Ever on the prowl for the next “It” food, I was thrilled to attend this year’s sofi Awards hosted by the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade (NASFT), who narrowed down more than 2,300 innovative new food products into 32 categories, ranging from “Confection” to “Cracker,” “USDA-Certified Organic Product” to “Shelf-Stable Foodservice Product.” I got to discover a few fantastic new products—including KIMKIM Korean Hot Sauce (which seems like the versatile, saucy stepchild of sriracha and gochujang), Fermin Ibérico Smoked Pancetta (a revelatory bacon to a porcine fanatic!), Sabatino & Co’s Sweet Pistachio Cream (which I’m dying to play around with in both sweet and savory roles), and the year’s winning oil, Fernando Pensato Truffle EVOO (a refreshingly light truffle oil)—and to put a face to other beloved products. Pictured above, Jeni Britton Bauer of Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams is as sweet and quirky as her frozen dessert line!
—Alexa Weibel, Senior Copy Editor
