Sold-Out Summer Fancy Food Show Impresses

BY A J FLICK

Even before the first exhibitor crossed the threshold of the Jacobs Javits Center for the 67th Summer Fancy Food Show, it was a success More than 30,000 specialty food and beverage professionals registered for the sold-out event, marking a 20 percent increase over 2022, according to the Specialty Food Association

The show also achieved year-over-year increases in all key qualified buyer categories – a 21 percent increase in retailers, 20 percent increase in foodservice and 12 percent increase in distributors, according to the SFA

Exhibit space sold out in mid-May with more than 2,200 domestic and international companies across more than 40 specialty food and beverage categories represented, according to the SFA

“As a not-for-profit membership trade association, the Specialty Food Association operates the Fancy Food Shows as a service to our more than 3,000 member companies,” SFA President Bill Lynch said “The Fancy Food Shows were created to help facilitate the growth of the specialty food industr y, and they are the premiere destination for those who want to see, taste and experience the incredible breadth of specialty products available today Specialty food and beverage makers are innovators and trendsetters, and that was on full display during this year ’ s Summer Fancy Food Show ”

Sales of specialty foods and beverages are projected to reach $207 billion in 2023, according to data from the 2023-24 State of the Specialty Food Industry Report Specialty products make up nearly 22 percent of food sales, up from less than 14 percent a decade ago

Morocco was the official partner country with the Specialty Food Association for this year ’ s show, but it was the Italians who did a superb job of reaching out to drive attention to their booths Lioni Latticini invited friends to its booth for Una Spahettata Per Onorificare on the occasion of Guiseppe and Salvatore Salzarulo being inducted to the SFA Hall of Fame featuring Chef Riccardo Orfino, executive chef of the West Village restaurants Alice and Osteria 57

The Salzarulos are celebrating more than 30 years in the specialty food industr y, making an authentic specialty cheese product known as “the Mozzarella ” As dedicated masters in the fresh mozzarella business, their passion is derived from family roots deeply tied to Lioni, Italy, an extraordinary work ethic, and an intense commitment to their craft

Over at the Carbone booth, the celebration was for the upcoming launch of its Spicy Vodka pasta sauce line The sauce answers demand from consumers for the vaunted Spicy Rigatoni ser ved at the West Village restaurant The sauce was designed so that it tastes great right out of the jar, but for foodies, they can add their own cream and butter to make it like the Spicy Ravioli from the restaurant

In an ancillary event, the members of Parmigiano Reggiano Consortium invited media guests to a private dinner at Il Buco restaurant to introduce themselves and break some news

The consortium was formed to promote Parmigiano Reggiano, the top-selling Protected Designation of Origin product globally, which is produced in a small, specific area in northern Italy In recent years, the consortium has fought against the use of the term “ parmesan ” for the hard cheese millions of people sprinkle on their pasta

Consortium President Nicola Berinelli declared that the war was over The consortium knows that Americans, especially, will never give up their beloved parmesan cheese

The consortium’s goal now is to educate Americans on the delights of Parmigiano Reggiano made using 1,000-year-old methods that must follow strict specifications for the PDO cheese and how it’s superior to imitation and “counterfeit” cheeses, such as parmesan The consortium cheeses will carry the black-and-gold Parmigiano Reggiano logo, which the consortium will closely monitor in case any imposters use it

Not only that, the consortium wants to introduce Americans to the benefits of having PDO designations Berinelli has spoken to the Italian government about working with American dair y farmers in states such as Vermont and Wisconsin to get similar designations While Americans don’t pay much attention to PDOs, Europeans do, Berinelli said, which means American cheesemakers can capitalize on the European market with such designations

Berinelli said the consortium stands ready to help the U S dairy industry create PDOs

The consortium also wants to let Americans know how versatile Parmigiano Reggiano can be To prove the point, the consortium presented a family-style, eightcourse meal that featured 18-month-old Parmigiano Reggiano, 24-month-old Parmigiano Reggiano and 36-month-old

Parmigiano Reggiano

Gourmet News spoke with Scott Ketchum, co-founder of Sfoglini, at its booth While many consumers might not be familiar with Sfoglini pasta, many respected chefs across the country are Sfoglini sources its pasta ingredients from North American organic grains and uses traditional Italian pasta-making techniques to produce pasta with a more complex flavor and satisfying texture than mainstream brands

Based in Hudson Valley, N Y , Sfoglini keeps all aspects of production local and uses grains grown and milled in North America

New to the pasta line is Cascatelli, a new pasta shape invented with “The Sporkful” food podcast host Dan Pashman Introduced last year, the shape went viral and was named one of the Best Inventions of the Year by Time magazine

Another new pasta shape, Quattrotini, also was made with Pashman Historically in Italy, the pasta is served once a year during carnival, in one area of Sicily The traditional shape is four tubes connected in a four-sided, rectangular shape

What makes the Sfoglini Quattrotini innovative is the ridges that were added to the tubes, which Ketchum explained helps make the sauce cling to the pasta

