Fancy Food Show photo courtesy of SFA

FANCY LIKE…

THE SPECIALTY FOOD ASSOCIATION HAD EVERYONE EATING OUT OF THEIR HANDS AT THE FANCY FOOD SHOW IN LAS VEGAS!

By Stacey Gualandi

As far as culinary cuisine goes, I lean more casual than connoisseur. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy a good meal, but let’s just say I don’t have an adventurous appetite when it comes to trying new and different foods.

So when I got an invitation to attend The Specialty Food Association’s 2022 Winter Fancy Food Show this year in Las Vegas, I thought, “Why not expand my epicurean horizons?”

Founded in 1952, the SFA represents importers, retailers, and distributors and has helped companies launch name brands like Ben & Jerry’s, Popchips, and ZICO Coconut Water. Sound familiar?

Open only to buyers and the food and hospitality trade, the “Fancy Food Show” is the beloved bi-annual convention highlighting all things new and exciting within the $170 billion specialty food industry.

In February, this year’s 46th Winter Food Fest marked the first “in-person” show in two years and a return to Las Vegas after nearly 50 years in San Francisco!

It was a veritable feast for the eyes—and stomach—as over 800 exhibitors worldwide, including countries like Turkey, South Africa, Taiwan, and Thailand, offered everything from cheese, chocolate, and chips to pizza, pasta, and prosciutto.

But before I bit off more than I could chew, I partnered with a professional gastro globe-taster: my fancy “foodie” friend Patranya Bhoolsuwan. As the host of the YouTube food and travel show “Patranya Plates,” she recommended we divide and conquer one country at a time.

As we craved our way around the world (through each Pavilion including International, Startup, Cheese, Plant-based, etc.), we opted for olives from Egypt; ate agave rosemary lamb from Australia; indulged in dried cod and chips from Iceland, and sampled “sandwich seaweed” snacks from Thailand (where Patranya was born and raised). We also dined on dim sum (and then some); fell in love with “Frooze Balls,” and bagged a lot of tea (my personal favorite was The Teabook. Obvi.).

In one afternoon, we sampled, sipped, and savored what we could and what we couldn’t, we saved for later. Speaking of saving, on the third and final day of this eating extravaganza, exhibitors donated 20,000 pounds of unused, surplus specialty food to Three Square Food Bank, Southern Nevada’s only food bank and largest hunger-relief organization, and FREE International, an anti-human trafficking organization.

In addition to the food rescue program, SFA’s team of taste Trendspotters said there were several takeaways from this year’s show involving health, comfort, and sustainability.

“We continue to see the effects of the pandemic through the popularity of comfort food and snacks. Innovations in environmentally conscious products like up-cycled foods and hemp are increasing, and plant-based meat and dairy alternatives are going strong, as are global flavors across categories,” said Denise Purcell, SFA’s vice president, content & education. “We’ll be looking for these to show their prominence at the Summer Fancy Food Show (in New York) in June.”

The 2022 Winter show was so successful the SFA just announced that their moveable feast would return to Las Vegas in January. (Eat your heart out, San Francisco!) That will definitely give Bhoolsuwan and me plenty of time to dig into our bags and digest. Can you say Jelly Belly?