Compared with two years ago, the show is bigger and more varied.  There certainly seems to be a more upbeat air around, and it was nice to see smaller brands.

This is obviously the year for coconut water, tea and popcorn. SO many brands on show.

But anyway, on to the things that really caught my eye. I should state that I don’t PR any of them, but that’s not to say I wouldn’t!

Secret Sausages

As you know, I’m not a vegetarian, and sometimes I do wonder, if you choose not to eat meat, why would you necessarily want to buy things that are normally associated with it? I make an exception for sausages, mainly because historically there have been vegetarian ones (yes I’m looking at you Glamorgan Sausage), and who would want to shop for ‘a cylindrical vegetable casing’ anyway?

Secret Sausages just launched at the show today.  Consisting of a range of 6 flavours, they are essentially fresh vegetables, smuggled inside a vegetarian casing. According to the blurb, they have 90% less fat, 50% few calories and 35% less salt than conventional sausages. What’s more 3 of them is the equivalent of one of your 5 a day.

The eye catching packaging is beautiful, and the flavours are:

Lincolnshire

Chilli and Coriander

Rosemary and Garlic

Cumberland

Honey Bee

Cheese & Spring Onion

I tried the Honey Bee ones, and they were really good: moist, flavoursome and not claggy.  They’re looking for distributors and would love to get into independents before supermarkets, so if you’re a buyer, snap them up!

Cho!

Cho! is trying to break into a really interesting market: ready to drink SAVOURY drinks. Obviously you’ve got soups etc, but you’ve got to hand it to this intrepid team of 3 partners, who have decided to launch this idea on to the UK market.

Cho! is a range of premium gazpacho drinks, made exclusively in Andalucia by Chef Alejandro Sanchez.  The flavours are blends of organic vegetables, fruit, extra virgin olive oil, almonds, garlic and spices with mountain spring water.

Flavours are:

Clasico (Tomato & Peppers) – organic tomatoes, red and green peppers, blended with Sierra Nevada spring water plus extra virgin olive oil and a hint of garlic.

Almond & Raspberry – Almonds, raspberries and apples blended with spring water.

Beetroot & Apple – Beets, crisp apples blended with Greek yoghurt

Tomato & Strawberry – Ripe strawberries and organic tomatoes blended with red and green peppers.

Baru Marshmallows

I picked these mainly for the cuteness of their packaging. But the marshmallows taste good too.

I wouldn’t associate Belgium with marshmallows, but they are all chocolate coated, so clearly that’s alright then.

Having said that, lately I’ve been going through conception and development pains of my own: the launch of a new food brand. My OWN food brand.

Man Food was born out of a casual remark by my partner.  Over lunch one day, he complained how hard it was to find a decent piccalilli.  In his opinion, all the ones he had tried were spreadable wet mush. I said I would make him one.

Roll forward a few weeks and over lunch again, I brought out my my first jar of homemade piccalilli. He cracked it open and tried it.

Now clearly he is a little biased, but he declared it as fantastic.  Then he uttered the immortal words “You should sell this.”

Roll forward another 6 months and here we are: I’m in a photo studio having pictures of the four products that I developed photographed.

I’m going to follow up this post with a little more info about some important milestones, such as packaging etc, but in the meantime, let me introduce you to my babies:

Piccalilli – chunky vegetables in a cider vinegar and mustard sauce.

Achar – a Malaysian chilli vegetable pickle based on my own mother’s recipe.

Smoked tomato sauce – home smoked tomatoes slow cooked with a hint of chilli, shallots, onions and garlic to form a spooning sauce.

Bread & Butter pickles – sliced cucumbers in a sweet and sour marinade with Asian seasonings.

And yes, I’m very proud.

Of course, being January, the media are full of New Year, New You type of features, with various diets, detoxes and healthy eating regimes being bandied around. I would be one of the first to hold my hand up and say that I have done it: step forward Wild Juicery in Neal’s Yard.

Even if I wasn’t paid to PR them, I’d still love them: an offshoot of the Wild Food Cafe upstairs, owners Aiste and Joel have developed a really interesting menu that is using ingredients that I wouldn’t have thought to use in a smoothie, such as fresh Carragen Moss (which gives a wonderful smooth, velvety thickness to smoothies), raw almond milk and fresh coconut.

The Juicery menu, which is available for Eat In and Takeaway, is divided into three sections– Juicy, which features organic cold pressed juices, such as Electrified (a mix of apple, celery, cucumber, kale, fresh coconut water, lime, fresh aloe vera and Wild Juicery green powder), Smooth, which features smoothies such as my current favourite, White Zen (a blend of raw almond milk, dates, cold brewed coffee, fresh coconut, fresh Irish moss, vanilla and cardamom) Potent, a synergy of pressed juices, tonics teas & NYR herbal tinctures, like the Focused (a mix of apple & wild blueberry, Rosehip & Nettle Tea with Hawthorn Tincture & Wild-crafted Raw Honey) and Hot, which features hot drinks such as Superfood Hot Chocolate, Reishi & Chaga Mushroom Tea and coffee from Monmouth Coffee.

