Enjoy a taste of Vermont.
As proof of Vermont’s food-industry renown, 2014 is the second consecutive year that Vermont has garnered four SOFI Award Finalists from among its recognized cheese, snack, and condiment sectors.
Montpelier, VT (PRWEB) June 27, 2014
Vermont is a small state of just 626,000 people, and yet, the state’s large presence at the 2014 Summer Fancy Food Show in New York City – not to mention its recognition and reputation in the food industry in general – is decidedly out of proportion to its small footprint on the map.
At the 2014 Summer Fancy Food Show – an annual, signature event in the specialty foods industry – Vermont looms large in the State Pavilion area, with 14 exhibitors in this section. Only three other states (New York, Massachusetts, and Virginia) have a bigger presence in the Pavilion. In addition, 14 more Vermont companies from notable brands like Cabot Cheese and Lake Champlain Chocolates, to up-and-comers like Olivia’s Croutons and Leonardo’s of Vermont, are sprinkled throughout the trade-show floor, making for a total Vermont presence of 28 exhibitors at the show.
As proof of Vermont’s food-industry renown, 2014 is the second consecutive year that Vermont has garnered four SOFI Award Finalists from among its recognized cheese, snack, and condiment sectors. A SOFI (Specialty Outstanding Food Innovation) Award is the top honor in the $88 billion specialty food industry. Castleton Crackers, Vermont Smoke and Cure, Tonewood, and Vermont Creamery were among the 125 finalists selected by a national panel of specialty food professionals from 2,724 entries.
All of the Vermont companies at the show represent a “Vermont brand” that, particularly when it comes to food, stands for quality and authenticity. Their presence in New York will showcase family farms, sustainable agriculture, and “farm to fork” lifestyles, and will demonstrate creative and health-inspired usage of Vermont-made flavors and Vermont-grown produce.
To highlight Vermonters’ success and innovation in the food industry, the Vermont Specialty Foods Association and Vermont Agency of Agriculture will anchor the state’s presence at the show with an additional tasting booth in the State Pavilion. Here at Booth #5030, award-winning Vermont Chef Sean Buchanan will prepare signature recipes and cheese pairings featuring an array of products, from artisan cheese to pure Vermont maple syrup.
Featured recipes include:
Crouton Dusted Pork with Mustard Cream and Maple Dressing – featuring products from Vermont Creamery, Green Mountain Mustard, Olivia’s Croutons, and Drew’s dressings and salsas; and
Maple BBQ Chicken Tacos with Smokin’ Tomato Sour Cream – featuring products from Butternut Mountain Farm, Vermont Creamery, Vermont Harvest, Cabot Cheese, and Drew’s dressings and salsas.
Chef Buchanan and representatives from the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food, and Markets will also speak to innovations in Vermont agriculture that have positioned Vermont as a food epicenter, catalyzing and accelerating the development of markets which sustain the working landscape that is highly valued by Vermonters and visitors alike. For those who cannot attend the show, a trip to Vermont offers more than 400 food and farm experiences; build your culinary and tasting route at http://www.DiginVt.com.
About:
The Vermont Specialty Foods Association is the nation's oldest and most highly-regarded specialty food association, whose member specialty products are distributed in country and gourmet stores, natural food and health shops, local, regional, and natural supermarkets and food coops, and online. For more information: http://www.vermontspecialtyfoods.org
The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food, and Markets facilitates, supports, and encourages the growth and viability of agriculture in Vermont, while protecting the working landscape, human health, animal health, plant health, consumers, and the environment. For more information: http://www.agriculture.vermont.gov
Contacts:
Nancy Brooks, Chief Marketing Officer
State of Vermont
Nancy(dot)Brooks(at)state(dot)vt(dot)us
802-828-2999
Contact at the Fancy Food Show:
Chelsea Lewis, Agricultural Policy Administrator
State of Vermont, Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets
Cell: 802-522-5573
Chelsea will be working at the Vermont Specialty Foods Association booth (Booth #5030 in the Vermont Pavilion) – and follow her on Twitter @VTAgencyofAg
Vermont agricultural images are available and Fancy Food Show images are available by request.