Nailed It! Me with French Chef and Chocolatier Jacques Torres at SFFS 2023 (All Photos By Gail)

Put on your fat pants, bitches, because we are about to do some serious grazing. The culinary event of the summer has come and gone, leaving our taste buds with memories of euphoric ecstasy. The Summer Fancy Food Show (sponsored by the Specialty Food Association) packed NYC’s magnificent Javits Center for three gustatorily glorious  days in late June.  Boasting an impressive (read: sold out) lineup of over 2,200 makers and manufacturers from six continents, this gastronomic extravaganza showcased the very best of the specialty food and beverage world across a staggering 40-plus categories. It certainly was a lot to digest, but we will do our best to satisfy your cravings for the show’s highlights with our famous Photo Recap. Are you hungry yet?

The Specialty Food Association’s Signature Award, The Sofi

Prepare to relive the mouthwatering morsels, the captivating designs, and the clever branding that made the Summer Fancy Food Show of 2023 an unforgettable experience. Feast your eyes on these tantalizing images that will transport you into the heart of an epicurean wonderland where we savor every bite, cherish every sip, and relish in the delights that the world of specialty food has to offer. Bon appétit!

JFC, Let’s Get to The Food Already

Foodie Favorites

As a self-proclaimed connoisseur of all things delicious, I had the pleasure of attending two days of the show, immersing myself in a whirlwind of flavors and culinary wonders. Armed with an insatiable appetite, and my iPhone ready to capture the magic, I embarked on a mouthwatering mission to uncover the most tantalizing treats that graced the show floor. Here are some of my favorite new products that truly deliver on taste!

Do you like grilled cheese? I sure do. For those who don’t eat dairy, plant-based Cheese is a popular alternative, and I was super impressed with Armored Fresh almond milk cheese that passes the grilled cheese test with its creamy, melty deliciousness!

Anything regular cheese can do, Armored Fresh can meet the challenge, with slices for sandwiches and cubes for easy snacking. Yum!

Wait, are we in Paris? No, it is just the booth for Brioche Pasquier, makers of delectable baked goods that come packaged fresh and ready for spontaneous indulgence.  Besides the impressive Macaron Trees (more about those later) we loved the Emily in Paris step-and-repeat and the free samples of tiny buns stuffed with Nutella that we took home!

C’est is bon!

I’m such sucker for the carbs! C’est Gourmet has been one of our favorites for years, with their ready-to-bake croissant dough that will make you look like a master pastry chef! Do these treats taste as good as they look? Mai oui.

Is it weird to admit that one of my the best things I put in my mouth across two days of SFFS was a bite of crusty baguette, slathered with this Australian Cultured Butter by Pepe Saya? Because it was.

Chocolate lovers: you have not lived until you have experienced a Frozen Hot Chocolate from Serendipity. If you can’t make it to their NYC café, you can buy the mix in stores and online to enjoy at home!

I write about lots of gluten-free foods on this site, and my assessment is generally that gluten-free foods are perfectly fine if the alternate version is a no-go. However, with Whoa Dough gluten-free ready-to-bake cookie dough, I swear that the baked version tastes closer to “the real thing” than any other cookie of this type that I have tasted. Just being serious.

My Testimony: These Cookies Taste as Good as They Look

Whoa Dough also makes snack bars for grab-and-go convenience!

Whether you’re a master of holiday entertaining, or you simply like to have nice things for yourself, let me emphasize that La Clare Creamery  is the last word in gourmet spreadable goat cheese.  I sampled the Cranberry Cinnamon, the Blueberry Vanilla and the Pumpkin-infused creamy goat cheese spreads, and am now a die-hard fan! You must have this cheese  on your holiday table!

A closer look at this luscious cheese log: clearly, resistance is futile.

Anyone who knows me knows that pierogi and  blintzes are a couple of my go-to-comfort foods, so an extended stop at the  Alexandra Foods booth was  a must.  A family-run business specializing in the production of traditional Eastern European frozen foods, Alexandra’s has been in business in the same Chicago suburb for over 30 years. You can taste the reasons why.

Check out these blintzes! The samples seen above are just half a blintz, so you can see they are huge.  What’s important though is that they totally taste homemade, with delicate, thin crepes rolled around a creamy mixture of sweet cheese and fruit or chocolate — and their Chocolate Hazelnut & Cheese variety (which I had to try) is a 2023 Gold Sofi Award winner! Eat them!

Alexandra’s fat and fabulous pierogi come in 18 delicious varieties which are calling out to you now (I can hear them). Shop Alexandra Foods online at This Link.

Are you familiar with Mochi Ice-cream? If not, it’s a traditional Japanese ice-cream delicacy that consists of a small blob of ice-cream surrounded by a mochi (rice dough) shell, and it is pretty darn tasty. Mochidoki is a gourmet artisanal brand of mochi ice-cream treats that has a few retail outlets in the city, but their product can also be found in your local grocery store. Hallelujah.

When it came time for sampling, I chose Mochidoki’s Cake Batter flavor, but was so hard to pick just one flavor,  as there are so many, and each one is just insane.  There are numerous reasons to eat a Mochidoki — great taste, natural ingredients, variety — and if you are someone who pays attention to portion control, one Mochidoki has just 90 calories or less!

Meet Mochidoki’s lovely Social Media Manager,  Whitney, who agreed to pose for this photo after I pointed out that the swag pens they gave away in their booth matched the colors of her hair and t-shirt. Random!

Candy-filled Toys Display at KGR Distribution

Dazzling Displays

When it comes to food, taste is obviously the most important factor; but it doesn’t matter how great your product tastes if people don’t stop at your booth. That’s why visual marketing and booth design are so crucial. This recap wouldn’t be complete without diving into the visual feast that SFFS delivers at every turn.