Goat Cheese Cake at the 2010 Fancy Food Show in NYC

Summer 2010 Fancy Food Show

By Dana McCauley

With over 180,000 products showcased by 2,500 Exhibitors at New York City’s Javitz Center, the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade (NASFT) Fancy Food Show offers an interesting glimpse into the current culinary landscape. Here, in no particular order, are my observations:

• Pink peppercorns were featured in chocolate products by New Tree and Vosges. At New Tree the chocolate was dark while Vosges used lemon scented white chocolate as foil to this sweetly spiced berry.

• The show was, quite literally, saturated with teas and coffees. While they featured all the typical spicing and flavours, the real interesting flavour story in the beverage category for me came from Ayla’s organic herb infused water. I think cinnamon-orange peel was my fav.

• Artisan goat cheese was being sampled in abundance and much of it was very, very good; however, the most interesting goat milk product at the show was, IMHO, the goat milk caramels presented by Happy Goat.

• Chips made from pulses (beans, chickpeas, lentils) were plentiful at the show as were “puffed” products such as rice cakes and quinoa. In the case of quinoa it was being used to add crunch to chocolate bars and candies by several confectioners.

• Macarons – both savoury and sweet- were not only popular at the show but also in the shops and cafes in NYC. That said, cupcakes aren’t dead yet. They had less presence at the show but were still wildly popular on the streets.

• Baking mixes by popular sweet establishments were also noteworthy. Pat from Fat Witch Brownies (a Chelsea bakery I’ve loved for years) has a new line of baking mixes that bring Fat Witch favs home as does Vosges.

• Sweet and savoury continues to prevail in a number of ways. Sticky toffee pudding cheese, chocolate chip cheese balls, coconut curry ice cream, bacon toffee ice cream …etc were just a few examples of how this trend is maturing.

• Bacon-flavoured products of all kinds: mayonnaise, applewood smoked, lip balm (seriously) and salt are generally poor quality but in abundance.

• Uncured meats. Uncured hams and artisan bacon of excellent taste and texture were available from quite a few companies.

• Stuff on sticks. Apparently, putting a chocolate or cheesecake on a lolly stick is important in this day and age where no one has time to sit down and eat or to wash their hands when they get a bit sticky.

• Savoury jams and preserves are an emerging trend. Interestingly, few of them – unless they were authentically Indian – were called chutneys.  There was also choice between ketchups of various flavours and levels of artisan-ness (is that word?).

• Very thinly sliced, super crisp biscotti were being marketed as a cracker substitute to serve with cheese by at least two companies.

• Beets – to my delight! – were used as a chip and packaged in cold deli style containers so that no cooking or peeling was required before enjoying them.

• Bialy was a new discovery for me. It’s a cross between a bagel and an English muffin and quite intriguing.

• Pickles are in!  From refrigerator pickle kits to spiced pickles to old fashioned pickles in crocks, people were puckering up in delight.

What else did I learn at the Fancy Food Show?  I learned that there is a lot of competition in this world and that, if you’re looking to get into the food business that you should likely avoid choosing these crowded categories:

• Tea
• Chocolate
• Finishing salts
• Artisan goat cheese

Here’s a quick rundown of some of the exciting and interesting finds from Manitoba:

Cold Pressed Prairie Oils
We’ve all seen cold pressed canola oil.  How about cold pressed flax, sunflower and  hemp for salad dressings, dips, or finishing oils.  Grown locally, and often pressed fresh in front of your eyes, the oils are full of Prairie sunshine.  The cool climate is considered a major factor in the higher polyunsaturate content in the oils, meaning heart healthy.  Watch out for mustardy camelina oil which may be coming out soon, thanks to work from the Food Development Centre in Portage la Prairie.

Unique grains, pulses and lentils
Canada’s Prairie provinces are the global production leader for chickpeas, pulses and lentils.  Healthy, and homegrown.  Other unique grains, from quinoa, spices and Cavena nuda “oat rice” are coming out in the mainstream.  How about split pea snacks?  Not just for South Asian namkeen and khoraki snacks any more, these crunchy goodies come in classic potato chip flavours, with none of the potato chip guilt.  Or check out local grains in finished products.  Artisanal bakeries are taking advantage of the goodness.

