Over three tightly packed days starting Sunday, about 15,000 people who make and market gourmet foods and related products will be combing the aisles of McCormick Place North intensely engaged in the sport known as trend spotting.
“Is there a demand for still more flavored mustards?” they will ask themselves.
“Will the term ‘organic’ cast a spell over consumers when it is applied to mayonnaise or chocolate?”
“Is the tea-time crowd ready for ‘silver’ tea that comes with a gold price tag?”
And most important of all: “Are affluent consumers going to continue buying ‘affordable luxuries’ in unprecedented amounts?”
The event is the Fancy Food Show, sponsored by the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade, and the buyers in attendance hope they will be able to anticipate our desires in the face of an economy running in second gear.
Sophisticated shoppers
On the positive side, shoppers’ sophistication in the areas of food and beverages continues to grow. For many of us, luxury foods have become part of our daily lives. We may have cut back on our visits to restaurants, but we still have a hunger for variety, eye appeal and quality in the foods we cook at home.
“We’re all exposed to so much more now,” says Michele Gorski, director of communications for Trader Joe’s markets. Consumers are seeking products that offer “different flavor combinations as well as increased intensity.”
“Our product mix is switching from more traditional to more gourmet,” reports Frank Lomoro, director of purchasing at Sunset Foods, a four-market chain on the North Shore.
After the attacks of Sept. 11, the sale of specialty foods escalated sharply as people across the country abandoned restaurants and began eating at home, NASFT president John Roberts says. “Since January, sales are up over 2001 by 4 to 5 percent. That’s a lot.”
That switch to home-focused dining gives people the opportunity to explore new foods and new flavors, Gorski says: “(They are) able to buy, for example, a pesto from Italy that in the past they wouldn’t have had the time to experiment with.”
“In the context of life, people still are buying good food,” says Ari Weinzweig, founder of Zingerman’s deli and market in Ann Arbor, Mich. “It’s easy to rationalize spending $7 for a piece of great cheese instead of paying $5.50 for something mediocre. It’s a reward for holding back on a non-food purchase.”
More Top Picks Amazon Basics 24 Sheet Cross Cut
Another boost: Mail-order sales make it easy for us to shop for specialty foods from home. “Our mail-order sales are up 20 percent over this time last year,” Weinzweig says. “A lot of the orders are for baked goods. They make good gifts in stressful times.”
“Some people came away from the period of national mourning with a determination to live in the present,” Roberts says. “They have come to terms with the uncertain economy and are determined to celebrate family and friends by entertaining more often at the dinner table.”
New and improved
One thing is for sure: There will be plenty of new products at the Fancy Food Show.
“New products remain the lifeblood of this industry,” says Justin Rashid, president of American Spoon Foods, makers of preserves, sauces and condiments in Petoskey, Mich. “Today we may give up on a marginal item sooner than we did before, but we can’t stop creating.” Later this year, shoppers will find three American Spoon regional grilling sauces representing Memphis, Kansas City and Texas.
Some of the food trends on display at the show also will be in evidence on local market shelves:
Building a better mousetrap still pays off big. Buyers respond to new or improved taste and packaging in items as basic as jams and lollipops.
Dan Cohen, president of Ohio’s Clearbrook Farms, producer of preserved fruit, has a big hit in a combination item: “Bakehouse” tart shells, 12 in a box, and Clearbrook Farms fruit fillings in 20-ounce jars. Fill the shells and bake 10 to 15 minutes.
– All manner of products are relying on the appeal of specific, prestigious origins, the more exclusive the better. Wine, tea, rice, salt and cocoa are among products claiming to be “estate grown” with limited production. For example, Harney’s Organic Silver Marbles (a loose tea) and white tea are rare and grown in small quantity.
– The lure of “natural” continues. From the United Kingdom, Gilway Co. has introduced a line of five mayonnaise products that push several buttons at once: Simply Superb All Natural Salsa Mayonnaise, speckled with herbs, garlic and ground chilies, manages to evoke ease, quality, health and environmental concerns.
– Even better than “natural” is “organic”: An Italian organic extra-virgin olive oil comes in an eye-catching bottle. “I’m noticing more (organics) in products that are for daily use,” Gorski says. She cites milk and cereal as examples.
Consumers have changed what they’re looking for when purchasing healthful products, says Sunset’s Lomoro. In the past, “if a label said low-fat or low-calorie, that’s what pushed it over. Now if it says organic or all-natural, that seems to be what you want to put on your labels.”
– Interest in foreign cuisine continues. South Africa will be represented by a 45-company delegation. Many items from Italy, including a pasta made with the grain farro, and 50 items from Sicily alone, are being introduced at the show. Castellana’s tomato-vodka pasta sauce features tomatoes from Calabria and Parmesan cheese.
Other imported fancy foods expected to be available in retail shops in the next few months include:
Marchisio’s cheese sauce with truffles, which contains four cheeses that have been melted and perfumed with truffles; Torani’s pomegranate syrup, which is used for beverages and ices; salted capers and caper berries from Abruzzi, Italy; and red peppers, wine, sherry vinegar and saffron from Spain.
– Here at home, producers are creating mix-and-match flavor combinations. Look for Restaurant LuLu’s balsamic-fig grilling sauce with herbs de Provence or its mustard with harissa. From Robert Rothschild comes raspberry-wasabi dipping mustard, roasted pineapple and habanero dip, cilantro-lime salsa and kalamata olive bread dipper. And Bella Cucina’s cranberry conserve reflects the cranberry’s continued popularity.
