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.
Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/838473
best I ntroducing the 2017 sofi Award winners, selected from 3,000 entries by a national panel of culinary experts in a blind tasting. These winning products serve as ambassadors for the industry and represent the best of what specialty food has to offer. Since 1972, the sofi Awards have helped the Specialty Food Association advance culinary excellence and creativity worldwide by recognizing the outstanding work of its members. of the New Product Bronze Silver Gold "We look to sofi Winners because we know that they represent only the highest caliber of products." —Alison Kunetka, manager, food development, Williams-Sonoma the best This year, the awards were revamped to be more inclusive and expansive than ever. First, 11 more categories were added, for a total of 39, allowing more specificity in each. Examples of new categories include Barbecue Sauce, Cheese—Cow's Milk, Chocolate—Dark, and Honey. The second major change involved the "New Product" award, formerly its own category. In 2017, it evolved into a class of award—judges selected a New Product winner in each of the 39 categories. Additionally, instead of one gold winner and several finalists as in past years, the awards now offer more ways to win. Each category now has four winners: a Gold, Silver, Bronze, and New Product honoree. Lastly, the sofi Awards now boast one new overall award. For the first time, a sofi Product of the Year, named the best product across all categories, will be presented. The sofi Product of the Year, which will be unveiled at a special ceremony on Monday, June 26, on-site at the Summer Fancy Food Show at the Javits Center, was selected based on the highest-scoring product from the judging process. Judging took place in March over 12 days in the profes- sional chef kitchen at the Specialty Food Association offices in New York City. Sixty-two seasoned food professionals from across the country—selected for their expertise, experience, and qualification—served as judges. The judging panel includes trained chefs, culinary instructors, recipe developers, food writ- ers, and specialty food buyers. More on this year's panel of judges can be found at sofiawards.com. The winners were revealed on April 19 by Specialty Food Association President Phil Kafarakis and noted chef and food personality Sara Moulton in a special announce- ment made from One World Observatory, atop One World Trade Center. S2 ❘ SPECIALTY FOOD MAGAZINE specialtyfood.com