Hemp everything
Manitoba is Canada’s hemp foods leader.  With over 6000 acres in hemp production, look out for a wide variety of processed product.  Whole or hulled hemp seeds for baking, snacking, and everything in between, through hemp protein isolates for health and wellness, hemp nut butter, and hemp-milk beverages.  Nutty, tasty, and extremely healthy.

Big time for Bison
Bison has come full circle, from being the original prairie delicacy, sustaining the Aboriginal communities, to being the trendy meat of choice in restaurants across the region.  Burgers, satays, stews, bison has come back big time.

Varietal Honeys
Clover or buckwheat honey is beautiful, but how about borage or raspberry blossom honey?  Look for niche varietals with unique floral characteristics.  Blended honey is another treat, look for honey spreads and honey butters with Prairie fruits, or real butter blended in.

Smoked Fish
Who’d have guessed that some of the best smoked fish comes from the centre of the country.  Gimli-style smoked lakefish is unlike anything else.  Smoked goldeneye anyone?

Classic Confectionery
No questions, this is your mom and dad’s candy.  Maybe even your grandparent’s candy.  Classic, comfortable, and oh so kitsch.  Fluorescent pink popcorn, and prizes are just a few of the options.

Multicultural Ready to Eat
Ukranian and Icelandic influences are hitting the multicultural frozen or ready-to-eat fare.  Look for classic pickled foods and other homestyle items to lead the trend.

Marketing, Marketing, Marketing…
How about pairing one of Manitoba’s top tourist destinations with a marketing strategy for Manitoban and Canadian foods?  This is Randy Cameron’s plan. Cameron, General Manager of The Forks Market, along with Manfred Villing, President of Wittmann Foods, are organizing the “Canada’s Home Grown Marketplace”. Here, uniquely Canadian food products will be showcased and sold to the 4 million visitors who come to The Forks each year.  They are actively seeking products, and building contacts with interested vendors.

Photo – courtesy of Travel Manitoba

-When foraging plants, remember the general etiquette: know your plants, and know about their life cycle.  Never take more than the plant can quickly regenerate within a year.  Some of my personal recommendations include not taking more than one or two fiddles per well established fern. I never taking more than 1/4 of the mushrooms I find (even if it breaks my heart), and I leave some fruits (1/10) on the wild raspberries, strawberries, and other fruit-bearing plants I find.

-Know your plants also takes a different perspective.  If you aren’t 100% certain that you have identified your plant correctly, then don’t eat it. There are plenty of toxic plants out there that could cause serious damage.  Learn from an experienced forager who is willing to share his or her craft.

-Don’t forage on private property or in protected parkland. That’s just common sense.

-If it’s generally considered a weed, then eat your heart out. Garlic mustard, dandelions, burdock, chrysanthemum greens, lambs quarters, purslane, amaranth, take as much as you want.  Someone might even thank you.

-Remember that some foraged plants are considered threatened, endangered or vulnerable species. Canadian laws in different jurisdictions may protect against harvesting certain species, including American ginseng, goldenseal, spotted wintergreen, prickly pear cactus, red mulberry, wild ginger, and wild leeks.  Before you harvest, make sure you check your regional conservation authority for local regulations for foraging plants.

Have fun, and enjoy the harvest!

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Posted by Amy Proulx, who harvested those wild leeks legally, sustainably, and with permission.

Photo: Amy Proulx

May is National Barbecue Month. And what better time to consider the latest survey information regarding the grilling habits of Canadians. The 21st annual Grillwatch survey, conducted by Toronto-based Leger Marketing on behalf of Weber-Stephen Products Co., probes the habits, knowledge and performance of Canadian grillers. According to the Weber survey, Canadians most often grill hamburgers, steak, chicken pieces and hot dogs. Steak still reigns supreme as the all time favourite barbecue food item. Rarely mentioned (1%) by survey respondents? Whole turkey, lamb roasts and scallops.

