What do cauliflower, coconut, gluten-free breads, plant-based snacks, and bison jerky have in common?
They are all on display at the 45th Fancy Food Show, in San Francisco, this week. And they are all hot trends in the food world.
Some 1,500 food and beverage manufacturers assembled in the cavernous Moscone Center to show off their paleo-friendly, keto-friendly, plant-based, foods and snacks, their fat-rich coconut drinks, their sumptuous chocolates, terrific tonics, reduced-sugar, caffeine-enriched, sustainably packaged, vegan-appealing, and gluten-free products.
I have attended this annual trade show for the past 30 years, originally as a food writer, then as a manufacturer of muffins, flatbreads and pizza crusts, and now, this year, as the dad of a talented daughter making the best-tasting macaroons in America.
Rather than offer an abusively long overview of everything I tasted at the three-day trade show, I will highlight my favorite discoveries, which underline nascent food trends.
That’s Carol, my wife (left), helping Jenn (right) at her ROONS booth at the Fancy Food Show.
My daughter, Jenn Topliff, exhibited at the Fancy Food Show, offering the 25,000 exhibition attendees a chance to sample her sensational, gluten-free, grain-free, no added preservatives, certified Kosher, woman-owned, macaroons, called ROONS.
Yes, she is my daughter but my adoration of her baked macaroons, available in six astounding flavors, has nothing to do with our family ties. If I were offered her ROONS in a blind tasting, I would proclaim them as the “best tasting macaroons that I have ever had. Period.”
Each ROON sports a hand-formed, pure chocolate base, a perfect complement to the rich coconut macaroon. If you can stop eating ROONS after just one… you may have permanent palate fatigue, or you may possibly already be deceased.
ROONS is a family affair; Jenn’s husband, Brad, works the aisles at the Fancy Food Show, to draw in retailers, brokers, store owners, and supermarket buyers attending the event. The event is trade-only, not for end-use consumers.
You can learn more about ROONS at eatroons.com.
Like ROONS, another sensational artisanal food product in Portland is Wildwood Chocolate, maker of the most original, precisely made, tastiest chocolate bar I’ve ever tasted.
I was WOWED by their chocolate tablets – each flavor SKU packs a powerhouse of originality, brightness, rich chocolate undernotes, and without any question, these are the most beautiful looking chocolate bars I’ve ever seen.
Wildwood is the creation of Steve Lawrence and Rebecca Savage, who have just renamed their former chocolate works Wildwood Chocolate. Their new website and different bars will be up and running by March first, so bookmark that date to go to wildwoodchocolate.com.
One of the tasty new foods I tasted at the trade show contains one of the hottest ingredients in the food world – cauliflower. I kid you not.
I saw or tasted cauliflower-based pizza, ice cream, snacks, chips, candies. But the item I think families preferring plant-based, gluten-free products will embrace are Caulipower‘s cauliflower-breaded chicken tenders, coming to supermarkets in your ‘hood this coming May.
I tried them; tender pieces of chicken breaded in a cauliflower coating without oil. Heat in the oven – simple and tasty!
While most vendors were touting products absent of ingredients – things made without gluten, lactose, fat, or meat – I appreciated the concept and taste of Pocket Latte, small chocolate squares endowed with 150 mg of caffeine, about what you’d get from a large cup of drip coffee. And the chocolate tasted great. Made in Los Angeles and available in four flavors.
But wait, there’s more….
I have had a long love affair with Peerless Coffee, a San Francisco-based coffee roaster. About 30 years ago, I hand-picked Peerless to produce a line of private label coffees for a supermarket chain to whom I was consulting. Peerless coffees have always been just that – peerless, perfectly balanced, never bitter, never acidic or sour, as so many trendy coffees are today.
Peerless’ Competition Blend espresso was my favorite coffee at the trade show, a gloriously rich blend, available in many supermarket locations. Roaster Magazine named Peerless the top coffee roaster in the US last year. Nice work, Peerless!
This is jubilant Peerless barista Sam Bouwens, cranking out a bagillion espressos and macchiatos during the 3-day trade show. I’ve never had a better macchiato made with oat milk than the ones Sam made for me each day. Thank you, Sam!
Many producers were pitching to the keto-inspired crowd… I thought this was an attractive package whose message was self-evident.
Tired of old-fashioned beef jerky? Then maybe Bison Bites will appeal to you. They are soy-free, sugar-free, gluten-free, nitrate-free and the bison themselves are roam-free.
And lastly….
Lots of event-goers seemed to like the plant-based, frozen-treat-on-a-stick called Dream Pops.
I know that everyone in our family did.
The product story is pitched to vegans and consumers skirting dairy and gluten. This 100% plant-based frozen treat is packed in single servings or four pops in a resealable pouch.
Each pop is less than 100 calories and is dairy-free, gluten-free, soy-free. But fortunately, NOT taste-free - I tried several flavors and found this a tasty, calorie-conscious, alternative to ice cream.
Nice work Dream Poppers!
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