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{food news} Specialty Food Association's, The Best of Specialty Food Awards #SofiAwards

The Best of Specialty Foods Awards by The Specialty Foods Association

There is a outstanding market for specialty foods in the US, with consumers looking for foods from their native lands, as well as people with special dietary needs, foodies who simply love to explore new tastes and flavors and everyone in between.

“Sofi” stands for Specialty Outstanding Food Innovation and has been awarding companies who live up to their standards since 1972. According to the Specialty Foods Association, the specialty food market is an $86 billion industry. Award categories include, New Product Award, Outstanding Product Line, to  Outstanding Vinegar, Outstanding Appetizer, Antipasto, Salad or Dip. The awards boasts 32 categories where the winners will be announced July 1, 2013, at the Summer Fancy Food Show at a red-carpet ceremony hosted by internationally-acclaimed Chef Marcus Samuelsson.

Here are some of the finalists:

Outstanding New Product 2013:

  • Artisan Biscuits Ltd. – The Fine Cheese Co. Pearls of Pure Goats’ Cheese
  • Big Picture Farm – Cocoa Latte Goat Milk Caramels
  • Greenwave Foods, Inc. – Eda-Zen Super Premium Shelled Edamame
  • Gimme Health Foods – Organic Roasted Seaweed Snacks – Teriyaki
  • Haig’s Delicacies – Taboule Salad Mix & Serve Retail Pack
  • Icelandic Milk & Skyr Corp. – Siggi’s Raspberry Filmjölk – Non-Fat Drinkable Yogurt
  • Oregon Seafoods – Sea Fare Pacific Seafood Bisque
  • Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Co. – Point Reyes Bay Blue
  • Sabatino North America – Truffle Mac & Cheese
  • Sauces ‘n Love, Inc. – Porcini and Shiitake Alfredo
  • Tres Agaves Productions, Inc. – Tres Agaves Nectar Organic

Outstanding Product Line 2013 are:

  • Grace & I – Fruit and Nut Press Collection
  • Italian Harvest, Inc. – Marella Factory – Artisan Pasta
  • Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams
  • Los Chileros – Stöger Seed Oils
  • Vermont Creamery

For a complete list of finalists, go to specialtyfood.com/sofi

The judges evaluated the entries on numerous attributes, including quality, taste, innovation, packaging, ingredients and pricing.

The panel included: Andy Arons and Michael Rafferty, Gourmet Garage, New York, N.Y.; Sissy Biggers, The Today Show; David Clemens, Gateway Market, Des Moines, Iowa; Kate Collier and Eric Gertner, Feast!, Charlottesville,Va.; Kathryn Flouton, Tina Heath-Schutternberg and Maria Roemer, Dean & DeLuca, New York, N.Y.; Rachel Forillere and John Lawson, Whole Foods Market, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.; Adam Glassman,O, The Oprah Magazine, New York, N.Y.; Emiliano Lee, Farmshop, Santa Monica, Calif.; Pete Marczyk, Marczyk Fine Foods, Denver, Colo.; Leyda Martinez, Gardner’s Market, Coconut Grove, Fla.; Steven Petrecca and Daniel Skurnick, STARR Restaurants, Philadelphia; Regina Ragone, Family Circle, New York, N.Y.; Jeanette Scarcella, Johnson & Wales University, Providence, R.I.; Allison Schraf, Zingerman’s, Ann Arbor, Mich.; Morgan Ward, City Feed and Supply, Jamaica Plain, Mass.; Ryan White, New Seasons Market, Portland, Ore., and Scott Zoeller, King’s Super Markets/Balducci’s, Parsippany, N.J.

About the Specialty Food Association
The Specialty Food Association celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2012. It is a not-for-profit trade association for food artisans, importers and entrepreneurs established in 1952 in New York City to foster commerce and interest in the specialty food industry. Today there are more than 3,000 members in the U.S. and abroad. The Specialty Food Association operates the Summer and Winter Fancy Food Shows and presents the sofi™ Awards honoring excellence in specialty food. For more information on the association, go to specialtyfood.com.

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