Despite their year-round love of the grill, survey results also indicate Canadians would like to increase their grilling expertise when it comes two particular items: beef roasts and pizza. One in seven Canadians enjoy cooking pizza on the grill. Mozzarella cheese and mushrooms achieved the highest grades as toppings. Out here in the West, pineapple ranked the preferred topping. My husband considers himself quite the gourmand when he tosses his special Saturday night pizza onto the grill. Unlike the survey results, which report that men wield the tongs as primary griller in most households (64%), this is the only occasion my husband takes control of the barbecue tools.  I was happy to hear that 24% of the respondents claimed grilling as a shared activity in their households.

When it gets down to regional food choices, Quebec grillers like to cook chicken more often, in Ontario backyard chefs have a hankering for ribs and Maritimers prefer steak.

Do your grilling habits match the survey or was your favourite flame-broiled item ignored?

Photo © alisdair. Published under a Creative Commons License.

Even with the fanfare, the Liberal party is not entering into a massive food policy void.  Canada has a food policy.  For better or worse, Canada has a whole pile of government food policies, regulatory agencies, and organizational tiers.  Months ago, a similar conversation process took place about a national food policy, and continues to draw conclusions and influence program management in the public health sector.

The new Liberal policy delicately dances around the current structures, not focusing on heavy restructuring, rather looking at increasing efficiency within the current system.  That said, there already is a strong level of restructuring and evaluation.  Just consider the Auditor General’s report last week, evaluating the efficacy of the Research Branch at Agriculture and Agrifood Canada, or the discussion paper from a month ago on Sustainable Development.  Some of the evaluation and reevaluation proposed sounds repetitive.

Within this document, there is very little to cause protest.  After all, it’s supposed to draw support to the party.  The highlights read like grand generalizations about change, and in my opinion there is not a lot of substance to evaluate.  Personally, I am delighted that a party is looking to prioritize the food issue.  But will it change my political views?  I won’t pass judgment until I see the full platform with action plans, not just generalizations.

It’s misleading to assume that the platform will narrow the “rural-urban divide”.  And it’s ironic to assume that food issues are solely a rural issue.   Agriculture and fisheries are still predominantly rural, but the continuum from farm or sea to fork is a more complex path.  The rural environment has been neglected, but beyond that, there has not been a comprehensive approach to full food sector development beyond agriculture, as evidenced in last year’s budget.  Most secondary processing and distribution is an urban issue, while nutrition issues, inspection and food packaging laws will impact us all, whether we are in the 20% rural minority, or not.

Lastly, there is no mention of the cultural importance of a strong food sector.  Economics is vital, and public health care, like it or not, is really an economic issue.  How can political policies reenforce our culinary cultural identity?  Developing a stronger cultural and societal value for food will reinforce public support for best economic policies for the food sector.

Have you read the new food policy platform?  Are you going to join the debates?  What do you like, and what is missing?

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Posted by Amy Proulx

Photo © countryliving.com

Quite often food trends trickle down from the foodservice world to the grocery realm. Consider balsamic vinegar. In the 1980s when Cal-Ital restaurants become popular, this was a new and exotic ingredient that home cooks quickly started asking for at the grocery store. Today balsamic vinegar is a kitchen staple and sold in even well-stocked convenience stores. The modern equivalent is black garlic, which as 2009 dawned was brand new to most chefs but is now, less than 18 months later, available at chain grocers such as Longo’s and Metro.

As the black garlic example shows, restaurants are still an important progenitor of trends. However, today many current restaurant trends are consumer driven and spring from our societal concerns about health and wellness.

Portion Control
US chains such as TGI Friday’s have been successful with their ‘Right Portion, Right Price’ options and other restaurants such as California Pizza Kitchen hope to duplicate this success by launching ‘Small Cravings’ menu items that focus on bold flavours delivered small portions at small prices. Here in Canada, this trend is flourishing as well as restaurants such as Oliver-Bonacini offer small dessert offerings such as their ‘couple of squares.’