Prices vary from £3.20 for a small Vibrant juice (which contains apple, celery, cucumber, spinach, parsley, lemon and ginger) to £6.80 for a large Green Incredible smoothie (which contains apple, celery, lemon, banana, kale, fresh coconut, fresh aloe vera, fresh Irish moss and Wild Juicery green powder).

Wild Juicery also offers courses of ‘Cleanses’ where you replace some or all of your meals with special juices/smoothies.

I’m really not hardcore enough to consider doing this, but there are a number of places in London that also offer this service:

Purifyne

Purifyne provides a whole range of fruit and vegetable juices using either one fruit or vegetable ingredient or combining them into very powerful juices that cleanse, energise and revitalise your body. They offer nationwide delivery.

NOSH

Natural, Organic, Safe and Healthy’ – is a London based company founded in 2005 by Sangeeta Sidhu. They deliver their detoxification-weight-loss programmes and supplements to people’s homes and offices around London.

Raw & Juicy

Established over 7 years ago, Raw-and-juicy  was the first home delivery juice cleansing company ever in the UK and is dedicated to helping you achieve good health by providing customers with bespoke cleansing and detoxification programmes. Be it weight loss, weight gain, high Cholesterol or blood pressure, sports performance and endurance, muscle and tissue repair, Post pregnancy or a red carpet event, Raw & Juicy, provide bespoke, alkaline food and juice cleansing programs to suit your individual, lifestyle and dietary requirement.

It’s been quite a year to say the least: I’ve mourned the demise of the Twinkie bar, and watched New York’s Board of Health legislation against a ban on the sale of large sodas and other sugary drinks at restaurants, street carts and cinemas take effect.

Meanwhile closer to home, we’ve had some drastic weather, which combined with various droughts and storms around the world look set to have a knock on effect on staple crops, such as wheat and corn, as well as pushing up the cost of animal feeds, which will make meat even more expensive.

But it’s not all doom and gloom: we’ve seen the continued rise of British street food, the march of the noodle bar and the new love affair with chicken and American style comfort food. Food markets and pop ups continue to grow and innovate, and the food ‘rave’ now seems derigeur. At least in Hoxton.

As usual, I’ve put together a list of things that may be making an appearance next year. Trend predictions are always a funny thing: I know some journalists hate them, and to be frank, most of the time it’s the equivalent of sticking a wet finger in the air, but do have a read, and let me know what you think.

Beer

Unfortunately, since then, it’s been a bit hit and miss – mainly down to a lack of knowledge from the consumer and labelling that confused things (the names “Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena” (Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena) and “Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Reggio Emilia” (Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Reggio Emilia) are protected by both the Italian Denominazione di origine protetta and the European Union’s Protected Designation of Origin, while Balsamic Vinegar of Modena (Aceto Balsamico di Modena), is an inexpensive modern imitation of the traditional product)

Today the latter is what is widely available and much better known. This is the kind commonly used for salad dressing together with oil.

Of course, with this mass produced product now in the mainstream, Balsamic Vinegar has lost some of its exclusive and artisan accreditation.  It is only now that producers are innovating, and thus putting this condiment on the map once again:

Perlanova

Made using the sodium alginate spherification technique, these pearls have a Balsamic vinegar liquid centre, and come in a variety of flavours, including white balsamic, with shallots, black balsamic vinegar and black balsamic vinegar with white truffle.

Mengazzoli Balsamic Cream with Matcha tea

Balsamic cream is obtained by combining together concentrated grape must and aged balsamic vinegar. It is a rich creamy reduction which lends itself to numerous culinary uses, thus making it very appealing.  The Matcha powder used is obtained by selecting the best leaves of different varieties of green tea. The leaves are then hand-picked, steamed, dried and crushed with granite wheels. The combination of balsamic cream and Matcha results in a product with ‘soothing and rejuvenating’ properties (according to the website!). Excellent to season fish and delicious salads.

Balsamic Vinegar Ketchup

Although Heinz did launch a limited edition version earlier this year, this is ade with 100% Italian tomatoes and contains no preservatives or colouring.

I have spent most of the day at SIAL, a major food trade show here in Paris. Where most would take a few days to explore and negotiate the eight halls of food and drink (it shuts on Thursday), I have foolishly done it all in one day. Hence why I am trying to type and keep my feet elevated at the same time.

