August 2011 Issue

It's All About the Presentation

It's hard to believe that summer is half over. The tomatoes are getting larger. Though still green, I know the time will soon come to slice them up and smother them with fine olive oil and garlic to produce flavorful bruschetta.

Speaking of flavor, we were treated to a multitude of flavors at the Summer Fancy Food Show last month. Take a moment to read our show recap featuring some of the notable products that we encountered. Be sure not to miss our video report from the show with comments from our editor James Mellgren, and our next-generation food writer Justin Simon, whose proud papa Brad is all smiles about the notion that his passion for specialty food has finally rubbed off on one of his offspring.

I recently returned from a weekend jaunt to Atlanta to tour the permanent showrooms and temporary exhibit space at AmericasMart. It was good to see the familiar faces of my former rep colleagues Scott Barnett, Ben Tally, Verne Bliss and a host of others who are still working hard and keeping busy. It's always interesting to see products from a variety of suppliers being merchandised together in a rep showroom. We are so accustomed to seeing products displayed in a typical trade show environment where you get glimpses of product lines one by one. For some reason, seeing these products displayed together in an expertly prepared rep showroom allowed me to envision them being retailed together. The permanent company showrooms are spectacular, too, because it gives the supplier an opportunity to create a proper environment with supporting fixtures to showcase their brand. I guess for me, it comes down to presentation, and kudos to all exhibitors for making everything look so enticing.

Of course, I returned home with some goodies. After inspecting thousands of items and tasting countless delicacies, it's hard to resist the temptation to accept an invitation or two to put a product through its paces in the comfort of my own kitchen. One such product that I thoroughly appreciated was Messermeister's Peeler Trio (serrated, julienne and fine-edge), which I put to work right away on the carrots for my salad. I previously used a grater and found that it turned my carrots to mush; this time, the julienne strips were large enough to be crisp and helped disperse the carrot throughout the salad. I do love simple and effective gadgets, which is why we feature some of the latest and greatest in this month's issue. I especially appreciate those gadgets that can simply enhance the visual appeal and presentation of food.

As you can probably guess by now, I have a firmly held belief that one important element of taste that is often overlooked is that of sight. How food looks can have a profound impact on taste and appetite, and that extends beyond the food itself to the vessel it is served in. I guess this does explain why I get so excited at the tabletop market. But, this notion shouldn't stop at meal presentation. It should be extended to beverages as well. Have you ever been served good wine in a plastic cup? It just isn't the same as enjoying the same wine and the magnificent bouquet in a fine stem from Riedel or other fine stemware producer. For this reason, we chose to spotlight some new products from the barware and beverage category designed to enhance the creation and serving of beverages.

We hope you discover some great items in this month's issue. Enjoy the remaining lazy days of summer!