Thanks to good friends who have awesome parents, I spent Sunday attending the Fancy Food Show at the San Diego Convention Center. Do you know large the convention center is? It’s really really big. Food booths lined the entire floor and we walked through every aisle to see every booth. All of them. In one day. If you are able to attend a Fancy Food Show, I highly recommend taking at least 2 days to see all the vendors/exhibitors and really sample the foods. However, if you only have 1 day, I can tell you that it is possible to see it all. Now, by the end of the day, we were dragging and mainly getting through the aisles to get to the end. We started at the cheese end and with every few aisles we got more selective with our tastes. I’m glad we started with the cheeses, though, because we were able to really taste and enjoy a few of them. I would have been sad if we’d ended with the cheese and been too full and tired to enjoy it.
Some things I noticed at the show:
- Pomegranate is in
- So is green tea – mints, bars, smoothies, teas, drinks, granola
- Acai was also present in many booths
- Honey is a big thing, both in food and body products (like lotions and lip balms). Some honey is good, others are better.
- There are so many different chocolatiers at the show! Who knew so many people are in the chocolate business?
- For some reason, there are also dog biscuit/jerky/cookie people at the show. Lucky for my pups, they gave out samples!
- One of the water vendors had “booth girls”. You know, fancy hair, tight dresses, heavy makeup, and, um, well-endowed. Unfortunately, while it got our attention, it’s not a good marketing technique because I couldn’t even tell you what company it was.
- Jamon iberico is pretty awesome to taste and expensive to buy.
- I got a cool bowl scraper from Bob’s Red Mill and then just left because the rep kept talking to some lady.
- After a while, I stopped feeling guilty about accepting free samples and not holding full conversations with everyone.
I wish we didn’t have to work Monday and Tuesday and could go back to spend more time at some of the booths. If we were to go back (or if you get to attend), these would be my picks.
- Chuao just has good chocolate and they were sampling their Choco pods… yummy!
- Any of the sorbetto/gelato people. Fresh flavors and very fruity.
- Bacon Salt! Vegetarian and kosher! And so good.
- Brandt Beef had some awesomely cooked brisket.
- There was a pomegranate juice booth near the cheese end of the floor that had the best juice. Not too sweet, not too tart, exactly like the fruit in taste. Unfortunately, I don’t remember the brand.
- Fromagerie Tournavent had a goat’s milk cheese in marinated olive oil that was to die for. Such good cheese. Definitely leave time and stomach room for the American Cheese Society.
- Opera Patisserie was there with desserts and macarons to sample.
It was such fun getting to go to this show. I was so excited, I actually dreamt about it the night before! And, when we were waiting to get in, I think I actually jumped up and down with excitement. It was just so much fun to be in a place with so much different food. Especially when you realize how many of the vendors you actually know or are familiar with. How cool is that?
Three Dog Kitchen 
Hmm. Bacon salt? That is vegetarian? Interesting… Such an interesting name – I must try it! 🙂
Sounds like great fun! I’ll definitely try to make it the next time they are around. I can’t go Mon or Tue either. 😦
I can go any day, any time, any place ….
just how do I get a ticket? When is the
next one?
Yes, bacon salt is pretty worth trying. We had it on sliced tomatoes the other night and we were pretty happy. I’m betting this will take my bagel/cream cheese/tomato breakfast to new levels!
Sadly, the Fancy Food Show is usually held in SF. I guess this is the first time it has been in SD in, what, 20 years? I hope they get some good feedback from the vendors and attendees and come back much sooner!