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While the
President and members
of Congress were arm-wrestling over the debt
ceiling just a few blocks away, and as oppressive heat lay dripping on
the city of Washington, D.C., everything was cool as a cucumber over at
the convention center for the NASFT’s 57th Summer Fancy Food Show
(an organically grown, heirloom variety cucumber, of course). More than
2,400 exhibitors were on hand, representing over 80 countries, regions
and states, offering up close and personal inspection of 180,000 of the
finest specialty food products in the world.
Sometimes, walking the show, one gets the feeling that American
consumers do nothing but snack. Whether or not that’s true, there are
certainly enough choices for snack food to satisfy anyone, even nutritionists. Popped, puffed, baked and fried, and infused with everything from
whiskey to antioxidants, these are not your father’s snack foods. Besides
the usual chips, chocolates and cookies, there were various modern
versions of classic snacks such as Justin’s Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter
Cups, Dill Pickle Potato Chips from Route 11 Potato Chips, and Belgian
Chocolate S’mores Gelato from Ciao Bella Gelato Company. There were
also plenty of plain old classics expertly done like Sticky Toffee Pudding
from the Sticky Toffee Pudding
Company and Sarabeth’s Kitchen’s
new Classic Shortbread Cookie;
and new classics like Happy Goat
Vanilla Bean Caramel Sauce and
Ines Rosales Cinnamon Tortas from
Mt. Vikos, Inc. And, of course, there
were more great chips, chocolates
and cookies than you could count.
The show was quite busy and
exhibitors we spoke to said buy-
ers were doing business. At a time
when the economy around the
world is nothing to celebrate, the
world of specialty and natural foods
seems to be on the upswing once
again. According to an NASFT study
conducted last year by Mintel Inter-
national and Toluna USA, consumers
are edging back toward specialty
foods (63 percent of Americans
bought fancy food in 2010, up from
46 percent in 2009) and the top
purchases are, not surprisingly,
coffee, chocolate, olive oil (and
other specialty oils), cheese and
cold beverages, all of which were
in abundance at the show.
Miraculously, even President
Obama took time out to wander
the aisles of the show without his
usual entourage and security detail
(yes, it was an impersonator),
reminding us all that we were
indeed within our nation’s capital,
almost a stone’s throw from the
Mall (well, maybe if Randy Johnson
were throwing the stone), on a two-
year hiatus from New York City while
the Jacob K. Javits Center is given
some much-needed refurbishing
(are they going to redo the sur-
rounding neighborhood, too, do
you think?). The Fancy Food Show
is still the most important trade
exhibit in our industry, the place
to see and be seen, and the best
place outside the digital pages of
this magazine to find the latest and
greatest in specialty foods. Here is
a look at some of the unique and
interesting (and delicious) products
we found at the show. See you in
San Francisco next January at the
Winter Fancy Food Show.
