The 2014 Winter Fancy Food Show in San Francisco closed last week, following a three-day exhibition of more than 80,000 hand-crafted, artisan foods and beverages from more than 1,300 exhibitors from across the U.S. and around the world. Now on its 39th edition, the Winter Fancy Food Show is the West Coast’s largest showcase dedicated to the latest trends in the food sector.
Among all thirty five countries represented, the Italian Pavilion was once again the largest and the most versatile collection of foods, wines and spirits from many Italian regions. Close to fifty Italian exhibitors showed their goods over 5,300 square feet as part of the largest winter show in history.
Organized by the Italian Trade Commission in New York, the Italian Pavilion at the International Winter Fancy Food & Confection Show, last January 19-21 at San Francisco’s Moscone Center, offered tastings of Italian olive oil, preserved vegetables, artisanal pasta and sweets, cured meats, chocolate, olives, cheeses and wine.
The visitors at the Italian Pavilion had also the opportunity to watch cooking demonstrations and sample new products before their debut on the U.S. Market.
Among the most important company distributing fine Italian food in the Bay Area, there were ItalFoods and Italian Harvest (South San Francisco), Manicaretti Italian Food Imports (Oakland), Fra’ Mani (Berkeley), Fresca Italia (Brisbane), Sabre Food International (San Jose), Sonoma Gourmet (Sonoma) Corto Olive and A Tavola Together (Stockton), Busseto Foods (Fresno), and many more.
It was not easy to pick favorites among the very best of Italian products, all distinguished by their unique Made in Italy designation, including such traditional favorites as extra virgin olive oil and prosciutto.
By the way, L’Italo-Americano had the opportunity to take an inner look at two of the most authentic Italian products: pasta and salumi.
The booth of Del Verde pasta from Abruzzo, a premium Italian brand that has long been a favorite o discerning home cooks, was one of the most visited.
The company, founded in 1970 in the small village of Fara San Martino, takes its name from the Verde River, the source of the spring water used to make the pasta. This water, like the durum wheat with which it combined, is renowned for its remarkable purity.
The company still uses very traditional techniques in its pasta production, but at the same time welcomes innovation, so presented to the Fancy Food public some novelties in its product range such as Flavored Lasagne (Tomato, Spinach, Egg), Single Tubes Nests and Whole Wheat Organic.
In the Bay Area, Delverde is present at the following main shelves: Safeway, Mollie’s Stones, Wholefoods, Raley’s and Nugget’s.
The Winter Fancy Food Show was also an opportunity to learn, taste and enjoy Italian cured meets, visiting the booth 3629 by IVSI, the Institute for the Promotion of Italian Salumi.
Along with the Italian Association of Meat and Salumi Producers (ASSICA), they highlighted the difference between authentic Italian Salumi and the locally produced ones, showing how these have become better in the last 20 years from the point of view of the nutritional profile.
“Following the positive response we received last June during the Summer Fancy Food in New York, we could not miss the main winter showcase of food on the West Coast – said Francesco Pizzagalli, President of IVSI.
Following their participation in this important event, the two organizations organized an event on January 22nd at the Italian Cultural Institute of San Francisco, to promote the true Italian salumeria to an audience of buyers and distributors, journalists and food lovers.
An evening dedicated to the discovery of the Italian salumi taste with the chef Fabio Ugoletti, the stories of the food blogger and gastronomy expert Viola Buitoni, and food-wine pairings with sommelier Elisabetta Fagioli.
Once again, Italy proved to be the premier producer of quality foods in Europe and one of the major food and wine providers to the United States. Quality, craftsmanship, creativity and cost-effectiveness will be, as always, mainstay themes of the authentic Made in Italy.
The Winter Fancy Food Show it was once again a huge success in San Francisco, and it’s scheduled to return to the most European influenced city of the U.S. next year, on January 11-13, 2015.
Donate