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GOURMET NEWS AUGUST 2016 www.gourmetnews.com SFF WRAP-UP 1 6 SFF Show Continued from PAGE 1 dressings and marinades to suit their own tastes. The machine stocks 18 products, including any of the Ariston Specialties olive oils and balsamic vinegars. Con- sumers choose a bottle size – either 8.5 ounces or 17 ounces – and use a touch screen to cus- tom-blend their mix- tures, which can include four to six items in a blend that's selected by adjusting sliders on the screen. "You can do your own. You can say, 'No, I feel creative today. I want to do my own,'" said Tom Doukas, Ariston Specialties' Founder. The dispenser provides entertainment and engagement value for consumers to- gether with a gourmet experience. "It is not a dressing created in a lab with flavor enhancers and additives," Doukas said. "This is totally fresh and totally natural. It's totally yours – you created it." Any mixture will sell for the same price – about $6 to $9 for the 8.5-ounce bottle and about $12 for the 17-ounce bottle. "We want to be inexpensive because our dressings are competing with the larger brands, but these are better because they're all natural, award-winning prod- ucts at a reasonable price with a fun way to buy them," Doukas said. LaClare Farms introduced new goat milk yogurts in blueberry, strawberry, vanilla and plain flavors. Fondy Jack from LaClare Farms is a goat milk ver- sion of Monterey Jack – the name is a play on Fond du Lac – that shares Mon- terey Jack's excellent melting characteris- tics. Fondy Jack is also available in pepper jack and tomato-basil flavors. Laurie & Sons, the winner of the 2015 sofi Award for the Best Chocolate for Dangerously Delicious Black Licorice Chocolate Toffee, was at the show this year with Single Origin Ginger Toffee, which won a silver award at the Interna- tional Chocolate Awards. It's made with four different types of ginger, including the raw powder, ginger syrup and ginger crystals on top to give the confection a distinctive, but not overpowering, hit of ginger flavor. Propelled by the 2015 sofi Award win, Laurie & Sons' founder Laurie Pauker's creative approach to quality snack foods has found a place in the market, and we can look forward to future expansions of the product line to include some savory options, according to Andrew Pauker, Laurie's son. "It's been taking off over the past two years, and the Fancy Food Show has been important to that," he said. The Brooklyn Brew Shop came to the show with a new line of Farm Steady do- it-yourself kits for making gourmet foods at home, includ- ing kits for mak- ing four fresh Italian cheeses and pretzels with beer cheese. The kits are sold in a va- riety of specialty shops represent- ing the home goods, gift and brew supply in- dustries. Chuao Choco- latier announced the launch of its Fair Trade, organic chocolate bar line, the En- amored Collection. An ode to women with a mission of celebrating who they are inside and out, the brand has part- nered with Girls Inc. and for every seven Enamored Collection bars that are sold, $1 will be donated. The line was created by the brand's Master Chef and Co-Founder, Michael Antonorsi, as an ode to all women: "With the Enamored Collection, we wanted to create a product that celebrated 'you,' be- cause who you are is enough," said Antonorsi. "Spreading joy is the inten- tion behind everything we do, and with this new col- lection we hope to bring a moment of joy to every person who experiences it." The Enamored Col- lection will be avail- able in three varieties, all featuring luscious fruit and a hint of floral in organic, Fair Trade certified 72 per- cent dark chocolate: Rasp- berry Rose, made with radiant raspberries sugared with rose petals; Blueberry Lavender, made with juicy blueberries lightly infused with lux- urious lavender; and Coconut Hibiscus, made with creamy coconut and a hint of sweet hibiscus. "For us, it's more about delivering a message – chocolate is the bonus," said Chuao Communications Director Brooke Feld- man. "It's been fun to be able to have those conversations with people.... Traffic's been really good. There's been a great response to the whole line and the new collection." The company is also bringing out a pair of holiday seasonal bars: for the love of pepper- mint and hope, joy & gingerbread. The 2.8- ounce bars will retail for $4.99. "Our inten- tion is to spread joy. Sometimes we do that with nostalgic flavors. Sometimes we do that with new ingredients," Feldman said. "If we can make people smile, we've done our job." Lilly's Hummus made its Fancy Food Show debut this year with handmade hummus made from organic garbanzo beans. The company, in business since 2003, started when CEO Michael Mis- coe's wife whipped up a quick hummus recipe for a barbecue the couple was hosting at home. "People