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Winter Fancy Food Show Day 1

By A.J. Flick
Senior Editor

The official delegation of the European Union to the United States kicked off the U.S. launch of its ambitious, two-year plan to acquaint the world of the bounty of European products.

Michael Curtis, deputy ambassador/deputy chief of mission, and Silke Boger, first counselor of the Agriculture Trade and Agriculture Section at the D.C.-based delegation stressed that the goal is not to promote certain products over others, but to share the quality and policy behind European products.

They acknowledge the big task ahead of catching American consumers’ attention, since the U.S. market is so diverse.

We can expect to see more from the EU as the plan rolls out.

Scotland wasn’t happy with the United Kingdom’s vocal exit from the European Union, voting to remain in the EU when Great Brotain wanted to leave. But Scotland was well represented at the Winter Fancy Food Show with a couldn’t-miss-it-if-you-tried tartan-filled booth near the entrance to the show floor.

This year marks the remarkable 125th anniversary of the company’s popular version of Scottish shortbread. The company has come out with some new tins and – just a minute, there’s much more, but I’m not allowed to write about them now! You’ll have to pick up the March issue of Gourmet News to find out what the company has in store for its milestone year.

“Regenerative farming” came up several times today, in my talks with exhibitors. I heard one succinct definition of regenerative farming from Michael D. Ham, co-founder and president of Wild Orchard Tea. I mean, I grasped the concept previously, but he put it so well:

“Sustainability is equal to net zero,” Ham said, “which is keeping everything the way it is.

However, he noted, in terms of climate change, the effects are spiraling downward, so maintaining status quo doesn’t do anything to affect that.

“Regenerative farming,” he said, “is net positive, making everything better. What we need to do is make things better.”

Net positive farming practices, he said, results in better, healthier food products, which equates to net positive health.

As Ham noted, tea is a plant that has been grown for 5,000-plus years. But that doesn’t mean it has to be produced the way it was 5,000 years ago. Caryl Levine & Ken Lee of Lotus Foods couldn’t agree more, except with them, it’s rice, which also has been cultivated for 5,000-plus years.

Levine and Lee were signing copies of their new book, “Rice Is Life: Recipes and Stories Celebrating the World’s Most Essential Grain.” Levine and Lee are passionate about sharing their openly shared process of producing rice that is not only better for the planet, but creates a better-the-body rice.

The biggest change is not keeping the rice fields soaked. When the rice fields are constantly flooded, it does reduce weeds, but it doesn’t allow carbon to permeate the field and enrich the soil. I’m looking forward to reading my copy of the book and telling you more about my talk with them in the March issue.

I also had the chance today to meet Chef Mike Orachewsky (pronounced or-ah-CHEF-sky – really), creator of TBJ Gourmet and the BJ stands for Bacon Jam. What’s not to like, right? Chef Mike O was a restaurateur with a catering business when a client left him stranded with 50 pounds of bacon. His business partner suggested he make bacon jam. Chef Mike O did and what he came up with was such a favorite with friends and family, he decided to launch the brand.

The company’s classic Bacon Jam is available in Walmart but Chef Mike O also has a line of specialty jams for anyone who doesn’t shop at Walmart. And wait till you hear what plans he has in store for bacon jam lovers. Do I have to say it’s going to be revealed (at least most of it, I’ve promised not to reveal one product until it’s ready) in the March issue of Gourmet News.

As I was browsing the show floor, going from interview to interview, a brand name caught my eye: Kill Sauce. The small batch hot sauces come from a Los Angeles-based company called Habanero Cartel. I live in Arizona and love hot sauces, so I went for the Habanero hot sauce the company’s flagship product and it slayed me – in a good way. Multi-layered and balanced with the right touch of heat but not too much. I also sampled the milder Fresno, made with sweet Fresno chiles, after I told them I loved hot sauce on my eggs and they said this was the perfect sauce for that. I concur. And when I mentioned ice cream, they have a hot sauce for that, too the Ghost, which marries the notorious ghost pepper with fruity twists of blackberries, raspberries and pomegranates. We didn’t have ice cream there, but I agree it would be tasty on some vanilla ice cream.

