47th Annual International Fancy Foods Show
For three days, the Jacob Javits Convention Center felt as if one had fallen into the abyss of an international food bazaar. Filled with literally thousands of items to see and taste the National Fancy Food Show offered an exciting insight into the regional tastes and specialty flavors of the world.
This year proved to be the largest display ever with more than 60,000 products present filling two entire floors. Amidst such a plethora of culinary delights there were certain highlights that really stood out and had consistently large crowds. The truffle stand in the Italian section had truffles the size of softballs labeled Black Gold in front and they were carefully guarded as tasters delighted in dipping crackers into black truffle pate and white truffle tapanade.
More fun than sampling food product that you know, is trying new tastes from the variety of regions represented. The fried goat cheese from Greece was delicate and creamy. The wines from Tunisia were full bodies and delicious. It was also great to be made aware of new wine regions, and have the ability to sample exotic product before it is widely distributed. The South East Asian region had a wide medley of spices and chutneys to display, and thankfully many of these products are available locally in Jackson Heights, Queens. Brazil had also a strong presence with booths representing the coffee, cheese bread and nuts. In addition, there were literally miles of olives to try each with their own regional distinction.
It is evident that specialty food in the United States is really about the packaging and branding of a product. If it fits into a gift box and has a designer labile, then it can be considered specialty. Although some small dairies like Coach Farm was present and sampling their cheeses and yogurts, there is a clear distinction between specialty food products and artisan producers. Perhaps there will be a way for both niches to eventually merge together by artisan producers becoming more marketing savvy and specialty producers taking more concern in their overall quality of their ingredients and final product.
Words and images by Jenine Lurie