Calorie Counts
While Quick Serve Restaurants (QSR’s) have offered calorie and nutrient info about their menu items on line or in store for many years, sit down restaurants have long been exempt from this kind of disclosure. However, today more sit-down chains and higher end eateries are attempting to appeal to dieters by showcasing menus and menu items that are limited in calorie. For instance, at SIR corps Four, all menu items are under 650 calories and Jack Astor’s is promoting their 415 calorie chicken salad in ads on restroom doors in health club chains.

Satiety
Satiety is of growing interest among consumers who want to be fit and slim but don’t want to suffer with hunger pangs. At the foodservice level, restaurateurs are addressing this need by creating menu items that feature more whole grains. Ontario upscale pizzeria chain Il Fornello’s whole wheat pizza crust is one great example, while Starbuck’s oatmeal success is soon to be challenged by McDonald’s who has announced that they’ll be launching $1.99 cups of oatmeal on their new breakfast menu. Likewise, brown rice is offered at many more sushi restaurants than it was even a year ago.

Lower Sodium
While there aren’t a lot of restaurants or chains that are actively reducing salt levels in their menu items, you can be sure that chefs have a growing awareness of this issue and are asking their suppliers for lower sodium semi-prepared ingredient options. Likewise, restaurants that prepare items from scratch and use few processed items in their menu offering are being recognized and chosen by consumers as better choices than chains that use more manufactured ingredients.

In the near future look for more restaurants to substitute extra herbs, garlic, spices, citrus and other high flavour ingredients for bottled marinades, sauces and salty condiments such as mustard, ketchup and soy sauce.

Allergies
With food allergy awareness now elevated in schools and child-centered businesses, restaurants are beginning to realize that adult food allergy sufferers are an unfulfilled group. From gluten-free options on mainstream menus to exclusively allergy free venues there are more safe dining options for people with food allergies than every before. A prime example is Zero8, a Montreal restaurant, where the menu excludes the eight most common allergens (fish and seafood, peanuts, nuts, sesame seeds, milk, soybeans, eggs, wheat/gluten).

What other healthful living changes and concepts would you like to see on Canadian restaurant menus?

By Dana McCauley

As the end of the decade advances, I find myself looking back, taking stock of the trend landscape and wondering about what we can expect to see in 2010 and beyond.

During the last ten years products that offer a wellness advantage that promote either longevity or enhance our beauty have become mainstream. Likewise, blending sweet and savoury ingredients in desserts and main meal components continues to be a popular way to add flavour and interest to Canadian recipes and restaurant meals. We’ve also seen a plethora of more convenient food packaging concepts at the grocery store from skinless, boneless chicken thighs, to authentically ethnic meal kits to pre-washed, ready to eat and cook fresh veggie options.

Although they’ll manifest themselves in new ways, the trends of wellness, natural and convenient will influence our eating as we start the second decade of the century. too. Here’s a snap shot of some of the specific things you should expect to see more of in 2010:

• Humble Gourmet | On the heels of the success enjoyed by gourmet burger chains and mac and cheese restaurants in the US, more simple foods done well will continue to pop up on restaurant menus. Look for gourmet meatloaf, braises, stews and hot dogs made with artisan care and quality on even highend menus. Also likely to be appearing in Canada soon: macaroni and cheese restaurants!

• Artisan Cocktails | Expect to see more bartenders like Lauren Mote of Vancouver’s The Refinery who make not only their own bitters but also their own fruit infusions for signature cocktails such as The Charred Bourbon Sour. Made with a lengthy ingredient list that http://www.homemakers.com/blog/danasblog/ includes house bitters (made with licorice root, fresh thyme, ginger, vanilla, lemon/lime/grapefruit/orange peels, cloves, caraway seeds, white pepper, fennel) charred oak and caramelized coconut syrup, bourbon, lemon juice and egg white, this trend turns every toast into a gourmet experience. At home, this trend will manifest itself in more consumers buying premium mixers such as Fever Tree and Q Tonic to make premium quality cocktails.

