The Intrepid Culinologist  

The Intrepid Culinologist, aka Rachel Zemser, CCS, has one foot planted in the artisan soils of San Francisco
and the other buried deep in the world of R&D, manufacturing and food science. She travels the world in
search of food-related industry trade shows, media and press events, and "local" Bay Area experiences, trying
to figure a way to bridge her two worlds and bring great food to the masses. She has a B.S. and M.S. in Food
Science, a Culinary Arts degree, and almost 15 years of food-industry experiece.

Food rules are meant to be broken, which is why this year at IFT I have broken a few classic culinary rules in the name of creating some fabulous new and exciting dishes made with walnuts. Stop by IFT booth #7315 to try my new creations!

1. Walnut Macarones. Manufactured by Jean-Yves Charon at Galaxy Desserts, so you know that they will be Oprah-worthy!
2. Romesco Sauce. Walnuts replace the traditional almonds and hazelnuts, and this version has a hint of orange zest and sherry vinegar.
3. Muhamarra Sauce. An exotic sauce made with walnuts, roasted red peppers, breadcrumbs and pomegranate molasses.
4. Seasoned walnuts. Moroccan-inspired seasoned nuts with cumin, cinnamon, turmeric and spicy red pepper flakes.
5. Fleur De Sal Chocolates. OK, I didn’t make these—Chuck did, from Charles Chocolates, best artisanal chocolate in The Bay!

Like everyone who manages a booth at IFT, it’s always difficult to determine how much product to make for three days at the show. I asked on the RCA listserv and got back a variety of responses, averaging from 400 to 800 samples a day. I probably made too much... It would be a shame to have to leave any of those decadent dishes behind, so I am looking forward to all of my RCA friends coming by to make sure that no Fleur De Sal is left behind!!!

Walnuts by day, but various parties by night: Stay tuned for my coverage of the best IFT cocktail hours, hospitality suites, dinner functions, press event and networking gatherings.

What booth are you manning this year? Post your booth # and food demo information in the comments section, and I promise, if you visit my booth, I will visit yours.

User Comments !

I've never manned a food booth, but I have manned other types, and the principle seems to be "Medium is more." Too few samples leave you stranded; too many make you look like the party no one wants to attend.

Posted by: Steven DeMaio | July 17 2010 03:59:16

Your walnut concepts are terrific. I've been adding walnuts to smoothies for extra ALA's and protein. They add great flavor to banana-coffee, and many different fruit smoothies.

Posted by: Rosemary Mark | August 25 2010 22:27:23