$$$
Distinctive, decadent, delightful are just three words that sum up my experience at this year’s Summer Fancy Food Show held in New York City at the Jacob Javitz Center.
From June 30th through July 2nd, I nibbled, sipped and chewed on delectable haute gourmand goodies. Not only that but I had an insider’s peek on upcoming trends coming out in the food industry.
For this trip, I packed lightly. I wanted ample space in all of my carriers so I can bring back snacks, drinks, and goodies to taste test. I did make sure to pack my White House Black Market blouses, Vince Camuto chemises, and Betsy Johnson dress though. Packing lightly doesn’t mean I need to skimp on dressing fab.
So I stayed at Row NYC for the duration of my trip, which was approximately 1 mile from Jacob Javitz Center. I made sure to wear comfortable shoes for this convention because walking up and down Jacob Javitz is no picnic. Previous years I amassed callouses, achy- feet moments, and lost food noshing time by sitting in bleak corners.
Each day brought in some crave-worthy moments, and awe-inspiring foods.
Day 1
One my first day of the show, the first vendor I visited was Crepini. I am forever in love with their blinis, crepes, and their brand new egg white thins that would go great with scrambled eggs, spinach, and feta during breakfast time. I then walked over to Makoma’s booth, a West African juice company, and sampled fresh green tea moringa, hibiscus mint, baobob guava, and ginger pineapple juices. My personal favorite was the hibiscus juice because of the refreshing tart, crisp, after taste.
Cold Brew was a big trend popping up in different vendor stations. I’ve never had a cold brew and decided to try my first cold brew tea at the Matcha Love booth. I wasn’t left disappointment, the ice-steeped cucumber mint matcha tea quenched my thirst.
I hopped on the turmeric trend and am left impressed. Different exhibits were separated by Sofi award winners, new products, States, and different countries–when I stopped by England, I had a glorious time taste testing wine and sparkly wine-infused gummies. In China, I sampled different ginseng treats and ate lamb milk candies. The epicurean butter spreads I tried would go so good with baked chicken and fish. I later traveled into Thailand where I sampled dried mangoes and drank chai in India.
Day 2
On the second day of the show, I made sure to grab a protein-enriched breakfast ahead of time. On the first day, there was so much to see that I needed more energy before hand.
So I had an invite from Marky’s caviar to try to their new sturgeon caviars from China. The caviar was buttery, with less of a fresh water fish taste. From there I wanted to meet the famous Sara Beth, known for her jams, and restaurant located by Central Park. I then sampled different foi gois and pates from Les Trois Petits Cochons, an award winning company. I stumbled unto the JellyBelly exhibit and found their brand new ice cream jellybeans to be fun to try.
I tied Stash Tea’s brand new Sweet Honeydew tea and this may be my new favorite green tea I tried at the show. The tea was supple, sweet, and hit the right notes. Mushrooms have always made an impact at the fancy food show, especially black and white truffles. I definitely sampled my fair share of black truffle spreads. I also had a great time trying dried mushrooms such as Woodear, Black Trumpet, Porcini, and Oyster.
I wandered over to Japan, hoping that this section would have wagyu beef from previous years. Although I couldnt find Wagyu or Kobe beef, I did try the popular black garlic known for its healing properties.
I ended my day at this almost private “Eat in Italy” Pavillion where I sampled vintage Italian wines, ate freshly cooked pasta, and had all you can eat gelato.
Day 3
This third day was my last day. I knew I had to make this day count. As soon as I came in, I sampled the popular Ovina Wine infused Water. I then went over to Jeni’s ice cream and sampled most of their popular flavors. I knew I had to take advantage of this precious opportunity because the Jeni’s in Washington D.C is always crowded and the waiting period is between 25-35 minutes to get a scoop of ice cream. There was no lines and I, literally, seized the moment. I heartily sampled the frose sorbet, churro ice cream, cream puff ice cream, and the brambleberry crisp ice cream. From that tasting, I can say that my favorite was the cream puff ice cream because this tastes close to my favorite ice cream flavor of all time: sweet cream.
Right next to Jeni’s, was the 2018 Sofi Gold winning chocolate brand, Switzerland’s own MilkBoy. I LOVE their chocolate! I tried their Extra Dark Swiss Chocolate and their Alpine Milk Chocolate with Crunch Caramel and Sea Salt.
I later had more ice cream at Noona’s where I sampled crave-worthy sesame seed flavored ice cream. I definitely needed a drink after all the chocolate and ice cream I ate, and found the best masala chai at the show. Nature’s Guru has the best Masala chai, and I sampled more than 10 different kinds at the show. I think I downed 2-3 cups of the chai too that day. I was on an international kick, so I also sampled Austrian waffles, French Truffled infused pasta, Italian charcuteries, and Dulce De Leche from Argentina.
Food Trends for 2018-2019
Turmeric is making waves at the show. Turmeric milk was quite popular at the show and, surprisingly, didn’t have a biting spicy taste. Yerba mate tea from the rainforests of Argentina were widely imbibed by attendees. Snacks made out of cricket flour, were introduced in the Canada section as a new source of protein in town in case you want to cut back on red meat and poultry. Honey from Peruvian rainforests was popular as a pure and natural source of sugar.
The Stroopwafel cookie trend is burgeoning. This brand as well as other noteworthy foods made its way into the what’s hot and trending section of the show. Food trends you need to look out for are: Gray salted chocolates, unicorn themed deserts, paprika flavored chips, almendras flowered almonds, wine infused water, overnight steeped oatmeal, moroccan lemon preserves, Beer Buddy snacks, Roibous tea infused chocolates, butter scotch and bourbon cooking sauces, Siberian sturgeon and white sturgeon caviar, waffle cups, TCHO Chocolate flavors such as: banana nut, snickerdoodle, pretzel crunch, coffee + almond, peppermint mocha, eggnog and rum raisin; goat milk yogurt, organic vegan caramels, organic fruit bars, Loackers blueberry yogurt wafers, lavendar flavored sodas, La Fermiere French style yogurt; fruit, whole grain, and hazelut muesli cereals.
Sharing the Details 