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January 2006
Impressions of Fancy Food, the 31st annual trade show
by Mani Niall


It’s true-
You really CAN’T get enough chocolate


Local chocolatiers worth more than a bite-
I ran into
Joan Steuer, founder of Chocolatier magazine, raving about the praline almond, Venezuelan cacao and freshly ground spice blend called Cocoa Nuts (www.cocoadesigns.com)...Don’t miss the caramelized rice krispie bars, triple coated nuts, and ooey gooey ganache filed chocolates from www.charleschocolates.com...Lose a button? Look for Tuxedo Beans from www.sfchocolate.com...Guittard introduced their nifty packaged single origin tasting kit (www.guittard.com)



Take a quick trip to Hawaii via the grocery store

Bring home the red and black sands of Molokai with Soul of the Sea and Palm Island salts from www.HawaiiKaiCo.com...Although I prefer sweet/bitter Li Hing Mui powder on the rim of a margarita at the
Moana hotel on Waikiki, Bubbies sprinkles it on their mochi enrobed mango ice cream (www.bubbiesicecream.com)...the Wailea Agricultural Group was offering fresh heart of palm, served grilled, moist, smoky, juicy - I can’t rave enough about it. Grown on the Big Island-and light-years away from the canned variety. Chefs and caterers, contact wag@interpac.net



Local Notables

Laura Howard’s goats up in Petaluma have been extra busy rolling out several new flavors of Laloo’s goat milk ice cream, including lemon chiffon, brownie and clyde and peanut butter and jelly (www.goatmilkicecream.com)...over the hill in Sonoma the innovative streak keeps on pouring with new simple syrups - vanilla hazelnut, pomegranate orange and my favorite, white ginger, from www.sonomasyrup.com...I took a virtual tour of the olive farm at the booth of Dr. Peter Panagotacos (office on Union St./ olive farm in Greece, his ancestral home). Take a tour yourself at www.lykovouno.com.... Sebastian Francese is using real Argentinean dulce de leche layered in his delectable Alfajores (translation: incredible filled cookie), made right here in Oakland. Available in local coffee houses and online soon at www.dolcevitapastries.com...SFPFS member Laura Martin Bacon introduced me to Lisa Olswing of Charlottes, proudly displaying their new redesigned packaging (www.charlottesconfections.com)
 


Meanwhile, back in the hive...

Look for locally stocked imported honey from the Tuscan hives of
Dr. Pescia including Edera (ivy),mandorla (almond) and mint, or go to www.ritrovo.com...because of its high fructose content, tupelo honey never crystallizes. Ted Dennard (www.savannahbee.com) packs each year’s vintage in a tall, stately pour bottle. Just added is black sage, orange blossom and soon, his own line of cosmetics...International candy makers are using honey, look for Italian torrone (www.goldenbonbon.com) and Caramoo Crumbles (www.caramoo.com), both creamy AND crumbly caramels from Poland...Trappist monks may have all the fun, but Blair Montague Drake discovered Benedictine monks’ honey and herbal elixir formulas (www.monasticmarvels.com) such as Norfolk Nectar, Hinterland Herbal Honey and Dreemy Creemy Coconut Honey...In addition to procuring estate chocolates for his line of organic chocolates (www.dagobachocolate.com), Frederick Schilling been bitten by the bug of beekeeping. (Not literally, he suits up to prevent stings). Could there be honey and chocolate creations in the future?...Finally, for those times when you need both a caffeine and a honey buzz, Ben Ripple (www.bigtreebali.com) has bottled coffee blossom honey.


Foods you never knew you needed

Now that the tide has swung back in favor of tropical oils (un-hydrogenated, no cholesterol, etc.), look for
Jungle Products organic coconut oil and red palm oil. Make popcorn with coconut oil and you’ll swear off melted butter (www.junglepi.com)... Utterly original and unlike anything from bakers or candy makers stateside, Japanese confectioners Hidemi (www.hidemi-co.com) offer both sweet and savory creations that I can’t seem to forget...And with a tagline that simply oozes slow food and sustainability, Bongo introduced frozen, microwaveable donuts. Rise. Shine. Microwave. www.bongodonuts.com...
 

 
List of Recent Events

February 2010
Visit to Nettie's Crabshack

February 2010
A visit to FullBloom Baking Co.

