The Summer 2023 Fancy Food Show
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I spent most of yesterday walking the floors of the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center attending the Specialty Food Association’s Summer Fancy Food Show. Like the word “classy,” “fancy” always feels like it conveys the exact opposite of what is intended. Case in point: the new, depressing-looking smoke shop up the block from me with a cheap banner draped over the storefront advertising “HIGH CLASS CIGARS.” But I’ll make an exception for the Fancy Food Show as it’s an occasion for thousands of attendees (restaurateurs, chefs, grocery and speciality buyers, trend-spotters, media) to sample, meet, and interact with thousands of businesses and brands from around the world presenting everything from candy, confections, charcuterie and cheese; to popcorn, chips, pretzels, and mustards; to spices, flour, pasta, and rice (and so much more).
I’ve spent many years in those expansive halls of the Javits Center, primarily attending BookExpo when I was an editor at Amazon and later on the other side of the booth when I worked in publishing here in New York. (The last time I was at the Javits was when I received my first two rounds of the COVID-19 vaccine.)
This was my third time attending the Fancy Food Show, and I applied for and received a press pass on this occasion. My first time was back in the early ‘90s when I was in graduate school in New York and joined my friend and former boss, Rick Stewart (see LAST CALL dispatches “Dive Bar Jukebox: Harpoon Eddie’s Summer Flashback” and “A Harpoon Eddie’s Homecoming”), who oversees his family restaurant businesses, Eddie’s and Harpoon Eddie’s. Rick called me from the car phone of his Suburban and said, “Brad! I’m an hour out of the City. I’m going to pick you up and we’re going to the Fancy Food Show and then I’ll buy you a hot meal.” The show is for trade professionals only but Rick had an extra badge that he had changed to read “Chef Brad.” When I was asked by vendors about the restaurant where I was the alleged chef I would change my answer with each person: We specialize in high-end regional American cuisine… A classic chophouse with a contemporary point of view…. Teppanyaki-style Japanese… New England clam shack… Rick would laugh at the many vendor pitch letters that continued to arrive for years at Eddie’s addressed to “Chef Brad.”
I was also there in 2018 with David Lebovitz, who was invited by Bonne Maman (I’m still trying to get on the media list for their annual Advent Calendar), who supplied us both with some random badges (David’s read: “Joab Shepherd”). As you might imagine, attending a specialty food conference with David (I mean, Joab) is a blast and people were quite generous with the samples of cheese and salumi and would press some sample-size products upon us to take home.
I rolled solo this year and my primary plan of attack was to spend the most time in the sprawling Italy Pavilion, but I made time to dip around some of the other International-themed sections and other purveyors. Read on for some snapshots and commentary about my day at the Summer Fancy Food Show.