Food Fete’s Allergen-Free Press Event

(UPDATED 3/30/11)

NOTE: Some early blog coverage has already been posted, and I’ll keep updating this list as I find event round-ups or coverage of specific products.

MyLifeOnandOffTheGuestList: http://bit.ly/dEhLNi
GlutenFreeMike.com: http://bit.ly/gVefqE
Gluten-Free Fun: http://bit.ly/gpxur6
HeyDoYou.com: http://heydoyou.com/food-fete
Refresh (Supermarket News blog) http://bit.ly/fDAt88
Kafi Drexel of NY1 News (via Facebook): http://on.fb.me/f74BNc
Brooklyn Allergy Mom: http://bit.ly/gAZWbJ

The first of our new health-focused Food Fête events took place last night in New York City, focusing exclusively on allergen-free foods.

Allergies and intolerances to foods that contain gluten, dairy, eggs, tree nuts, peanuts, soy (and more) affect a growing number of Americans who are always on the lookout for foods they can safely eat. The idea behind this event was to bring together a collection of such products to help educate writers and bring attention to a food-related health issue that doesn’t appear to be going away any time soon.

Given the product niche, this Food Fête was more intimate than most of our events — showcasing products from 14 companies. Dominating the product offering were a variety of gluten-free baked goods including cookies, breads and snacks. Pasta Prima introduced two very delicious raviolis, the first gluten-free ravioli to hit the market.

A few companies, including Chobani Greek Yogurt and Lucini Italia, focused new attention on existing products that are naturally gluten-free, giving allergy-sensitive consumers options they might not have otherwise considered, given these products are not specifically marketed to people with Celiac disease.

The National Peanut Board, which at first glance might raise some eyebrows as to why they’d be included among a collection of allergen-free foods, delivered the message that while some experience peanut allergies, peanuts and products made from peanut flour are gluten-free and widely consumed by Celiacs.  Finally, General Mills was on hand not only to promote their line of gluten-free cereals and snack foods, they recently launched GlutenFreely.com to provide consumer education on living with Celiac disease.

Profiles of all the participating companies can be found at www.foodfetepress.wordpress.com.

More than 40 food writers and bloggers interested in this specific product category were treated to some totally new products from companies they had not heard of as well as those from several familiar brands.  Food blogger and author Sloane Miller (a.k.a. Allergic Girl) also signed complementary copies of her new book “Allergic Girl,” set to hit stores in a week or so.

I’d like to extend a huge thanks to the participating companies and all the writers who came out last night.

Next up for us is our “Healthy Foods for Kids” press event on April 28 in New York.

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Where Did the Fall Go?

It has been so long since I posted here, it’s almost embarrassing.  But a lot of good things have been happening over the past few months to keep me busy.

A quick recap.

We partnered with BlogHer to produce a special Food Fête event during their 2nd annual BlogHer Food Conference in October in San Francisco.  It was a big success with more than 230 food bloggers — all BlogHer Food conference attendees — stopping by to see new products and mingle with food producers.

Next, our regular winter Food Fête event, scheduled for January 17 in San Francisco, officially sold out yesterday, marking the earliest we’ve ever hit that milestone.  In fact, we’re already pre-selling exhibitor tables for some of the new health-focused events coming in 2011, which is also very encouraging.

Read all about our event plans for 2011 here.

So, what does all this tell me?

Food Fête, which turns seven in 2011, has been very fortunate to have not been negatively affected by the tough economy of the past couple of years.  In fact, our business has never been stronger, experiencing year-to-year growth.  I see this trend continuing into 2011, as evidenced by the early interest among food companies already contracted to participate in our events next year — some of which are more than six months away.

I’ve said this before, but I am continually humbled by how the specialty food industry, public relations agencies and the food media have supported Food Fête. We continually strive to create better events by learning from our mistakes, staying on top of what’s happening in the industry and operating our business from a position of integrity and delivering value.

Keep up with our progress by following us on Twitter at @foodfete and “like” our Facebook page.

Happy holidays!

