Fancy Food Show Offers a Taste of Creativity

Top chefs, restaurant owners, and foodies joined grocery store buyers and culilnary executives yesterday in Washington D.C. as the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade (NASFT) kicked off its 57th Annual Summer Fancy Food Show. This culinary trend-setting extravaganza is a combination tasting room, foodie fantasy land, and glimpse into the future of food trends.  Almost five linear miles of marinades, teas, sauces, salsas, salts, rubs, chocolate, savories, and sweets are there to tempt attendees' taste buds, while pleasing -- or sometimes displeasing -- the sampling gurus' palates.

The event offers a taste of future fads and trends, and it's a must-attend for culinary professionals looking for that one show topping highlight -- including items like the finger lime. With over 2,400 exhibitors and more than 18,000 food buyers munching their way through the toothpick-strewn exhibition halls, this gathering is one of the most popular food-industry events in the world. An array of new products make their debut here while manufacturers search for new licensing deals and flavor profiles to develop.

For restaurant owners and chefs dreaming of producing a private-label sauce, marinade, or dry rub, the show is a tremendous starting point to research product development. More than a handful of the manufacturers at the show have development divisions and offer advice on how to create a recipe, and what steps developers must take to endure the long road to a grocer's shelves.

If you don't have the time to trek to Washington today you can visit the NASFT website and get a taste of the information -- without the toothpicks or the actual products -- about the exhibitors and their product lines. Most manufacturers are eager to send product samples to chefs and owners who have a potential need and use for their products.

Here are five companies I've encountered at the event that could set your menu apart from the competition:

Shanley Farms finger limes are the caviar of citrus. The miniature clusters of micro-citrus pop in your mouth, and the explosion is packed with flavor. They're a perfect accompaniment to many fish dishes, salads, or vegetables, and you can expect them to appear on more menus soon.

Skillet Street Food's Pumpking Ketchup will be available in September and has a zesty kick to it.

Braswell Select's Sweet Balsamic Onion Jam could really launch your burger into the stratosphere.

Hot Chocolate has long been a great winter drink -- for kids. But Chuao Chocolatier's Spicy Mayan Hot Chocolate can change the way we think about hot chocolate. Served hot, the spicy chocolate wakes up the senses faster than any energy drink. Add an ingredient from the bar, and you've just created a new profit center for your restaurant.

With all the buzz about bees, honey will begin appearing on more menus and in more dishes. Using a small amount of great honey is more worthwhile than using a lot of cheap honey. Big Island Bees Hawaiian Honey with Lehua and Cinnamon is perfect when paired with cheese. And pears. And wine...

So if you can't make the show -- which ends tomorrow -- browse the NASFT website. Contact the vendors that tease your tastebuds and ask for complimentary samples. Menu creativity is a lot easier with the help of a few trend-setting products.