I'm currently attending the Fancy Food Winter Faire—aka: a speciality food convention—with thounsands of folks. I'm guessing most of you have attended conventions or the like before. I'm not sure those conventions were as delicious as this one, but I'm sure they all have their charm.
For me, this convention is a chance to see old friends and catch up face to face. We talk about the world, about our families, about the foods we're excited about...that stuff. And we eat. A lot.
The one word that's been popping up this year is "connection." We all believe our success is based on the relationships we build with the people making the food and the friends we make in the business. There are no competitors in "speciality food," just compadres doing things their own way.
I guess you could say we connect over our non-comformity.
Oh, and before I forget here's my sales pitch: don't forget aboutthe Balsamic Blowout!
These are the kinds of friends I'm talking about: Daria (on the left) and Yvonne and then me. Daria and Yvonne handle the exporting and sales in America for the British cheese seller, Neal's Yard Dairy.
We are incredibly close with "NYD." We've been working together for more than three decades. Heck, the guy currently leading Neal's Yard Dairy is an American that started his food career at Zingerman's. In short: we're family but the only chances we get to see each other are conventions, festivals—and if we're lucky—a buyer's trip.
We have friends like Daria and Yvonne (and Rachel and Erik and the list goes on...) throughout the food world. These are the friends that keep us stocked with food you love and have been ordering for the past thirty years.
