Every year I look forward to attending the Fancy Food Show. Held in the Javits Center, the Fancy Food Show is a gathering of the best and hottest food and beverage items all in one place! When I left, my head was spinning and my stomach was rumbling from the sheer number of foods that existed in the space and the bizarre amount of different food and drinks that I injested in one day! I want to share a few of my favorites and some of the more notable trends of the year.
Some of the sofi award winners this year included a yummy blackberry sheep milk yogurt from Bellwether Farm, a smoked arbequina olive oil from Culinary Collective, and goat milk caramel by Fat Toad Farms.
Kicking my morning off right, I sought out caffeine. Luckily for me, coffee and tea were huge trends! A company called Java Zen had actually created a coffee and tea hybrid beverage. Stimulating, but not overly jittery.
To put in my coffee, I found camel milk. Though it’s been popular in India for years, here it’s just beginning to be recognized for its health benefits. Camel milk is three times higher in vitamin C than cow’s milk and 10 times higher in iron. It is also low in lactose, which is great for sensitive tummies! Talk about a milk that packs a punch.
Speaking of foreign imports, I noticed that a Korean influence was highly present in many products. Some examples were gochujang, a new sriracha-type sauce. And well, sriracha on almost everything! Mayonnaise, chocolate, you name it. And you all know how much I love to add spice and sizzle to my life.
Coconut in all forms was a huge trend… coconut waters, milks, cookies, chocolate and now mayonnaise; traditional oils are replaced with coconut oil, making this mayo a little more heart healthy (and delicious)!
Some of my favorite products included organic beef jerky, Oloves – a pitted dried olive snack, and Skinny Quinoa sticks. Healthy snacks and inventive drinks were everywhere!
I saved the best for last.. Urbani Truffles. I have known Olga Urbani for so many years and their company keeps growing with the help of her children. They were serving truffle pizzas and risotto at their booth. Somehow I managed to eat it all!!!
All in all, I discovered some healthy and not so healthy new products. In the meantime, I’ll be heading to Expo Milano 2015 next week. It’s all about Food and the Sustainable Planet. Can’t wait to see the James Beard American Pavilion and taste food from a myriad of other countries. Stay tuned for my roundup in the next few weeks!
Do you have a favorite food event that you love attending yearly? Tell me about it in the comments!