Thousands of industry folks attend the annual Summer Fancy Food Show. (Photo courtesy of Specialty Food Association.)
The first thing I noticed was the gust of wind that hit me as I exited the Hudson Yards train station—also notorious for its incredibly vertical escalator—as I walked with a growing mass of people towards the Javits Center. The impact felt like a fitting way to enter baby’s first Fancy Food Show—the largest industry-only specialty product convention in the country led by the Specialty Food Association—which knocked the wind out of my sails. Which is to say, it’s overwhelming in there (in a good way). It’s basically as if the Costco sample stations were a conference.
Inside, 57 countries—Italy being the most dominant—are represented across 345,000 square feet, which, according to a spokesperson, is the “largest footprint in six years” for the show. It first launched 70 years ago (there’s additionally the Winter Fancy Food Show, which existed for 49 years, but this year was rebranded as Winter FancyFaire in California). Grub Street stopped by its World Cup watch party and called the event a “gourmet U.N.” Sponsorship—like Saudi dates, the show’s brand partner—vies for every available corner.
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