SIAL is one of many food shows dotted around the world which is attended by the great and good of food retail. We’re not just talking major supermarkets, but also  department stores, airlines and speciality food retailers.  There is a potential for a lot of business to be done, and consequently many countries make a point of investing heavily in stands (yes that means you, Turkey).

For those of you who follow my twitter feed, you can probably guess what my number one pick was, but for those of you who don’t  (WHY?), here are my pick of things that I thought were interesting for one reason or another:

10. Sud’n'sol Tomates Inédites

Based in Agen, this company specialises in a range of typical Mediterranean vegetables. Launched for the show, are a range of 5 semi dried tomatoes.  While these in themselves aren’t new, I think this is the first time that I’ve seen green ones, in this case with a piquant kick to them.

9. Erhard Icecream Cakes

Erhard is an artisan ice cream maker. Years ago, when I was the buyer for Frozen Food at Harrods, I wanted to try and bring them to London.  Sadly, I didn’t manage it, but with beautiful creations such as these individual Kouglof of Violet and Raspberry, maybe the current buyer will have a go?

8. Pisztrang Selfish Fish

Picked partly for the funny name, this Hungarian seafood brand offers a range of pre packed fish that are ready to cook either in the oven, microwave or pan. The oven ones are quite interesting in that you don’t even need to open the tray – just pop in and they’re ready in 10-12 mins.

7. Trata on Ice Frozen fish

Simply beautiful packaging for what is essentially, frozen fish.

6. Saffron Water

Saffron in an aerosol – basically a precise dose of Saffron dissolved in water, which means that you no longer have variable colour and flavour if you’re trying to make the same dish several times over.

5. Mini Oliva Salad dressings

These cute little packages are actually olive shaped salad dressings in single serve portions.

4. Nishamai What’s This drinks

Aloe based drinks were all over the show, and from producers from around the world (not just the orient, where it first became popular).  Nishamai is a range of healthy drinks based on Aloe Ferox, grown wild, freshly cut, and mixed with fruit juices giving a naturally high level of anti-oxidants. Nishamai is frpm the fusion between “Nishati” meaning “Energy” and ”Maisha” meaning “Life” in Swahili. All ingredients are from South Africa, and are fully produced locally, since the Aloe Ferox plant only grows in the western Cape area of South Africa.

The Aloe Ferox plant is known for its high-energy rate , and its regenerating properties , it contains two times as much amino-acid than the Aloe Vera plant. Aloe is generally used for its soothing, healing and moisturizing effect on the skin. The aloe ferox has a high percentage of soluble dietary fibre.

3. Kalys Gastronomie

A one stop shop that has a whole range of equipment and stuff that you would need for Molecular gastronomy. Not exactly ground breaking, and arguably a little old hat now, but I liked the range the offered, and how it was presented.

2. Marlette Baking Mixes

Marlette offers a variety of delicious sweet and savoury baking mixes (as well as gluten free versions) that are easy to make at home. Created by two sisters, Margot and Scarlette, from their native island, Île de Ré.  The range is currently sold in Le Bon Marche, and is actually from the same group that created LOV Organic.

1. Torres Black Truffle Crisps

Well what can I say? I was feeling very tired having trudged around so many halls with lots of stuff that was frankly unremarkable, when like an oasis in the desert, these crisps appeared before me.  We in the UK are very fond of fancy crisps (and I should know – I was the first buyer to stock Tyrrells crisps when I was at Selfridges), and each year the snack category increases with more and more brands coming on to the market.  Yet these are something else – maybe it’s the very adult and niche flavour (made using dried black truffles as opposed to artificial flavouring), but I think these are fantastic. And if nobody brings them to the UK, I think I’ll have to make it my mission to.

What can I say, it’s been an amazing holiday.

As someone who travels to the US on a regular basis, Canada has been a real revelation, and my only regret is that I haven’t visited sooner.

There have been so many sights and experiences that I want to recount, but first, a new discovery: ice wines, and especially ice cider.

My experience with ice wine or Eiswein has mainly been limited to the excellent wines from Willi Opitz, so it was with some surprise that on gourmet food tour in Montreal, we were taken into a shop selling a large selection of Canadian wine.  And there among the reds and whites of Okanagan Valley and the Niagara Peninsula were a huge selection of Canadian Ice Wines and Ice Ciders.

Ice wine is an ultra-rich, super sweet dessert wine made from the intense liquid of naturally frozen grapes. The tradition of making ice wine is well-rooted in Austria and Germany, however Canada has got the current claim to ice wine-making fame, with the majority of the market’s ice wine offerings coming from British Columbia.