January 2010
Annual General Meeting

December 2009
Wine Sig: Rosé sparkling wines

November 2009
Cooking Teacher SIG: Gifts from the Kitchen

November 2009
Tea Pairing with Numi Tea

November 2009
STP: Spice at Campton Place

October 2009
Canned Tomato Tasting

October 2009
Traveling Table Visits Brown Sugar

September 2009
Visit to AG Ferrari

September 2009
Cooking Teachers SIG report

September 2009
Lark Creek Steak hosts Australian Traveling Table

September 2009
Recession-Buster Wine Sig

August 2009
Over $6000 raised at BBQ

August 2009
2009 BBQ a big success

July 2009
Cooking Teacher SIG: Korean cooking

July 2009
Traveling Table: Estate

July 2009
Sustainable Meat and Seafood

June 2009

C.J. Olson Cherry Farm Tour


June 2009

Ice Cream Tasting

May 2009

Wine SIG Tastes Gewürztraminer


May 2009
Master Class in Chocolate

April 2009
Protecting Intellectual Property

March 2009
East Bay Networking Event

March 2009
Cheddar Tasting


February 2009
Rhone whites delight


February 2009
M.F.K Fisher


January 2009
2009 AGM and NMR


January 2009
SFPFS Cooking Teacher SIG Meeting


January 2009
Traveling Table to Chez Papa


December 2008
Burgundy Wine SIG


September 2008
Cooking Teacher SIG

September 2008
Minutes from September board meeting (Word doc)


September 2008
Peanut Butter Tasting

September 2008
SF Networking event at Local Kitchen


September 2008
Stirring the Pot: Celebrity Chefs


September 2008
Traveling Table at Mantra


September 2008
30th Anniversary of SFPFS


August 2008
Board Meeting Minutes (Word Doc)


August 2008
Coffee Cupping


July 2008
Cooking Teacher SIG


June 2008
Honey Tasting SIG


June 2008
Food Writing Book Club SIG


June 2008
Digs Bistro

June 2008
Sauvignon Blanc Showdown

May 2008
A Visit to Careme 350


May 2008
Cooking Teachers SIG


May 2008
San Mateo Members Meet


May 2008
South Bay Members Connect

April 2008
Wine SIG takes a Beaujolais Cruise


April 2008
Demystifying the Food/Wine Dilemma


March 2008
Pasta tasting

March 2008
Cooking Teachers' SIG


March 2008
Traveling Table to Ubuntu

March 2008
Gelato Making

February 2008
Best of Show Cabernet Sauvignons

January 2008
AGM 2008

January 2008
Cooking SIG at Ramekins


January 2008
Stirring the Pot: Future of Chinese Cuisine


December 2007
Marmalade tasting


November 2007
Wine SIG samples sparklers

November 2007
United States of Arugula review


November 2007
Decoding Molecular Gastronomy


October 2007
Career Change Roundtable

October 2007
B Star Bar

September 2007
Barbary BBQ on Maiden Lane


September 2007
Vanilla Tasting


August 2007
Wine SIG tastes Rieslings

June 2007
Wine SIG Rosé Tasting

June 2007
Wines from Livermore

June 2007
Tasting Sig Explores Fetas

June 2007
Dinner at B Restaurant


May 2007
An Evening with Jaques Pepin

April 2007
Knockout Santa Cruz Wines

March 2007
Feasting at Chef Chus


February 2007
Annual General Meeting

February 2007
Lessons from a Master Taster: Darrell Corti


February 2007
East Bay Urban Wine Tour

January 2007
Traveling Table: Radio Africa and Kitchen


December 2006
Holiday Cookie Exchange


November 2006
Southern Foodways Alliance

October 2006
Stirring the Pot with Chuck Williams


October 2006
Wine Sig Looks for Varietal Character


August 2006
SFPFS Barbeque on the USS Hornet


August 2006
Stirring the Pot: Building your Culinary Pedigree

June 2006
Antony Bourdain at the Commonwealth Club


May 2006
Expo West 2006

May 2006
Table Travelers visit Old Mandarin


January 2006
The Annual General Meeting

January 2006
Impressions of Fancy Food, the 31st annual trade show

September 19, 2005
Stirring the Pot: The History, Dynamics, and Ethics of Luxury Dining

June 22, 2005
Stirring the Pot with Nell Newman, Els Cooperrider and Guinness McFadden

May 25, 2005
Brentwood Agricultural Land Trust Fundraising Dinner

May 18. 2005
Philippe Stark and Michel Rolland at the SF W Hotel

April 28, 2005
Roundtable: The Food and Culture of Burma

February 15, 2005
Stirring the Pot with Harold McGee

October 22, 2004
Food Fight! A Lively Discussion of Today's Most Challenging Food Choices

July 12, 2004
Blenheim Apricot Food Tour

May 17, 2004
Stirring the Pot: A Conversation with Hubert Keller, Michael Mina and Bradley Ogden

March 15, 2004
Stirring the Pot: A Conversation with Gerald Asher 

February 10, 2004
SFPFS Traveling Table goes to New Delhi Restaurant

January 26, 2004
AGM / NMR Review

November 10, 2003
Reel Food - Castro Theatre

September 25, 2003
Food Tour - Heritage Fruit Orchard at Filoli Gardens

September 17, 2003
Rick Knoll on Organic Farming

June 16, 2003
A Conversation with Thomas Keller: The Soul of Haute Cuisine in America

May 19, 2003
The SFPFS Traveling Table - Roxanne's in Larkspur

April 28, 2003
Stirring the Pot: A Conversation with Marian Burros and Marion Cunningham

March, 2003
Stirring the Pot: A Conversation with Marion Nestle

 

         
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