A couple of weeks ago, I attended the New York Fancy Food Show and it was amazing. It took my sister and I approximately seven hours to eat, smell, and witness the show. It was a very well organized event produced by the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade (NASFT). I enjoy meeting the vendors and tasting their goodies, especially the “mom & pop” companies, who exhibit great pride and passion for their food. I also enjoyed the various international areas offering foods from their homelands. My favorite area is always the Italian section because it reminds me of Roma and Italy, one of my favorite places. At this show, I had a least 10-12 espressos – and I could have easily been in Italy. I attend many food shows for melslife, our healthy living website, which has become one of the largest sites for young people seeking healthy solutions or information. I look for new products to review, discover trends, and meet new people. I like to go to these shows because I had a product back in the late 1970s called Brownie Points, which became one of the best-selling brownies in America due to Bloomingdales, and I remember what it was like – the struggle – to create a product, develop the market, and sell it. I identify with the vendors and want to do anything I can to help them. I used to think that sampling at these shows was a waste of time. Now I don’t. I remember the good, bad, and mediocre tastes – and either recommend or avoid products. One food niche that is overwhelming at this show is the cheese. There must have been at least 3,500 cheeses to taste. I love cheese, but come on…
Tags: Fancy Food Show, food samples, melslife, richmel
