Sign up to receive email notification
when a new newsletter is posted.
Click here for the current issue.
Click here for past issues.

May 2010
Vol. 5 No. 4

It's �Oscar� time in the food world

SOFI officially stands for Specialty Outstanding Food Innovation. To us in the gourmet food business, it stands for �This is fantastic!�

Five Savor California companies (below) have been awarded a Silver Sofi by the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade (NASFT), which means they are finalists in this most prestigious competition in our field.

Winners will be announced at the Fancy Food Show in New York the evening of June 28. Awards will be presented by Keynote Speaker Chef Dan Barber, Blue Hill & Blue Hill at Stone Barns.

Baked Goods, Baking Ingredient or Cereal
Porta Mangiare Biscotti Mix (above)

Cheese or Dairy Product
Bellwether Farms Vanilla Sheep Milk Yogurt (above)

Classic
Cypress Grove Chevre Humboldt Fog (above)

Food Gift
Sonoma Syrup Co. Extract Gift Set (above)
Photo courtesy of NASFT. Photography by Mark Ferri.

Vinegar
Sparrow Lane Walnut Champagne Vinegar (above)
Photo courtesy of NASFT. Photography by Mark Ferri.

Four-legged foodie friends

How could we get by without a little help from our friends? While they may not care about people gourmet food, they are great company on a late work night and an understanding ear for our out-loud deliberations.

The office dogs at A Perfect Pear from Napa Valley (above) are Jacky, Susan�s Jack Russell terrier, and Joey, Kat�s rescue mutt. Kat wrote, "Their typical work day involves visiting neighbors in the corporate park, greeting the FedEx driver and mailman, and napping."

Sheri of Silver Moon Desserts adopted Scoop (above) at her local shelter. "I'd just started my ice cream business, so a dog named Scoop was perfect. Ever since, he has been at my side and under my feet, where he is self-appointed 'floor cleaner' and one of my most loyal companions."

Lucie Rose Bernstein (above) works at the girl & the fig. "She greets everyone at the restaurant offices and loves social networking! She is quite the gourmand--even the FedEx man brings her a treat. Lucie Rose is by far the biggest foodie we know. Too bad she can�t enjoy the food at our restaurant!"

When Bimbo wasn't helping Linda Romine in the office at Oat Cuisine, she liked to take her '64 Dart for a spin (above).

At Redwood Hill Farm, the goats are the most vital staff members, giving their milk for the making of Redwood Hill's award-winning cheeses. This lovely doe is named Savvy.

Moja and Tatu, the foodie felines of Savor California, taking a postprandial catnap.

Sunset Celebration

Each year the pages of Sunset Magazine �come alive� on the magazine�s beautiful campus in Menlo Park, California.

The event takes place over the weekend of June 5 and 6, and we hope that you�ll come if you�re in the neighborhood. Tickets will be available at the gate. Turn left and find Savor California, booth #202.

Once again, Savor California will have one of the biggest booths at the show, where products from 17 of the companies on the site will be presented for tasting and to purchase.

Amella Caramels
Art of Chipotle
Cypress Grove Chevre
Donsuemor (below)

Fentimans
March� Noir
Napa Valley Fudge (below)

Native Kjalii Foods
Numi Organic Tea
Rumba Desserts (below)

Sauce Goddess
Sonoma Syrup Co.
Stella Cadente Olive Oil
Wild Planet

Lavender

At Little Sky Lavender Farm (above) the organically farmed plants typically bloom in June, and buds are carefully harvested, dried, and stripped from the stems by hand. The farm sells Culinary Lavender as well as Lavender Sugar, Lavender Salt, Lavender Sugar Cookie Mix (below) and Lavender Brownie Mix.

�It�s complicated� when Meryl Streep makes lavender ice cream in the movie by that name, but you can have it easy�and healthy--with Agave Dream'�s Lavender Ice Cream (below). It�s sweetened with agave nectar, so it has a lower glycemic index.

Other ways to enjoy the flavor of lavender

Numi Organic Tea Lavender Delight White Tea
Rare handsewn tea buds unfurl to reveal majestic red hibiscus petals and aromatic lavender flowers. White tea with hints of tangy and sweet flavors.

Sonoma Syrup Co. Lavender Simple Syrup
Along with their Mint Syrup, it makes a tasty Lemon Lavender Martini .

Cypress Grove Chevre�s Purple Haze (with a nod to Jimi Hendrix)
Lavender pairs deliciously with this fresh goat cheese in a three inch round chevre disk. The perfect mixture of lavender and fennel pollen gives it a sweet flavor that complements the acidity of the cheese.


Copyright 2003-2011 by Savor California. All rights reserved.