I had the opportunity to meet with best-selling cookbook author and popular podcaster Anna Vocino, creator of Eat Happy Kitchen, which includes a line of high-end no-sugar added, no gluten or GMOs, high-quality pasta sauces. As the founder of a fledgling food company, Vocino was thrilled to be at her second show (and second Fancy Food Show), because she knows the more networking she does, the more her sauces get into the hands and kitchens of consumers and chefs.

Vocino had a lot to say about the journey she took from the entertainment world to the specialty food industry and you’ll learn about them in the (you guessed it) March issue of Gourmet News.

One of the great things about the Fancy Food Show is seeing friends you’ve made from other shows (and online communications). I was happy to see Brett Bowman of B’s Gourmet Nuts (he’s the B), who I met at the American Cheese Society Show. He knows I love his nuts (hey don’t go there, I’m talking about his flavored cashews!) so much, especially the black truffle-flavored Decadent Cashews, he sent me home with a bag. No, I’m not sharing! If you’re reading this (and thank you!) and at the Fancy Food Show, see Brett at booth #3333 and tell him AJ sent you.

And I met for the first time in person, though we’d talked before, Susan and Gary Snow, founders of Tabletree Juice, scrumptious bottles of pure cherry juice made from Flathead Lake, Mont., cherries. Delicious AND nutritious. And you know what? They, too, have other products on the horizon. I wonder where you could read about that? (Hint: The March issue of Gourmet News).

Maybe it’s just me noticing this, but I tell ya, keep the word “soursop” on your trend list. Last year, I got to try soursop products out of Africa from Zena’s Exotic Fruits. At this show I sambled Vietnam-based Vinut’s Soursop Fruit Drink. It’s very refreshing. If you haven’t tasted it, to me, it has a pear-like quality, much in the consistency and taste. I like it and I’m hoping to see more of it.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention our booth neighbor, Briannas, which you’re probably familiar with because of their dressings. Guess what? They’ve got marinades now! They were sampling the Roasted Garlic and Herb marinade on chick Sunday and it was delicious! They’ll have another flavor, maybe the Sriracha Honey Ginger, but it could be Classic Steak or Smoked Chipotle and Lime. It’s something worth looking forward to. And you know what? There are other products coming down the line!

Check out my blog tomorrow on the Second day of the show and if I haven’t whetted your appetite enough for the March issue of Gourmet News, you can get your subscription here, so you don’t miss it!

Hayashi to Lead Team USA at Bocus d’Or Grande Finale

Hawaiian-born and Arizona-raised Chef Jeffery Hayashi will lead Team USA in the 2023 Bocus d’Or Grande Finale.

The 24 worldwide selected teams will compete Jan. 22-23 in Lyon, France for five hours and 30 minutes in two events: While the platter theme features monkfish and other seafood products, the second test, “Feed the Kids” takes the form of an entire menu based on squash, to raise awareness among children and, through this theme, educate them about healthy eating.

Hayashi left an architecture career after his passion for style and precision led him to discover cooking, landing an apprenticeship with chef and chocolatier Philippe Padovani in Hawaii. In 2014, he was the inaugural executive sous chef at Mourad in San Francisco, which received a Michelin star in its first year of operation. Hayashi qualified for the Grande Finale by winning the 2022 Americas Bocuse d’Or in Chile.

Hayashi is chef de cuisine at Senia Restaurant in Honolulu.

Each team will start at regular intervals beginning at 8 a.m. on Jan. 22. Hayashi is scheduled to start Jan. 23 at 9:57 a.m., finish his Feed the Kids menu by 2:53 p.m. and his seafood platter by 3:27 p.m.