Ice cider on the other hand is the cider equivalent of ice wine: a fermented beverage made from the frozen juice of apples. There are two main approaches to producing ice cider: cryoconcentration and cryoextraction. Cryoconcentration involves harvesting the fruits late in season and leaving them in fresh storage until late December, when they are pressed and the fresh juice is left to freeze naturally. In January, the concentrated juice begins the process of cold fermentation. Cryoextraction (not the same as the cryoextraction of wine) is similar to the traditional method used to produce ice wine: apples are left on the trees, at the mercy of the weather, until the end of January. They are picked when the temperature hovers around -8°C to -15°C, and then pressed and left to cold ferment for months.

Interestingly, most of the Canadian ice wine and ice cider is exported to Japan and China, and after Swiss wine, is the most expensive export.

So below were some of the ones I got to try:

Neige is a beautiful Quebec ice cider, with vibrant notes of fresh apple slices drizzled with honey & clove. Long & immensely satisfying on the finish.

Union Libre has been developed by natural cryoconcentratio.  This cider has aromas of honey and pear. Long finish, rich and balanced, it goes perfectly with cheeses and desserts. Made with Cortland, Empire, Spartan and McIntosh apples.

Riverview Winery Buona Notte Vidal Riesling Icewine is a luxurious and complex blend of Vidal and Riesling Icewine aged in a single barrel.

Pellar Estate Cabernet Franc Icewine.  Made from 100% Cabernet Franc. The aroma renders the boldness of ripe red berries with complex notes of spice and the sweetness of rhubarb. Once sipped, the reward is that of an explosion of luscious red berries, delicate, yet complex spice and rhubarb with a lingering finish reminiscent of fresh limes.

At any rate, I should begin with a disclaimer: Valrhona is a client of mine.

Having said that, just because they are, doesn’t mean I’d necessarily write about them. Except this time, I genuinely  think there is something that might be of particular interest to you.

Conventionally, there are three types of chocolate: dark, milk and white. Without wanting to delve too much into the detail, dark chocolate is produced by adding fat and sugar to cocoa (a minimum of 35%), milk chocolate has added milk (in powder or liquid form), while white chocolate is a confection based on sugar, milk, and cocoa butter without the cocoa solids.  And therein lies the problem for the pastry chef and amateur baker: the high milk and sugar content in white chocolate will cause it to burn easily, making tempering difficult, as well as using it to make cakes and desserts.

Valrhona has now come up with a solution: Dulcey.

Eight years in the making, this latest creation was a result of a serendipity:

Sushi is now one of the most popular foods in Argentina, with the restaurants of Buenos Aires now inventing new combinations that are influenced by neighbouring Peru, as well as the city’s Mediterranean immigrants. From the ones I tried, there is a strong feature of cream cheese which does make them a little cloying, but points for the interesting flavours!

Haru Sushi

Highlights on the menu include the ‘Citrus Roll’, featuring salmon, marinated in ceviche sauce and wrapped in rice, topped off with caipirinha lime and a ‘Hot Roll’ which features deep fried shrimp, wrapped in rice and cream cheese and topped with avocado.

Akira Sushi

Among their popular recipes is the ‘Hattori Roll’: salmon, marinated pineapple and tamago wrapped in a layer of cream cheese and topped with almond praline. Meanwhile their ‘Haiku Roll’ contains salmon, cream cheese and spring onion, wrapped in a soft, sweet and sour egg pancake.

Osaka

With a new location in Puerto Madero, its most extravagant offerings include a ceviche-style sushi with avocado and fried prawn, whitefish in yellow chilli ceviche sauce and a micro mix with Maldon salt and Tabaskeado with white fish, tomatoes, deep fried scallops with guacamole and a few drops of tabasco.

It’s a city full of contrasts: swanky high end boutiques nestle next to shabby chic and rundown buildings. I love the fact that there’s a constant smell of smoky asado in the air, but hate the fact that the streets are liberally smeared with dog poo (no doubt as a direct consequence of the huge numbers of dog walkers, who are looking after up to 10 dogs at a time).

And yet within this city, there are constant new discoveries and trends to be found. Today’s were moon cakes from Les Croquants.

Les Croquants is a charming little patisserie and cake shop in the Palermo area of Buenos Aires.  They offer a whole range of the expected cakes, including cookies, cupcakes, macarons and muffins.  However the thing that caught my eye, was their range of mooncakes.

Traditionally a mooncake is a lard based pastry encasing a variety of fillings, including lotus bean paste, salted egg and mixed nuts.  They are eaten to celebrate the mid autumn festival in Asia. Owing to the heavy nature of the cakes, they’ve been declining in popularity, and in Asia, they have been superceded by snow skin moon cakes, which use a fresh cool skin which is served chilled. I can only assume that one of the owners must have an Asian background for them to produce their range.

The bakery offers six different flavours:

Citrus

Chocolate and almond

Dulce de leche and nuts

Raspberry, white chocolate and coconut

Vanilla cream and oreo

Pistachio, white chocolate and lemon

..and they are delicious with a cafe con leche!