This year the show doubled ticket prices for non-industry members, so there might be a tad less enjoyment. Their official publication assures readers that higher prices and stricter registration requirements have been mostly well received. The article might be biased, but hey, business is business.
Walking around the Fancy Food Show, one of the largest gourmet exhibitions in the world, I honestly can’t tell you a lot of details. It’s like watching a single TV commercial fifty times in a row. Over and over the same walkways, the same booths, the same companies become a camouflage against memory. Sales reps play musical chairs among food companies. But much like jail, they rarely escape the industry. You no longer see the commercial, you see the biology of its’ moving parts.
No, I’m lying. There is just too much history here for me. Scenes of objective detail are interrupted by ghostly memories. In theater when you break character they call this corpsing. Could be they’re on to something. Seeing one boringly grey carpet after another causes my mind to flee into the past.
I pass by a part of the show where in 1986 my friend Chris and I worked my father’s booth for his company Epicure Foods. Next to us was a company I’d never heard of before. It was manned by the two owners, Jerry and Ben. I vaguely remember Ben saying that this was their first show. Their Vermont ice cream was a huge hit. Though it didn’t fit too well with the Leerdammer Dutch cheese Damir was sampling next door.
I keep walking, leaving the ghosts of Christmas past to fight it out with my father’s spirit. The only way they’ll win is if one of them is female. I wouldn’t put it past Damir to go after haunted booty.
I get to the Epicure section. Matt Kevill has designed, organized and set up the show. The booth looks great. Chef’s Mandala products are staged in different places, focusing on high quality grocery that complements Epicure’s cheese. Some current and potential vendors stop by to talk about product. One in particular is adamant that their olive oil, while overpriced and mediocre, is a great fit for us. I try to be polite, but they just won’t stop talking. If there was a speech bubble above their head, it would say:
(RANSOM DEMAND!)
(I’m holding you hostage in this meeting. If you want your life back, buy my product!)