Specialty Food Magazine is the leading publication for retailers, manufacturers and foodservice professionals in the specialty food trade. It provides news, trends and business-building insights that help readers keep their businesses competitive.
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This special section celebrates the 33 winners of the 2015 sofi Awards, the painstaking judging process that leads up to the year's winning products, and the red-carpet Awards ceremony itself. Also featured are the 92 finalists. By Meghan Nayyar and Denise Purcell and the sofi TM A total of 2,715 specialty foods and beverages made their way to the Specialty Food Association's New York office this spring to vie for a winning "outstanding" title in the prestigious annual sofi Awards competition. Entries spanned 32 awards categories, from cheese and chocolate to classic and product line. Each entry was evaluated to arrive at 125 finalist products that would go on to be judged for winner status. This months-long process (see "How Judging Works," p. S5) culminated with the awards for the year's outstanding foods and beverages, revealed at a red-carpet ceremony on June 29 at the Javits Center in New York City as part of the Summer Fancy Food Show. Following a presentation of the Specialty Food Association's Lifetime Achievement Awards and Hall of Fame inductees (see p. S4), the sofi Awards ceremony kicked off with a video presentation by Ted Allen, host of Food Network 's "Chopped" and cookbook author. Allen spoke about the specialty food renaissance happen- ing not only in major cities on either coast, but in smaller cities and towns throughout the country, including his hometown of Columbus, Ohio. "No food memory reminds me more of my father than salmon and ketchup mashed up and served on Saltines," said Allen. "Today, there's incredible imagination and creativity happening [in the food scene] in Columbus. There are gastropubs serving Indian fusion that are hits in Nashville. Specialty food is a trend that isn't a trend. It's a change in values, a demand for fresh herbs, the best olive oil. It's the new normal." "This is a big night," he concluded. "Lives are about to change. Being here tonight, whether as a finalist or winner, is special." Following Allen's remarks, Alex Guarnaschelli, executive chef at Butter in New York City, and celebrity "Chopped" judge, came on stage to present the sofi Awards to the night's winners. "This is really like the Oscars," Guarnaschelli enthused. A total of 33 sofi gold awards were presented (with one tie in Outstanding Cooking, Dipping, or Finishing Sauce). The ceremony ended with Ann Daw, president of the Specialty Food Association making a $30,000 donation to City Harvest in honor of Allen's par- ticipation. A strong supporter of anti-hunger initiatives, Allen is a member of City Harvest's Food Council and a frequent participant in the organization's fundraising events. City Harvest, a food-rescue organization that works with com- munity programs throughout New York City, has been the Summer Fancy Food Show's anti-hunger charity for 26 years. When the Summer Show closes, City Harvest rescues thousands of pounds of food donated by exhibitors. To date, more than 2.7 million pounds of food have been donated from the show. At the end of the ceremony, the celebration continued with winners, finalists, and members of the press enjoying a recep- tion that featured a menu including products from sofi honorees as well as fare from restaurants and inter- national exhibitors. Learn more about this year's winning products throughout this section, and visit specialtyfood.com/sofi to read more about the finalists' products.—D.P. @ READ MORE Learn more about all the sof Award fnalists by visitingspecialtyfood .com/sof. 5 Goes to... SPECIALTY FOOD MAGAZINE specialtyfood.com I S3