Grocery Update #132: The Bi-Rite* Winter FancyFaire Trade Show Recap!

*Certified Delicious.

The Checkout Grocery Update is stoked to present this collaboration with our friends from Bi-Rite, San Francisco’s leading neighborhood specialty foods retailer and creamery. We had a fun time eating, walking and learning at the Winter FancyFaire in beautiful, sunny San Diego.

If you visit the Bay Area, please go to any of Bi-Rite’s three store locations or their amazing creamery and stock up on the best grub that California has to offer.

Jamie Nessel, Bi-Rite Director of Product + Purchasing. My highlight of the show was touring at Specialty Produce. Incredible. They are a specialty distributor who opens their warehouse to the public for shopping. But more than their sales business, I was so inspired by their research crusade. They travel around the world, hunting fruits and vegetables, and they have created an incredible, picture-laden resource, all available online on their two apps – one that is an encyclopedia of fruit and veg and one that tells you what is in season now near you, and where you can find it. Check out a video about them:

Brianne Gagnon, Bi-Rite co-CEO. I had two standout products, the first was Etelka Cottage Cream, which was a high-protein, creamy, smooth, Eastern European dairy product that is early on in the startup launch cycle, and delicious. The other was Agricola Maraviglia Chickpea Miso which was delightful, nutty, and made in small batches in Italy.

Steffan Morin, Assistant Director of Operations + Hospitality. Two product picks: Land + Local Strawberry and Snap Pea shrub is the embodiment of peak spring. Tangy, tart and sweet. And my second pick is Bixby Needhams, which made me nostalgic for my childhood in Maine. This is a New England traditional confection combining coconut, potato and dark chocolate. It’s what you wanted the Mounds bar to really taste like. So good!

Jennifer Rojas Cline, Category Sales Manager. My pick of the show was The Cycle’s ready to drink beverages crafted to support PMS and period relief. Powered by Himalayan Holy Fruit, botanicals, vitamins, minerals, and adaptogens that support hormonal balance. A healthful beverage that tastes great as well.

Brandon Jones, Category Sales Manager. I loved NoWhere Foods’ non-alcoholic craft cider. Founded by brothers Zane and Duke Dunham, their mission is to celebrate American terroir through farmers using regenerative organic agriculture practices by crafting site-specific non-alcoholic beverages. The standout was Alpenglow, a non-alcoholic craft cider that combines Washington-grown apples, aromatic hops, and wildflower honey to capture a crisp, floral cider. In 12 oz cans & 750 ml bottles.

Patrick Mills, co-CEO. One of the moments from the Winter Faire that will stay with me for a while was tasting the blue cheeses made at Jasper Hill Farms. It was a moment of discovery alongside a moment of rediscovery. Withersbrook blue, a raw cow’s milk blue cheese washed in Eden ice cider (local to Jasper Hill) was new to me. It’s creamy and pleasantly sweet with an undercurrent of savory herbs. Sitting next to Withersbrook at the Jasper Hill booth was Bayley Hazen Blue. I’ve been tasting Bayley Hazen blue for 20 years and this wheel was a standout. Balanced, savory, creamy-crumbly, and complex. In turns out Withersbrook is a play on the Bayley Hazen recipe. They are sibling cheeses. Alike but different. One, a labor of love, 23 years in the making (according to Mateo from Jasper Hill), and the other sweet play on all those lessons learned. The takeaway for me (the aha moment) was the reminder that both cheeses started with great milk. You can taste it. I love dairy products that show off great milk. I learned a long time ago that you can make shitty cheese from good milk, but you can’t make great cheese from shitty milk. Jasper Hill is honoring those cows and making great cheeses. All of them.

Sam Mogannam, Owner. My pick from the show is Elephant Green Chili Chutney. One of the best flavor explosions I had in my mouth while at the Winter Fancy Faire was under the Good Food Mercantile tent. I tasted this amazing green chutney from a mother-daughter team that was super vibrant and fresh. I imagined putting it on everything..... eggs, bagel with cream cheese, turkey sandwich, drizzled on avocado toast, with tortilla chips. It’s the perfect condiment to add pizzazz to everything.

peace.