I just returned from the 55th Summer Fancy Food Show in New York City. Yes, they really do use the word "fancy" and I kind of love it. The Food Show is the place where "fancy" food retailers (like Zingerman's!), manufacturers, importers, etc. get together every year and spend three days catching up, learning, discovering and tasting every foodstuff under the sun.

What is the show like? Imagine a cross between a serious business convention and Day 20 of the Iowa State Fair (without the World's Biggest Boar exhibit). It also feels a little bit like a family reunion, because anyone that you are even distantly "related to" in the industry is tucked away somewhere in that great big building! There are over 4000 booths at the show, each one showcasing something from one or more of the food groups. Organization is by country or state rather than food type, so it is not uncommon to taste clam chowder, mulberry jam, vitamin water, bbq sauce, buffalo mozzarella, black garlic, and bacon toffee in the same aisle.

Together with Reina, I scoured the show — walking every blue-carpeted aisle and passing every booth. It took twenty-one hours! In that time, I had the chance to catch up with our favorite chocolate people as well as meet a few new folks.

Technically, the Fancy Food Show is "For the Trade Only," which means that you can't just walk in off the street and sample cheese crackers from Sicily. But I think you all deserve a sneak peek into the show and so I am sharing some of my notes with you. I'm still keeping the super top secret ones to myself — Those will be revealed in time! But hopefully you will read some things here that will make you excited for the fall and winter to come — there is some great stuff on the way!

Duff's Fancy Food Show Insider Notes
ASKINOSIE http://www.askinosie.com/
The big news for Askinosie at the show was that their San Jose del Tambo bar was honored with the Silver Medal in the category of chocolate. Great job guys! The big news for me was that I finally got to meet the awesome team of people who make Askinosie Chocolate and help get it to us year-round: Kyle (The Chocolate Maker), Kesha (The Wonder Woman), and Caron (The Shipping Superstar). I also got to taste a sample of their peppermint bark, which we will be selling this winter. It's made with Askinosie's class-of-its-own white chocolate, dark chocolate and crushed peppermint candies. Oh baby.

CLUIZEL http://www.cluizel.com/
We saw our friend Jacques Dahan at the Cluizel booth, but we missed the guest appearance of Mark Cluizel. Maybe next time! Cluizel continues to make excellent blended and single-estate chocolates in Damville, France — most of which we carry already at the Deli. My favorite at the moment is the Los Ancones from the Dominican Republic — it just tastes so, so good right now! Other than bars, I was excited to spot a pretty pouch of chunky chocolate-covered candied orange peels and a cute cocoa tin at their booth. Their cocoa is dutched, which would be a good addition to our cocoa selection and helpful for all you holiday bakers! I'm actually excited at the possibility of having several different types of cocoas this season... a whole cocoa shelf perhaps?

TAZA CHOCOLATE http://www.tazachocolate.com/
I went out to visit the Taza factory in April. It is a small place in a warehouse in Boston. I found it literally by following my nose — I was lost but I could smell the cacao beans roasting. Taza stone-grinds their chocolate, and they were actually dressing the stones when I was there. The whole thing is pretty minimalist and as a result, their chocolate tastes "un-processed" and super fresh.

Taza is best known for their Mexicano chocolates — those lovely little disks of stone-ground chocolate wrapped in white paper, about the size of a hockey puck. We carry four kinds at the Deli currently and we are about to add a fifth: the Cacao Puro Mexicano. I like it because it is back-to-basics... no flavoring, just cacao and sugar. Look for a 4-pack box later this season, with my favorite Mexicanos: Vanilla, Guajillo, Cinnamon and the new Puro!

VOSGES http://www.vosgeschocolate.com/
We spent a hot minute at the Vosges booth, and also paid a visit to their SoHo store while we were in town (Note: If you have not had Vosges' ice cream, you should try it! Reina and I had a scoop of the Naga. Wow). Front-page news from Vosges has to do with (what else) chocolate and bacon. I'll give you a hint: it involves a tasty tweak to the oh-so-popular Mo's Bacon Bar. You'll just have to wait and find out... Also, I am happy to say that we will be welcoming the Vosges/Zingerman's Sweet + Savory Caramel Collection back into the fold once it cools down a bit. I am dreaming of the Parmigiano caramel already.