• The New Shake and Bake | Products such as Batter Blaster and Dr. Oetker shaker batters eliminate the mess of baking and make it an anytime activity. Pancakes, waffles, cupcakes and muffins can all be made with no special tools or ingredients beyond milk.

• Assembly Line Cooking | Although the recession may have trained us to eat more dinners at home and to carry our lunches, economic stress hasn’t turned Canadians into cooks. Pick-and-pack lunches that feature a collection of pre-packaged foods and dinners made from kits and semi-prepared ingredients have become even more popular and will continue to intrigue consumers.

• Recognition of Local Super Foods | Instead of turning to the fruits of the Amazon, Canadian grown nutrient power house foods such as blueberries, raspberries, kale and sweet potatoes will get the respect they deserve. This off-shoot of the local trend will bring nutrition messaging home where it belongs as consumers learn to keep the planet and themselves healthier simultaneously.

• Exotic meets Everyday | Flavours from afar are being used to add new twists to common foods. For instance cardamom in apple cake or chocolates; rosewater in trifle and other creamy desserts, hibiscus in vodka martinis, smoothies and soft drinks.

• Macarons Madness | Already very popular in Montreal and Vancouver and trending up in Toronto, expect to see macarons become mainstream, ousting cupcakes from fashionable baby showers, wedding receptions and birthday parties.

• Butterscotch Bliss | Fancier. Butterier. As yummy as ever before but just more (deservingly) popular. Butterscotch is trending up and that can’t help but be good! From butterscotch desserts appearing on more fine dining restaurant menus to twitter chat and TV mentions, butterscotch is on everyone’s lips. Interesting is that this flavour is being called ‘Canadian’ on US network TV shows like How I Met Your Mother.

• Bare Minimum | As an offshoot of the natural trend that gives consumers peace of mind on both sides of the border, more Canadians will look for simple, honest to goodness foods that they can trust. To communicate this quality, food companies will embrace the word “bare” to communicate this virtue. Following the lead of US company Just Bare chicken (their tagline is “choose simplicity”) and Bear Naked granola snacks.

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No big surprises are here for anyone in the food industry, still let me summarize some of the most interesting findings:

• Consumers are focusing on fresh, local and healthy when making purchases.  Local food is perceived as healthier, and has a nostalgic characteristic which is a real marketing boon for retailers, and a win-win for all of us.  Higher income families spend a greater percentage on healthy foods, and local foods.

• Food processing, and food additives are seen as major health risks compared to other risks, such as quality of health care, or obesity.

• 60% of Canadians are preparing more meals at home, for both economic and health reasons.

• 67% of consumers consider local food a very important determinant of purchasing intent, as compared to 45% for organic food.  80% of consumers see the increase of local foods in restaurants and stores as a strongly positive change.

• Availability of ready-to-eat products in stores is seen primarily as a “lukewarm” change by 47% of consumers.

• Brands are becoming less important, especially among younger consumers.

• Genetic modification of food is seen as primarily a negative trait, but  is seen more favourably by first generation Canadians.

• The format of a food plays very heavily on our impressions of healthiness, home-cooked versus restaurant made, fresh versus frozen, processed versus whole, etc.

• Consumer and health communications have a strong affect on consumer perceptions of healthiness.  Eggs are perceived as one of the healthier foods, concluding that a good communications strategy can overcome poor consumer opinion.

• Our healthiest meals are at home, and usually on the weekends.  Consumers feel healthy meals are rarely had at fast food outlets.  Sit-down restaurants fare a lot better in public opinion.

• Consumers are aware of the Canada Food Guide, however find it difficult to interpret, with only 11% of consumers finding its recommendations very helpful in determining food choices.

• Cost of food is perceived as the greatest barrier to healthy eating, with lower income families putting a greater emphasis on this point.  Lack of time is the second most important barrier to not eating healthy.  Lack of knowledge and skills are a very significant factor for 25% of consumers when it comes to healthy eating.