Sfoglini and Pashman also created the Vesuvio pasta, named for Mount Vesuvius for its volcano shape – short and round with a large base that spirals into a thinner tip, which allows sauce to sink into the spirals The shape is common in towns around Mount Vesuvius, but relatively unknown in the United States

Molino Dallagiovanna brought awardwinning pizza Chef Andrea Clemente to the show to demonstrate the strengths of the premium Italian flour that has been produced for 190 years

Venerated extra virgin olive oil Manni Oil made its Summer Fancy Food Show debut Founder Armando Manni gave introductions to his award-winning Grand Cru oils, The Oil of Life and White Truffle Extra Virgin Olive Oil Condiment, which is an experience in itself

Manni Oil’s newest product, MOP

ManniOlivePowder, is an organic superantioxidant olive powder that is certified organic and Kosher Manni is the first olive mill in the world that operates in a fully circular economy, generating zero waste in the production process Manni uses olives from trees grown in the nutrient-rich volcanic soils of Mount Amiata for its premium EVOO, then uses the by-product for the powder

The powder helps fight free radical damage and aging because of its high content of antioxidant polyphenols of hydroxytyrosol and its derivatives (certified by the University of Florence and in the quantity demanded by the Health Claim by the European Food Safety Authority)

One of Armando Manni’s good friends is renowned Chef Thomas Keller, who says Manni oils are essential in his kitchen, including the famed French Laundr y Together, the men have created candies made with 70 percent dark chocolate from Carenero, Venezuela, and Manni olive oil

Of course, there were hundreds of booths serving non-Italian fare!

The good folks at Runamok brought a delicious dark maple syrup to the show, created in response to consumer demand, along with a new, limited release Vermont Saffron Infused American Honey Who knew saffron could grow in Vermont?

Runamok is building on its mocktail/cocktail mixer line with Maple Tonic and Maple Grenadine Unlike your parents’/grandparents’ grenadine,

Runamok’s is made with Vermont maple syrup (of course), pomegranate and lime juices and no artificial ingredients There’s also a new Sparkle Tonic that’s refreshing and fun

Then there’s the surprisingly delightful Pineapple Upside Down maple syrup, the result of Runamok’s popular consumers ’ choice flavor They weren’t sure about it either at first, but it’s delicious

For those who love the taste of red wine but who can’t tolerate the tannins or want a no-alcohol version, startup Seraphim debuted its “wellness tonic” Seraphim social beverage made with botanical ingredients The beverage’s pure, botanical ingredients put the focus on wellness with a red wine taste

Nearby in the Rutgers Food Innovation Center was Five Star Montauk and its first

It isn’t a Fancy Food Show without a visit to Olivia’s Croutons booth to chat with Francie Caccavo, who proudly shared samples of the new Gluten Free Sea Salted croutons As with all of the croutons, they’re made in small batches from handsized loaves made by the company so the croutons have just the right crunch The croutons are seasoned just enough to carry the flavor through

Natalie’s Orchard Juice Company debuted delicious Tangerine Pineapple with sweet basil, Orange Juice and Aloe And there’s a new Tomato Juice that’s great on its own but also would make a great Bloody Mary

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For some calm in the storm that is the Summer Fancy Food Show, the A y u r S o m e Foods booth offered soothing relief

Founder Divya introduced her products, all made (as the name implies in the Ayervida tradition) including stress-menot tea, calm-in-a-teacup, deconges tea, cup-it-cool tea, ccf (cumin, coriander, fennel) tea and the sofi Award-winning control sugar delete tea and CEO of Global Teas LLC, stood eager to introduce the show crowd to his new “super-drink,” ChocolaTea As he says, ChocolaTea is not coffee, tea or hot chocolate

“It’s a delicious hybrid with a rich, dark chocolate flavor that has hints of fruit, caramel and nuts in ever y sip,” Eisenberg said “And there’s no bitter aftertaste!”

C h o c o l a Te a i s m a d e b y r o a s t i n g o rg a n i c c a c a o b e a n s – t h e r a w, u n re f i n e d v e r s i o n o f t h e c o c o a b e a n s u s e d t o m a k e c h o c o l a t e I t h a s t h e s a m e a n t i o x i d a n t s a n d h e a l t h b e n e f i t s o f p u re , d a r k c h o c ol a t e , w i t h o u t t h e s u g a r o r c a l o r i e s I t ’ s a l s o f re e f ro m d a i r y, s o y a n d g l u t e n two products, Scotch Chipotle Glazing

Butter and Mezcal Habanero Glazing Butter Founder Jeff Kudrick served them on shrimp and scallops to showcase the tastes Kudrick also has a book coming out this

B re w, b ro u g h t h i s n o n - a l c o h o l i c c a r- b o n a t e d g i n g e r b e e r w i t h a S c o t c h

B o n n e t b i t e t o t h e

Before she mixes each blend, Divya meditates, which she believes helps infuse the teas with calm

Jeffrey Eisenberg, president

It’s brewed as you would tea None of the blends are sweetened, though consumers may choose to add their own sweetener

More sights and delights from the Summer Fancy Food Show will be in the September issue GN