VALRHONA http://www.valrhona.com/us#/accueil
Valrhona retail bars are getting a makeover! The new bars will be square and thin, with a glossy package embossed with a colorful, stylized cacao flower. Along with the new look, Valrhona is making three new Grand Crus chocolates available to retailers: Tainori (Dominican Republic), Alpaco (Ecuador) and Tanariva (Malagasy milk chocolate — one of Chloé's favorites). I am happy to report that all three are very good! This brings the Grand Cru line up to eight bars. Look for the new Valrhona line at the Deli in August.

PRALUS http://www.chocolats-pralus.com/
Grace, Reina and I had a grand dégustation at the Pralus booth late one morning, which is French for "We tasted everything that wasn't nailed down or locked in the display case." Mr. Pralus and our friend Valérie graciously indulged us and brought us up to speed on some Pralus news.

We learned that Pralus will soon be up to producing twenty-two 22 origin bars. I don't know how they keep everything straight! It is going to be a challenge to continue to select six or eight of the best bars for the Deli, but I'm up to it! Among the new bars Pralus is set to release is the coveted Chuao origin, as well as a Cuyagua. There will also be one more EXTRA exciting bar later this year, but my lips are sealed on that one!

We had a chance to taste two products at the booth that knocked our socks off. One is called Le Cubissime. It is (you guessed it) a giant cube of chocolate filled with crème de noisette, whole roasted hazelnuts, almonds and pistachios. I predict that this will be the "crazy chocolate person" gift of the season this year. The second product we loved was the Barre Infernale: Chocolat au Lait. This is a bar in the same mold as the old Brut de Sao Tome, but instead of solid chocolate it is filled with crème de noisette and made with Pralus' famous Mélissa milk.

I have no words to describe my love for these two products. Only a facial expression. Once you taste them you will understand. I won't make you wait long!

FRANS http://www.franschocolates.com/home.php
At long last, I got to meet the whole Bigelow family: Momma Fran, son and daughter. They are changing the packaging of their star product — the salt caramels! The new display will hold the caramel sleeves vertically, so that you can see the sea salt sparkling from across the room!

CHOCOLAT MODERNE http://store.chocolatmoderne.com/
Joan Coukos-Todd is the spitfire chocolatier behind Chocolat Moderne. She was busy at the show debuting of a line of chocolate and toffee bars called Touché. Joan and her team are making the toffee from scratch and then mixing in spices, fruits and other yummy stuff to create six flavors: Kashmir Spice, Red Fruits, Sea Salt, Lime, Espresso (my favorite) and Chipotle. Other than the great flavor that Joan creates with the toffee, the nice thing about the Touché bars is that they are thin and delicately crunchy. This is the toffee-crunch bar you've all been waiting for! We will have these at the Deli soon.

Sidenote: After the show one day, Reina and I got the chance to tour Joan's atelier (a beautiful 9th floor suite with hardwood floors) and pick out twenty-four bonbons of our choice to take home. We felt so special! In the photos I have from the occasion, we look so incredibly happy that you would think we are holding diplomas instead of boxes of chocolates. Joan has this effect on people. It is my goal to bring her to Zingerman's sometime in the next six months so that you can all meet her.

CHOCOLATE IN CHELSEA http://chocolateinchelsea.com/
Cathy Selin and I met for a truffle hand-off (I carried an order for the Deli like a baby on my way home from NYC) and coffee one morning. She (like Shawn Askinosie!) is a lawyer with a true love for chocolate. She makes chocolates in Chelsea — one of a handful of chocolatiers working in Manhattan. We have her fruit and nut mendiants and zesty lime truffles back in stock, as well as an all-new burnt caramel that is almost sold out already. Zingerman's is the only place in the country that sells Cathy's chocolates. We are lucky!

AMANO http://www.amanochocolate.com/
Amano is part of that special group of American craft chocolate makers who came on the scene (and changed our lives!) 3-5 years ago. Art and Rick are the guys behind the company, working out of Orem, UT and making some really great bean-to-bar chocolate. Reina and I tasted everything at their booth and were impressed by their three dark chocolate bars — Jembrana (Indonesia), Ocumare (Venezuela) and Montanya (Venezuela). The two Venezuelan chocolates were especially good and I can't wait for you to try them.

BEQUET CONFECTIONS http://www.bequetconfections.com/index.html
The last booth of the show! We met Robin Béquet herself and thanked her for making the best caramel on the planet. We tasted her chewy caramel and discovered we prefer it to the soft we've been stocking. The chewy is just cooked a little longer and the resulting texture is so satisfying! I estimate that you will chew each caramel a minimum of ten times. More chewing = more taste bud contact = more flavor. And that's the name of the game! Look for them on the shelves this week.