Some of these products will no doubt sink without a trace, while others will capture the public fancy and thrive.
“I’m optimistic,” says Justin Rashid of American Spoon Foods, “because more and more people are making the effort to eat well, whatever the circumstances.”
Changes at the venerable Fancy Food Show
Back in 1952, when the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade was founded and the first Fancy Food Show took place, the most sought-after products were candy, crackers and canned goods from abroad.
When the now-venerable show opens Sunday, these standbys still will be on display. But so will nearly 40,000 other products that have been brought to Chicago by 800 manufacturers and importers, all of whom hope to find retail outlets. This exhibition is open to the trade only, a diverse collection ranging from gift shop owners to supermarket buyers.
Traditionally the Association served small-scale marketers of specialty, or “fancy,” foods. From the beginning, the products were considered of high quality–even when mass produced–and they brought high prices.
Starting in the 1980s and into the ’90s, the Association lost its heavy foreign accent. Domestic cottage industries selling innovative, often perishable, goods took center stage, though the foreign presence is still considerable. Currently the Association has 2,400 members who produce almost 100,000 specialty items.
This is the “Spring/Midwest” edition of the show, in Chicago for the third consecutive year. Two other editions take place: New York in July and San Francisco in January.
Even though Chicago is the youngest and smallest of the shows, its significance should grow considerably this year because it is taking place at the same time as the Food Marketing Institute’s annual convention for the supermarket industry. While the two shows are in separate buildings, attendance is likely to increase on Tuesday, when one ticket gets the trade into both shows.
And “for both organizations, it means two shows for one airline ticket,” says John Roberts, president of NASFT. “It will expose supermarket executives–CEOs, not just buyers–to products that attract specialty foods shoppers. These are consumers for whom money is less important than time, who buy lots of perishables and high-profit products. The supermarket industry needs to attract more of them more often. To us, the supermarkets represent buying power.”
— William Rice
Gougere
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes
Yield: 65 small puffs
Serve these tasty appetizers warm or at room temperature with an aperitif such as Champagne.
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
1 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup flour
5 large eggs
1/4 pound smoked ham, minced
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Combine butter, water and salt in a medium saucepan; heat to a boil. Add flour all at once; beat with a wooden spoon until dough pulls away from the sides of the pan, about 2 minutes.
More Top Picks Water Kettles
2. Transfer dough to the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Add eggs, 1 at a time, pulsing until each is well incorporated and dough is smooth, about 2 minutes. Fold in ham, mustard and pepper.
3. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment or foil. Transfer dough to a piping bag with a plain 1/2-inch tip. Pipe circles of dough the size of a quarter and no more than 1/2-inch high onto the parchment, leaving space between each. (Or drop by spoonfuls on the parchment.)
4. Bake until puffed and golden, about 25 minutes. Repeat as needed until all the dough has been used.
Nutrition information per puff:
27 calories, 63% calories from fat, 1.9 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 21 mg cholesterol, 65 mg sodium, 1.6 g carbohydrate, 1 g protein, 0 g fiber
Guava milkshake
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Yield: 2 shakes
This unusual shake, developed in the test kitchen, offers the exotic tropical flavor of guava. Try other tropical fruit juices, such as passion fruit, mango or papaya. Cans of these fruit nectars are sold in many supermarkets.
2 cups vanilla ice cream
1 cup chilled guava nectar
3/4 cup milk, whole milk preferred
Combine ice cream, guava nectar and milk in a blender container. Blend 1 minute. Pour into 2 large glasses.
Nutrition information per shake:
395 calories, 39% calories from fat, 18 g fat, 11 g saturated fat, 70 mg cholesterol, 155 mg sodium, 54 g carbohydrate, 8 g protein, 1 g fiber
Penne casserole with roasted vegetables and tomato vodka sauce
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 45 minutes
Yield: 6 servings
We used Castellana tomato-vodka sauce for pasta for this easy casserole, but it is not yet available in the Chicago area. Any brand of tomato-vodka sauce would work (for example, Trader Joe’s sells one). Other flavored pasta sauces, such as balsamic, garlic, basil or olive, would work well in this versatile dish. Developed in the Tribune test kitchen.
1 red bell pepper, seeded, quartered
1 each, sliced 1/2-inch thick lengthwise: zucchini, yellow squash
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste
1 pound penne, cooked al dente
1 jar (26 ounces) tomato vodka pasta sauce
2 cups (8 ounces) grated mozzarella cheese
1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare grill or heat a grill pan to medium to medium-high. Place pepper, zucchini and yellow squash on a baking sheet. Spray both sides of vegetables with non-stick cooking spray; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill, turning once, until grill marks are visible on both sides, 8-10 minutes. (Alternatively, place vegetables under broiler about 4 minutes on each side.) Cool slightly. Slice red pepper into thin strips. Slice zucchini and squash into thirds crosswise.
2. Combine red pepper strips, pasta, pasta sauce and 1 cup of the cheese in the pot that the pasta was cooked in. Place 1/2 of this pasta mixture in bottom of greased 2-quart casserole or 13-by-9-inch baking dish. Place grilled zucchini and yellow squash on top in a single layer. Add remaining pasta mixture, smooth the top and sprinkle with remaining mozzarella. Bake until sauce bubbles and top is golden brown, about 30 minutes.
Nutrition information per serving:
445 calories, 20% calories from fat, 10 g fat, 4.4 g saturated fat, 22 mg cholesterol, 880 mg sodium, 69 g carbohydrate, 21 g protein, 6 g fiber