This year, instead of the plate contest, the Bocuse d’Or puts education in food and taste for young people through cooking at the center of the candidates’ work.

Today, cooks play a central role in food and culinary education. In the “Feed the kids” contest, each candidate will have to be creative in producing a squash-based menu for children. Several varieties will be provided by competition partner METRO to create a 100 percent vegetable-based cold starter, a hot dish including an egg and a restaurant dessert style. The candidates will have to redouble their creativity, play with textures and flavors to convince the jury of chefs, supported by children from all around the world.

The platter theme honors monkfish, supplied by partner Seafood From Scotland, accompanied by scallops. To enhance the monkfish, the candidates will have to prepare two vegetable garnishes to be placed on the platter as well as a garnish served separately, made from a vegetable from their country, mussels and an individual crouton of their own composition.

The Bocuse d’Or adventure gathers the world’s gastronomic family and federates more than 5,000 chefs spread across 70 countries. With a local and itinerant approach, the Bocuse d’Or has travelled from city to city throughout the world since 2005 for the national and continental selections: in America (Mexico City, Santiago de Chile, etc.), in Asia (Guangzhou, Shanghai, Singapore, etc.), in Africa (Dakhla, Marrakesh, etc.) and in Europe (Brussels, Budapest, Stockholm, Tallinn, Turin, etc.).

Beyond the geo-tourism implications of the event for the involved countries, the traveling selections serve to promote the gastronomic culture of each region and to highlight the vast diversity of world cuisine.

Before reaching the Grand Finale, each team spends two years training to perfect their skills. This makes the Bocuse d’Or much more than just a competition, it is a genuine human experience that combines self-improvement and team spirit.

For more news of interest to the specialty food industry, subscribe to Gourmet News.

Selina Union Market Hotel to Host Mindful Drinking Fest

Selina Hospitality PLC, a fast-growing experiential hospitality brand targeting millennial and Gen Z travelers, will host the second edition of the Mindful Drinking Fest on Jan. 21 in the Selina Union Market hotel in Washington, D.C.

The event begins at 3 p.m. with a grand mindful drinking tasting that includes local, national, and international non-alcoholic beverage producers, such as ready-to-drink cocktails from Mocktail Club, non-alcoholic spirits from Seir Hill, and non-alcoholic wines by German producer Weingut Leitz. The event will also feature a pop-up store to purchase the products.

During the day, attendees will have the opportunity to attend a master class on-alcoholic beverages hosted by event producer and author Derek Brown and join any of the free wellness classes available for free to the attendees.

At night, a Mindful Mixology Competition sponsored by Ritual Zero Proof Spirits and Thomson & Scott will ensue with some of the area’s best mixologists. Attendees will get to try the cocktails themselves and even vote for the finalists. The night will conclude with DJs, dancing, and even more great non-alcoholic beverages, hosted by Disco Mary, a popular no- and low-alcohol pop-up created by Maria Bastasch and formerly housed in D.C.’s prestigious cocktail bar, Columbia Room.

Grand Tasting passes are available for $35 and include samples, access to the classes, and a tasting glass. Night-time passes to the competition and after-party are available for $75. And All-day passes, inclusive of the grand tasting, classes, tasting glass, competition, and after-party, are available for the special price of $95. All tickets are available here.

Opened last year, Selina Union Market’s goal in 2023 will focus on the local community with an emphasis on wellness classes, dance nights, art workshops, Sunday farmer’s markets, an incredible rooftop bar, and more.

Founded in 2014 and custom-built for today’s nomadic traveler, Selina provides guests with a global infrastructure to seamlessly travel and work abroad. Each Selina property is designed in partnership with local artists, creators, and tastemakers, breathing new life into existing buildings in 25 countries and six continents – from urban cities to remote beaches and jungles. To learn more, visit www.selina.com or follow Selina on TwitterInstagramFacebook or YouTube.

For more news of interest to the food and beverage industry, subscribe to Gourmet News.