Twice a year, the legendary Fancy Food Show In the summer, the best and most innovative producers meet in New York to present their delicacies to the interested world. In the winter, the event usually moves to warmer San Francisco. The event has become so international that visitors come from all over the world. The exhibitors are equally international. This summer's partner country was Italy, and walking through the hall, you could just as easily have been at a market in Rome. There's cooking and presentation, and almost everything is there to sample.
During the peak of the pandemic, the show was held only digitally, and at the in-person events in 2021, only Americans were allowed to enter the country due to the many travel restrictions. After three years of abstinence, we are back from Team American Heritage Finally, I went to the culinary fair again. The anticipation and excitement were correspondingly great! It's always a challenge to find a parking space in downtown New York, especially around the fairgrounds, where there are many one-way streets and a lot of traffic. And as we all know from America, the rooms are well air-conditioned – almost a little too cold for us Europeans. So, wear comfortable shoes and something long-sleeved, despite the summer temperatures.
The exhibitors are organized by region, not by their delicacies. As we walk up and down the aisles, we sample savory dishes, then something sweet, a bitter drink, then another sauce, a sip of tea... After a few hours at the trade fair, our stomachs become awash with color, but that's kind of the fun of it. Discovering new things, trying everything, finding some good, and perhaps rejecting others.
American Heritage's favorite exhibitors will, of course, also be exhibiting at the show. Stonewall Kitchen had a beautifully decorated and large booth, and there were several new products to discover. Two new sauces will be released in September. Our range includes Hickory Brown Sugar Grille Sauce and Hot Honey Wing Sauce . We tried them all thoroughly and found them delicious—so we immediately ordered them for American Heritage. We also discovered a delicious Maple Apple Jam at the Stonewall Kitchen booth. Regardless of the new products, it was nice to meet the Stonewall Kitchen staff: after many phone calls and video conferences over the past few years, finally in person again. There's nothing like personal contact!
Rufus Teague is another major brand that we represent exclusively in Europe. John McCone is the friendly owner who has been building Rufus Teague into a successful BBQ brand for many years. We now have a fourth BBQ sauce in a typical beer can, which we now also carry in our product range. We haven't seen John for three years, and we were delighted. Incidentally, our suitcase is always full of European souvenirs. This year, we brought Mozartkugeln for our suppliers, since Americans love everything from Europe, especially chocolate.
Crown Maple is our favorite maple syrup, which was also represented in New York. Our vanilla expert, Nielsen-Massey, also had a beautiful booth. And then there were many interesting new products, which we will report on in due course when they are added to our range.
Bye Bye New York, it was beautiful as always!
