might go back for seconds & thirds this week.)

- Jelly Belly was also really pushing their new acquisition of Sunkist Fruit Gems from Ben Meyerson. The best part? I picked out a handful of just the grapefruit from the samples bin. You think I’m alone? I watched two other people pick through the sampling tub and choose the grapefruit and other citrus over the cherry.

- Choco-luxe had an amazing white chocolate/matcha truffle. I’ll have to swing by there again and try some of their other truffles.

- Honey is great. Honey from the Leatherwood Tree in Tasmania is awesome.

- My prediliction for nougats precedes me. Larry from Tassie Naturals actually had a huge handful of the stuff for me (both hazelnut and chocolate covered hazelnut) with some exciting news about a pepper and hazelnut version to come soon. I can’t wait!

- Peanut Butter and Curry is an awesome combo. I could definitely eat that slathered on a piece of bread.

- Awesome chocolates I need to learn more about:
Art Bars from Ithaca Fine Chocolates
Santander single origins from Colombia
Valrhona - I really need to explore their whole line
Alter Eco - fair trade chocolate bars from Bolivia and Ghana - no emulsifiers and made in Switzerland

- The Ginger People have come out with a super-charged Gin-Gin (their ginger hard candy) with TWICE the amount of ginger in it (just in time for Whale-Watching season).

- Carica is a fruit from Chile that I hope gets wider distribution - it’s like a mango, apricot and honeydew melon all in one. Right now it’s being distributed in jars of lightly sweetened syrup.

- Lillie Belle Farms was one of those cool finds on the floor. I had no idea they existed, but now I know that they’re toiling away in Oregon growing their own berries and making organic chocolates by hand in inventive flavor combinations. Though the Black Pepper Ganache didn’t do anything for me, I really enjoyed the Lavender Caramel and the simplicity of the caramlized Nibs (Lillie Rocks).

- BruCo has some awesome new “Salt Tasting Chocolate”, Mole Chocolate and something else that’s slipped my mind but was also spicy.

- Chocolove has a Chilies & Cherries in Dark Chocolate they’re pushing for Valentines Day as a limited edition item. 55% cocoa content, it’s dark and fruity with a pretty good, long burn. Not really my thing (with the cherries) but a good bar overall.

- Hawaii has some pretty good honey with light yet complex flavors. My favorite from Big Island Bees was the Wilelaiki Blossom.

- Sensible Foods has something called “Crunch Dried Snacks” which I could really see myself getting into. They’re completely dried fruits and vegetables yet instead of being leathery and chewy, they’re rather crunchy and retain all the flavors. The bananas in their Tropical Blend are insanely crisp and tasty. (Some are even organic.)

I didn’t take any photos. Trade shows are exhausting but it’s nice to know that food is never far away. I’ll have lots more to report tomorrow!

POSTED BY Cybele AT 6:32 pm Tracker Pixel for Entry     CandyFancy Food ShowNews

Comments
  1. I loved regular Larabars, but was terribly disappointed by the Maya bars.  I’m glad to hear they’ve reformulated.  Thank you for passing that along!

    Comment by Steph on 1/21/07 at 7:22 pm #
  2. I am so jealous! It’s even harder knowing that I could be there in 20 min!

    Comment by Elspeth on 1/22/07 at 3:58 am #
  3. Is this tradeshow industry only or open to the public??

    Comment by Erin on 1/22/07 at 6:17 am #
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