went crazy for it," Miscoe said. Lilly's Hummus now of- fers 12 varieties in 12-ounce packages and just launched this year a single-serve snack pack with crackers on top and hummus on the bottom that retails for about $3.59. The high pro- tein lowfat snack in its single serving package appeals to mothers, kids, Mil- lennials and anyone who's taking lunch to the office, he said. "It's been great. People love it," he added. Droga Chocolates won the sofi Award in the Confections category this year for Money on Honey, a salted caramel that incorporates honey as its sweetener. It's covered with Guittard dark chocolate and topped with a sprinkling of French sea salt. "It's been our best seller for the past five years," said Droga Founder and Pres- ident Michelle Crochet. The Money on Honey product line now includes four SKUs, each made of the same caramel but with different mix-ins, including sea salt, crispy rice or roasted peanuts. This year, the company introduced the products with Fair Trade chocolate and will also be donating a portion of the profits to sup- port the health of honey bees. This is Droga's fifth year at the Fancy Food Show and its first sofi Award. "It's made a big difference," Crochet said. "It's drawn people in to taste this product. They're really curious about it." Money on Honey started with a recipe that Crochet's mother used to make. Then Crochet adapted it to substitute in honey instead of the high fructose corn syrup that's the sweetener for many of the caramel candies on the commercial mar- ket, and the product was an instant hit. "In my own life, I'm always looking to eat clean foods," she said. "Once I started sharing it with people, I knew it was a winner. Everybody seemed to like the product." GN Specialty Food Association Honors 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award Winners The Specialty Food Association honored the recipients of 2016 Lifetime Achieve- ment Awards at the Summer Fancy Food Show in New York City. The honorees for Lifetime Achievement are: Andrew Balducci, Balducci's: Andrew Balducci, former owner of Balducci's, was one of the first direct importers of Pro- sciutto di Parma in the U.S. and is credited with introducing broccoli rabe to California farmers, having mozzarella made fresh, and being among the first to enlist the services of artisan bread bakers. He worked to con- tinually expand the Balducci's New York City fruit and produce operations, adding cheese, pastry, seafood and a butcher shop to its repertoire. Eunice and David Bigelow, Bigelow Tea: While the Bigelow Tea company attributes its beginnings to Ruth Bigelow and the advent of Constant Comment Tea in 1945, it was David and Eunice who paved the way for the explosion of the U.S. specialty tea market. Today, the Bigelows serve as co-chairs of the family-run company that makes more than 120 blends. They are founding members of the NASFT (now SFA). Daniel J. Carter, DCI Cheese: Widely regarded as the driving force behind the creation of the U.S. specialty cheese in- dustry, Daniel Joseph Carter has worked across the cheese category, from the Pu- rity Cheese Company, to his own consult- ing firm, Dan Carter, Inc., to establishing an appropriations bill to reposition and invigorate Wisconsin dairy and specialty cheese production. Carter also served as Chair of the NASFT (now SFA) from 1972 –1973. He was recognized as a Mas- ter Connoisseur of French Gastronomy in 1972, and received the International Dairy Deli Bakery Association's President Award. F. James McGilloway, The Gilway Co.: In 1971, after a successful career in super- market management, McGilloway migrated to the specialty food industry, where he spent 25+ years building success in the U.S. for Twinings Tea, Tobler Chocolates, Tip- tree Preserves and other iconic brands. In 1981, he founded The Gilway Company with Tiptree Preserves, products under the Gilway label, and many other British and European specialties. He served as chair of the NASFT (now SFA) from 1986 -1988, making major contributions to the reshap- ing and direction of the association. Joel Schuman, Source Atlantique: Joel Schuman founded Source Atlantique in 1991 as part of the Food Import Group. With years in the business and strong rela- tionships with European suppliers, he raised the standards of brand development, marketing, and salesmanship available to foreign manufacturers. Under Schuman's leadership, Source Atlantique took owner- ship of brands that offered great potential, broadening and strengthening the com- pany's sphere of influence in the specialty food industry. His business acumen and passion for specialty foods contributed to the overall growth of the specialty food in- dustry, bringing new brands to the U.S. and increasing the demand for high quality food products. GN

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