 |
| Gorgonzola |
Boxes
Cacao
France Pavillon
IndianLife
Italy Pavillon
Jams
Jose Andres
Locatelli Cheese
Mama Sita's
MangoMango
Mexico Pavillon
Pearl River Chef
Principe Foods
The Republic of Tea
Toby with Duff Goldman of Charm City Cakes
Wagyu Beef from Japan
Hello friends, and Happy New Year!
You are probably wondering why I haven’t written in over a
month. No, I didn’t fall off the
earth. I have been busy. Busy doing research. In my last blog I told you about the debut of
Hummingbird Hill Artisanal Jams. Since
everyone’s response was very positive, we (Ray, Toby and I) have been looking
into the possibility of turning this into a serious business. As with any endeavor, a lot of research,
testing and refining is necessary. My
sister-in-law Jeanne suggested that we attend the Fancy Food Show in San
Francisco, CA. And so we did.
I registered the three of us under our company name:
Hummingbird Hill Kitchen, last month.
The cost was reasonable at $45 per person. Registration and confirmation were both
online and was quite easy. We were
receiving emails from the organizers and exhibitors prior to the event. Jeanne and the website both advised us to
wear comfortable shoes as there will be over 320,000 square feet of space to
cover. We dressed business casual as
this was a convention after all, and not a county fair.
We were giddy with anticipation on the morning of Sunday,
January 19 as we walked towards Moscone Center in San Francisco, CA. People wearing Show badges were walking to
and from the Center. As we entered the
lobby area, there was a sea of people checking in to get their badges. The air was palpable with excitement! We presented our credentials and were given
our “Manufacturer/Producer” badges. We
were official conventioneers. We
descended to the exhibit area where security scanned our badges. As we walked through the doors we were awed
and mesmerized! There were aisles and
aisles of exhibitors, and booth after booth of all kinds of specialty
food. There were about 1300 exhibitors
showcasing the latest and best in specialty foods and beverages representing 35
states and countries. Over two aisles were
dedicated to cheese alone! How I wished
the convention were at least a week long.
How else would one be able to sample the 80,000 products on offer? Yes, you read right – eighty thousand!
Our game plan for the first day was to just look at
everything and scope out exhibitors we would want to speak with. Well you can’t just “look” and walk by all
that yummy food. Exhibitors were
literally calling our name to try their products. I never thought I’d say no to cheese and salumi but after about a hundred bites,
I sadly declined offers but promised I’d come back. The variety of these specialty foods was
staggering! There were new exhibitors
who proudly showed their single product, and there were large established
companies who beckoned you with over twenty products. Very interesting to see were the pavilions
from Italy, Spain, Philippines, Argentina, Turkey, Japan, Greece, Ecuador, UK and Peru. There were over twenty product categories
such as baby food, baked goods, beverages, condiments, confectionary, dairy
& eggs, food services, frozen, grain/cereal/pasta, sauces/seasonings, oils,
seafood, snacks, soups, spreads & syrups, vegetables/fruits, vinegars, etc. Needless to say, our game plan to see
everything that first day didn’t work out.
There were simply too many things to see…and sample! Unlike your typical Las Vegas buffet where
you stuff yourself within an hour, this was an eating marathon that stretched
from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Some samples
were dainty little morsels of cheese chiseled from a 2 foot wheel of Italian parmesan
or pecorino romano, others were sauces or salsas on spoons or chips, others
were miniature tarts/quiches/ pastries, and others were full sized bottles of
beverages or ice cream bars. The most
opulent sample someone handed me was a small plate of San Daniele prosciutto
(14 months and 16 months), mortadella, bresaola and speck which I walked around
with savoring the different flavors.
Speaking of prosciutto, I’ve never been surrounded by so many artisanal
hams both from Parma and San Daniele.
The meat had an even red color and was rich in flavor without too much
salt, while the fat was creamy and luscious!
A fellow attendee commented that I’d better eat the samples or the plate
might get snatched from my hand.
The second day was more of the same: looking and
sampling. We visited with members of the
Philippine delegation and I remarked how pleased I was with their
presence. We were proud of some of their
new innovative products and are considering how to partner with them. We visited suppliers of jars, boxes and
labels. On the third day we spoke to two
co-packers and learned a little bit of how we would relate to them.
We went to San Francisco with many questions about the jam
business. We came back with more
questions about other avenues we would like to explore. The show filled our tummies with
exceptionally made food, and planted seeds of new ideas in our brains. We have a lot to digest.
