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.

I left the Moscone Center feeling a bit ill from all the chocolate, artisan sea salts and the endless supply of Jelly Belly beans (Has Jelly Belly ever not been at the Fancy Food Show? I think they take up half the expo floor!) and walked the two blocks over to Food Fête—the “Invitation Only” very fancy food show after the Fancy Food Show. The room was set up like a lounge with pink lighting and Grey Goose cocktails being served. I had a Peartini (2 parts Grey Goose la Poire, ¼ part Disaronno, ¼ part simple syrup and ½ part lemon juice) and admired their big ice sculpture. I then did what I always do at large, crowded events—I rush to the back of the room and work my way forward. That way, the back of the room people get some attention early on, and I don’t have to elbow my way in there. In no particular order, here are some of the items on display.

Pizza Hut now sells a natural pizza. It has new toppings, a multigrain crust and all-natural ingredients. This was not huge news to me since I, like many others industrial suppliers, keep up with all the latest Yum! Brands adventures.

Ooba. Does this world really need another beverage with minute amounts of healing antioxidants? Of course we do! And Ooba not only provides those minute amounts, but looks cool, tastes great and is fizzy—not big soda bubbles fizzy, small champagne-like bubbles that made you want to pour it into a flute.

I also tried the Napa VinJus, a virgin vineyard grape juice made from low-Brix grapes, which are also high in acid. I think there could be an error in this literature... I don’t think the acid in the grape changes, I think that the perception of acid depends on the Brix-to-acid ratio and, of course, if the Brix is low, the juice will appear more acidic... Technical confusion aside, I thought it was refreshing to drink something with only one ingredient on the label. The company says that they use wine making methods to create a smooth, sophisticated taste. (I would like to know which “methods” they use—the picking the grapes part?...) The tart, but slightly sweet, flavor gave the beverage an aura of sophistication that regular grape juice in a box just does not have.

The Persian-born Executive Chef Hoss Zare at Zaré at Fly Trap served a tarragon cream artichoke and mushroom chicken dish using Niman Ranch chicken.

The Sterling Truffle Bar—a triangular log wedge of truffle that is eaten by the slice. They are all hand-painted and filled with different flavor combinations like Rocky Road and Banana Honey Caramel. The one-of-a-kind decorations on each truffle made them unique and personal, and I am one of those people that likes lots of “stuff” (like marshmallow and nuts) in my chocolate.

I was surprised to see Guittard at Food Fête. I didn’t think they needed any press attention. But they were there to share with the media their new retail cocoa powders.

A beautiful jar of Madagascar Bourbon pure vanilla sugar from Nielsen-Massey was one of the great take-away items from this event. I have been told that the award-winning Nielson-Massey cookbook, a vanilla-inspired recipe book, will be sent to me, as well.

Last but not least, one of my favorite products at the show: the Cholive This “chic drink accessory” is a “gourmet chocolate truffle wrapped in 55% dark chocolate and filled with decadent whole cream ganache.” I don’t remember all the chocolate flavor details, but it is a fun concept that I think should be shown to every casual dining beverage director in the U.S. I bet T.G.I. Friday’s, BJ’s, Applebee’s and Gordon Biersch would love to be the first one with a “Cholive.”

Food Fête was a lively event that had a diverse mix of new and emerging small companies combined with large, massive, industry giants. I was very grateful for the canvas schwag bag passed out to all attendees with extra literature (to make sure press is not lacking any information) and samples (to remind us of how great everything was as we are writing our online coverage).

You can read more blog coverage on Food Fête at Cooking With the Single Guy.