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2011 Event Brochure & Exhibitor Application Now Available

(UPDATE 9/27/10: We’re offering a $250 “early bird” discount off the exhibitor fee at our San Francisco event. Deadline to qualify is Nov. 15)

I announced our 2011 event plans a couple of weeks ago (see press release), which involve producing a total of five media events, three which are brand new and have a specific health focus. Four of the five events next year also will be held in New York City.

The brochure with information on each event is now ready for download by clicking here. Pricing and tentative dates are also included.

We’re now accepting exhibitor applications for all of our 2011 events. A single exhibitor application can be accessed at http://bit.ly/foodfete2011.

Favorable comments and feedback from the food press and PR agencies indicate we’re headed in the right direction, so I’m personally very excited about lies ahead.

I hope you are too.

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Food Fete NYC ’10 Recap

It’s hard not to be just a little proud when food writer after food writer goes out of their way to tell me this was the best Food Fête yet.

Especially when I happen to agree.

Despite a little rain around the time Food Fête opened its doors Monday night, nearly 140 food journalists and food bloggers attended our sixth annual Food Fête event in New York on Monday to meet with our 55 exhibitors — record numbers on both fronts.  Particularly rewarding was when some of the most prominent names in food journalism walked through the door.

On hand were writers/producers from Food & Wine, O the Oprah Magazine, The New York Times, Food Network, CNN Eatocracy (CNN’s new food blog), Martha Stewart Living, Ladies’ Home Journal, Better Homes & Gardens, CBS Sunday Morning, Huffington Post, CoolHunting.com, Epicurious.com, AOL/Slashfood, Family Circle, Real Simple, Parade, Parents, Woman’s Day, Woman’s World, Dessert Professional and TheNibble.com, to name a few.

Metrics aside, I believe the vibe and energy of the room made this particular Food Fête memorable. Among the comments from editors were how friendly, energetic and professional the exhibitors were; how we assembled a really strong mix of companies; and how Food Fete continues to be their favorite food event of the year (okay, I never get tired of hearing that.)

Some very early coverage has started to pop up, and I will update this listing in the coming days and weeks:

• Endless Simmer blog (round-up)
• Parents.com (Calif. Table Grape Commission)
• Supermarket News (round-up)
• Allergic Girl blog
• “Bite of the Best” (Chobani Greek Yogurt)
• The Stir blog (Jones Soda, Chocri)
• My Life On and Off the Guest List blog (Unwind)
• Healthcastle.com
• Bite of the Best (Christopher Ranch Green Garlic)
• IAteAPie.net (popchips)
• TheNibble.com (Fresh Express)
• Bite of the Best (Suncups)
• Fat City Blog (Jones Soda)
• The Courtesan Cooks (Duncan Hines, Scharffen Berger)

You can also read what some of our media attendees and exhibitors had to say by following the #FoodFete Twitter stream.

2011 will be a year of significant expansion for Food Fête, but I can’t reveal those details just yet.

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Shirley Corriher, my favorite foodie celeb at IACP

For some attending the IACP conference in Portland this week, rubbing elbows with the likes of Ruth Reichl, Kim Severson and Michael Ruhlman was a highlight, but for me, my favorite “celebrity” foodie was meeting Shirley Corriher.

Who?

If you’re a fan of Food Network’s old school “Good Eats” program, you’ll instantly recognize Shirley as the food anthropologist who popped up from time-to-time, helping Alton Brown better understand the whys and wherefores of a particular food’s significance.

At today’s IACP vendor expo, Shirley was up to her elbows in flour and dough at the Tenda-Bake booth, where I gladly sampled a still-warm biscuit made with Shirley’s own hands.  Being a Southern-born and raised boy myself, I always related to Shirley (we all know someone just like her) and the Southern sensibility she brought to everything on Good Eats.

I walked away with a sample package of flour, and plan to use it soon, thinking of Shirley!

Good eats, indeed.

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Family Circle Highlights 2 Products from Food Fête Oregon

Dulcet Cuisine and City of Roses Creamy Mustards, two companies that exhibited at our regional “Food Fête Oregon” event last October in New York City, were featured in the March 2010 issue of Family Circle magazine.

Way to go guys!