Opinion, and actual purchasing intent are two different, and very fickle friends.  Public opinion polls are different than sales volume and market share studies.  Inevitably, price is the predominant influence at point of purchase, but there is a real movement towards local, healthy , and home-cooked foods that is swaying the market.   There are plenty more extensive Canadian trend reports out there, so keep and open mind, and a critical eye on the situation.  Let’s see where these trends go in the coming years.

Any of these finding surprise you? As a food professional which stats are your biggest challenge?

Photo – Amy Proulx

We all know that many sectors of the Canadian agriculture are in trouble.  Case in point, the pork industry. It’s under catastrophic collapse from fluctuating commodity prices, trade barriers instigated by disease outbreaks, and supply and demand issues which have left the pork industry in chaos.  Pork farms are going bankrupt under the current system.

So there are a myriad of farmers who are ready and willing to make the break from their traditional practices, and start into a new farming venture that may be more sustainable, or more responsive to market demand.  But there’s no money to be had.  Banks see farms, and especially experimental ventures, as risky business.  Loans are few and far between, and young farmers, such as my friend, who have little equity built up, are left in a quandary as to what to do, and how to fund it.

How about Slow Money?  In essence, put your money where your mouth is.  Like Slow Food, where supporting food and agriculture has become a winning business for many producers, some creative venture capitalists have branched into investing in local agriculture.  High risk, but potential for respectable returns, and respect for supporting the local economy.  Check out the report by CBC’s David Gutnick.

Do you have an example of a successful or creative farm and food investment strategy?  Tell us about what has worked for you.

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Posted by Amy Proulx

Photo © George Chriss, used under a Creative Commons Licence

Massimo Marcone, on the hunt for the elusive Kopi Luwak coffee.

I finally got around to reading Massimo Marcone’s book, In Bad Taste?, awarded last year’s Honourable Mention for Special Interest Books at the Canada Culinary Book Awards. Massimo is a friend and colleague of mine, so he has been cajoling me to read the book since it came out. Browsing through the public library, it finally got the best of me, and I read it this past long weekend.

What fun! It’s a whirlwind tour of weird food, fascinating places, and the futuristic world of the scientific lab. And it is equally a portrait of an interesting scientist, who perfectly fits the description of “Mr. Magoo meets Indiana Jones”. If I may, I’ll also add “walking-talking encyclopedia” to the description.

But beyond the book, what I find interesting is the real desire to read and understand the science behind food. Certainly we’ve all heard Michael Pollan’s diatribes against the food science industrial complex. But everyone who lights a stove, whips eggs in a copper bowl, makes jam, or kneads bread is somehow interacting with that science. Food science isn’t all  about ingredients that no one can pronounce. It should be about understanding, preserving and enhancing the goodness of food that is already within.

For me, it was intriguing to see two other 2008 Cuisine Canada award winning books with science at the core of their messages. The gold winning French language book, La chimie des desserts: tout comprendre pour mieux les réussir by Christina Blais and Ricardo is a wonderful primer on how to enhance the quality of desserts. The chemistry behind the cooking lets you make the best of each new recipe, and improve on your old favorites.  Blais, a professor of food science at l’Université de Montréal is a common face in the French-Canadian media, sharing her wealth of scientific knowledge to help people cook better.  Ricardo puts his sense of style in the recipes, and completes this winning combination.

Another gold winner, Ultimate Foods for Ultimate Health by Liz Pearson and Mairlyn Smith, used the most up-to-date knowledge in nutrition science, paired with delicious recipes, to help make healthy cooking delicious.  Pearson brings her expertise in nutrition and dietetics to interpret the myriad of nutrition theories and facts, while Smith, a professional home economist, packs the nutrition into dishes we can enjoy guilt free.

Food science, when brought into the public eye by skilled authors, can make our lives healthier, safer, tastier, and more interesting. Whether you are a fan or not, food science touches everything we eat. It’s important to become informed, and our authoritative Canadian authors are helping greatly in this regard.

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Written by Dr. Amy Proulx, who just happens to be the “laughing”, yet “level headed” Amy in Massimo’s book.  I still remember vividly the Moroccan Police chasing me around the airport.

Photo © Massimo Marcone, used with permission.