The Fancy Food Show was held in the Washington Convention Center in June. This annual event, open only to the trade, is a chance for specialty food producers to show their latest products, take orders, scope out their competition, and socialize. It was a chance for me to wander the aisles looking for likely subjects to photograph, products to taste and people to meet!
The show is a mix of all sizes of producer, from the mom-and-pop shop with one or two highly specific products to the biggest corporations. I found delicious products and clever presentations at all levels.
Here are some of the best visuals from the show floor.
The Yellow Tea Road
Bellocq Teas had an eye-catching display which made good use of their yellow packaging. They have a highly rarefied line of teas and tisanes, and an atelier in Brooklyn.
The Jolly Truffle Hunters
Joe Czarnecki (on the right in the photo) and his son Stefan market a line of truffle-infused oil and sauces, under the name of The Czar’s Fine Foods. They source their white truffles from Oregon, and claim to use only squirrels to find the underground mushrooms. I will be writing more about them in a future post.
The Road to Morocco
There were many pavilions sponsored by countries, composed of individual manufacturer’s booths combined with a central feature; often a kitchen, sitting or sampling area, or combinations of same. (First prize goes to the Italians for all three.) Morocco, one of the smaller pavilions, had a tea pourer. He was a very friendly chap, inviting visitors to sit down for a spell and join him while he poured tea from the wonderful silver tea service.
Jump Right In!
These folks not only had a terrific presentation – that is not a trick of perspective, they really were giant wine glasses full of chocolate sauce, available for sampling – but a catchy name: Somebody’s Mother’s Chocolate Sauce. And here I quote their business card: “Naturally rich. Velvety. Perfect as a topping. Cold. Or hot. Especially good in the middle of the night.” Even good in the middle of the show floor.
Keep On Truckin’
And speaking of big corporations, Lucini Italia and Delverde, a major Italian producer, drove a moving-van sized truck onto the show floor and held a Zonin Prosecco party at the end of the day. The truck had a full kitchen, equipped with three chefs who turned out many tasty dishes using Delverde products. They featured as special guest Top Chef: Texas Finalist Chef Lindsay Autry. This was completely separate from the Italian pavilion, the hands-down pavilion winner as I mentioned above. Viva Italia!
Natty Natalie’s
We wandered into Natalie’s Orchid Island Juice Company, attracted by the large backdrop of an orange grove and the coolers full of juice. We stayed to chat with the exceedingly friendly salesmen, all tie-coordinated in wonderful tropical pastels. They even posed willingly for a picture, all the while plying us with delicious juice and amazing facts (they’ve been voted “Best Tasting Orange Juice” by multiple polls). We even met the CEO, Marygrace Sexton – the eponymous Natalie is her daughter.
More posts on the Fancy Food Show coming! Stay tuned!