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Accepting Exhibitor Applications for Summer 2010 Food Fete; Early Bird Pricing Before Feb. 28

It’s that time again.

Food Fete San Francisco is now behind us, and we’ve begun accepting exhibitor applications for our flagship summer media event, held Monday, June 28 in New York City.

Details are in the Summer 2010 brochure, which you can download here, or go ahead and submit the online application at this link.

Early Bird Discount through Feb. 28, 2010

Fees for 2010 are increasing slightly for the Exhibitor and Gift Bag Levels (first time in three years), but if you submit the signed contract and payment is received by Feb. 28, 2010, you can take advantage of 2009 pricing.  See the brochure for fee details.

There has been a tremendous amount of early interest in our summer event, so I recommend submitting your application early.

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Food Fête San Francisco ’10 Recap

Despite a day that began with heavy rains, the skies cleared in time for our Food Fête media event on Monday, Jan. 18 in San Francisco.

Better yet, Monday night set a new attendance record for our West Coast event.  I’m still finalizing the list, but can confirm that we topped the 2009 attendance within the first 30 minutes of this year’s event start.

On the exhibitor side, we set another record with 21 exhibitors, including our wine and spirits sponsors, which were a big hit as always.  Oregon micro-distiller Sub Rosa Spirits served its Saffron and Tarragon-infused vodkas; Patron Spirits poured tequila cocktails with it Patron Silver Tequila; and Sam’s Club used Food Fete as the national debut of its new premium Rue 33 Vodka.

Here’s a link to the full list of exhibitors from our Food Fête media website, and you can see more photos on our Flickr page (more posted later) at http://bit.ly/7pYXdm.

I also must complement our exhibitors for helping make this event one of our smoothest-run ever.  Thanks guys!

Here is some very early blog coverage from the event, and I will update this list as more posts/coverage becomes available, so check back.

• YumSugar (Patron Margarita)
• CHOW.com (Sub Rosa Spirits gets a nod)
• YumSugar (Rue 33 Vodka)
• HealthCastle.com
• The Intrepid Culinologist
• Cooking with the Single Guy
• simplehuman blog
• TheSecondLunch.com
• The Well Tempered Chocolatier
• YumSugar (Rainier Fruit)
• FoodChannel (great photos!)

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Now Accepting Exhibitor Apps for January ’10 Event

It’s hard to believe that when our Winter 2010 Food Fete event rolls around on Jan. 18, it will mark our sixth year.  Lots of fun has been had and lessons learned in that timeframe.

We’re now accepting exhibitor applications for the Jan. 18 event in San Francisco.  Unlike our New York event, which draws many of the consumer food and lifestyle magazines based in NYC, the San Francisco event is more regional and attracts more bloggers and online media.

And for those who’ve attended both, the SF event has a different vibe.  It’s a smaller event, so things are more intimate.  And if last year is any indication, the media bave a great time (the wine and cocktails help in that regard) meeting with food companies and each other.

Download the event brochure and exhibitor applications at www.foodfete.com/forms.html or from the “Forms” section on this blog.

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Food Fete Brings Oregon Foods to NYC Press

Food Fete is heading back to New York City this Fall, but this time with a very special media event focused exclusively on Oregon’s artisinal food and beverage products.

Why Oregon only?  I relocated to Portland a few months ago and was quickly impressed by the passion and commitment to quality and sustainability that many producers here are supporting. Not long after I arrived, I got the idea to find the right platform for showcasing Oregon’s amazing products, and decided to create a regionally-focused event in New York.

To help spread the word, I’m teaming with the folks from Oregon Bounty, the culinary tourism initiative of Travel Oregon, the state’s travel and tourism bureau. I’m glad to have their support to help make this event successful.

We’re also implementing another new element with this event–namely offering two exhibitor scholarships to deserving companies that might find all the costs associated with participating in Food Fete a financial burden.

Visit the “Forms” section of this blog to download the event brochure and exhibitor and scholarship applications.

We already have 25 media RSVPs, which signals strong media support for this new regional approach.

If you know of any Oregon food and beverage companies that make great stuff and deserve national attention, I’ll appreciate your help in spreading the word.

More details to follow.

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