| Trends
in Food and Eating
Best
of Fancy Food '05
Fancy
food trade shows inspire even the most experienced chefs.
The NASFT (The
National Association for the Specialty Food Trade) hosts
three high-profile shows each year for manufacturers,
importers, retailers, restaurateurs,
caterers and others in the specialty foods business.
(See Events for
upcoming NASFT shows.) Often, a
certain type of food seems to stand out.
At
each of its venues—New York, Chicago or San
Francisco—the starring products
might be salsas, infused oils, snack foods
or vitamin-powered drinks.
Surprisingly, no one type of product seemed
to take over the 2005 San Francisco show.
Although New Age beverages and unusual varieties of
tea caught the eye, if anything
dominated at all, it was themes of craftsmanship
and ethnic authenticity.
 More
and more products are being produced in small
batches with attention to detail, and more items
reflect
exotic, global tastes.
With customers’ taste
buds growing ever more sophisticated
thanks to travel, fine dining
and the food media, specialty food traders
and restaurateurs are selling and cooking
with fresh,
new, deliciously
different products. Among our favorites
were:
Nirmala’s
Kitchen features flavored salts, spices
and spice blends from around the world, including
Australian Wattle Seed and Lemon Myrtle, Peruvian
Inca Aji, Guyanese Garam Masala and Pan-Asian and
African seasonings. Most intriguing are Nirmala’s
Elixirs of the Kama Sutra Collection, based on the
seventh chapter of the ancient textbook of erotic
love, in which the secrets of spices and herbs are
unlocked.
| Nirmala's
personal story transports you
to the Caribbean, where at the age of six, she began
cooking for her family of ten, and later discovered
the mystique and true value of her grandmother's
spice dowry. |
Urban
Accents is known for spices and global
spice blends, presented their newest lines of grilling
rubs and
exotic rices. Their Bamboo rice is aromatic, with
highlights of green tea. Offerings also include a
new spice blend by
ever-enterprising former TV chef Rocco Dispirito—
Flavor
5: Rocco’s Miso Mix—great for
adding an Asian touch to marinades, soups, and rubs.
Lotus
Foods’ heirloom and new organic
rice varietals from around the world are the most
delicious we’ve tasted. In 2004,
their Forbidden Rice, Bhutanese Red
Rice, Kaljira
(Baby Basmati),
Carnaroli and Organic Jasmine Rice
won the NASFT
award for Outstanding Product Line. Each provides
a distinct and delightful way to sample the
world of rice.
Bella
Cucina Artful Food produces finely crafted foods
with an emphasis on Mediterranean-inspired oils, pestos and preserves.
Among chef/co-owner Alisa Berry’s
latest creations are the most delicious pestos ever
to meet pasta:
spicy Arugula Pine
Nut Pesto and earthy-creamy Porcini and Parmesan
Pesto.
Stonewall
Kitchen, known for its sauces and preserves,
has a sweet-tart and spicy new Roadhouse Steak
Sauce that
just begs for a slab of beef. We also saw people
swooning over their new Chocolate Peanut Butter Sauce,
and we especially
liked their bright new Lime Curd and Tangerine Marmalade—both
packed with full fruit flavor.
Beverages gathering
attention included Sanfaustino’s
all-natura, lightly effervescent water, which happens
to be rich in calcium.
Another, Lorina
Limonade,
hands-down one of our all-time favorite
quenchers, now comes in diet versions
sweetened with Splenda®—fewer
calories making it taste
even better.
Republic
of Tea’s new lines of white tea—loose
leaf, bag and bottled—respond to recent studies showing
white tea’s significant antioxidant levels.
New bottled flavors include Orange Blossom, Kiwi
Pear, Vanilla Coconut, Pineapple
Guava and Honeydew Melon. All of their teas—including black,
caffeine-free herbals, green and other specialty teas—are
fresh-flavored and elegantly packaged in airtight
containers.
Zico is
an especially refreshing, natural new drink made of coconut
water. Rich in potassium and low in calories, the natural
and mango-flavored versions are serious thirst quenchers
making Zico a perfect beach, spa or poolside drink. (Owners
Mark and Maura Rampolla told us the business was hatched
on a tropical beach!)
Chocolate is bigger than ever, thanks
to recent research indicating its health
benefits. Our top picks were Fran’s
Chocolates and B.T.
McElrath Chocolatier.
Our other top picks: Dagoba and ScharffenBerger chocolate bars; Guittard’s E.
Guittard Collection, a special collection
of blends and single bean varietal chocolates;
and Schokinag’s
new line of European
Drinking Chocolates. We also loved Cary’s
of Oregon’s chocolate-covered Almond Toffee.
For
the past twenty years, Seattle’s Fran
Bigelow has
been making some of the
finest chocolates in the
nation. She produces everything
with highest quality ingredients
and everything tastes it:
truffles, caramels (with
or without sea salt, our
favorites).
Gold Bars, pure chocolate bars (darker
the better for us, and particularly the crunch bar with cacao nibs), and
sauces (her new Dark Caramel Sauce is deeply delicious!).
His Epicurean
Collection is made with fresh cream and butter from neighboring
farms and features adventurous flavor combinations such
as Zinfandel-Balsamic and Lavender-Black Peppercorn that excite your taste
buds.
One of our favorite chocolate
candies was Cary’s
of Oregon’s
Almond Toffee—a
bit like a Heath Bar,
only much, much better.
The buttery, crunchy
yet
chewable toffee center
melts on the tongue
and pairs perfectly
with the
high quality
dark or
milk chocolate
coatings (with almonds,
hazelnuts, or coffee
bits).
Owner Cary Cound,
a former mechanical
engineer, originally
made the toffee
at home from
a family recipe and
gave it for Christmas gifts. His friends got hooked and
wanted more, so he decided
to go into business.
Designing and tinkering
with his special toffee-making equipment
keeps his engineering
skills.
No matter where you
look at a fancy food
show, you’ll
find a bounty of new
products
and ideas from around
the globe to satisfy
your culinary curiosity
for quite a while.
For more
Trends in Food and Eating,
check out Extrasensory
Dining and Drinking.
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