January 6, 2015 – The “oscars” of the artisan food world take place in San Francisco on Thursday and we wish the best of luck to all the local nominees: Chris LeVeque of El Salchichero; Rebecca King of Garden Variety Cheese; Sean Venus of Venus Spirits; Isabel Freed of Pantry House; and Colby Barr and Ryan O’Donovan of Verve Coffee Roasters.
The 2015 Good Food Awards marks the fifth annual spotlight on American food producers who uphold ethical, authentic and delicious practices. Every year since 2011, when the original seven categories—coffee, charcuterie, cheese, beer, pickles, preserves, chocolate—brought 780 entries, the playing field has grown and grown. In 2012 the spirits category was added, in 2013 it was confections, in 2014 it was oil and this year, honey. There were 1,462 entries this year, which have been whittled down to 207 finalists, of which 146 will receive a winning medal by Alice Waters herself on January 8, 2015 in San Francisco.
I was one of 15 judges tasting our way through 93 entries in the fledgling honey category this past October. Not only is honey new to the Good Food Awards, it is a youngster in the world of formal food judging as well. In fact, I ended up sitting next to Amina Harris, director of the Honey and Pollination Center at UC Davis, who had much to do with creating the newly developed and enhanced Honey Flavor and Aroma Wheel. There are over 300 honey varietals produced in the United States, all with their own characteristics. Akin to what is now a standard in the wine industry for identifying flavor nuances, this new wheel uses over 100 descriptive words for honey—which for the longest time has been described as simply “sweet.”
Luckily, we had a copy of the wheel on hand as we embarked on the learning curve that was honey judging. By the end of the day, I felt pretty savvy in the ways of bees and nectar. I also wanted to eat something salty (which was actually pretty easy to do since the cheese category was generous). Not to brag or anything, but out of my six personal favorites, five of them were chosen as finalists. Perhaps that speaks more to the beekeepers responsible for extracting the specimens in front of us. They were distinct, pure and vastly different from each other. The raw honeycomb from Arizona was juicy and chewy like taffy, while the Swampflower honey from Louisiana was like nothing this California native had ever encountered before.
But my honey tastes merely scratch the surface to what occurred on that Judgment Day in San Francisco. The nine other categories were similarly abundant with submissions, presenting all judges a daunting task. And despite the wide reach that the Good Food Awards has proven to have, attracting companies and their products from all 50 states, our little Monterey Bay region is proving to hold some power. This year, el Salchichero’s Doug Fir Salami, Garden Variety Cheese’s Hollyhock, Verve’s Elida Estate Green-Tip Gesha and newcomer Venus Spirit’s Gin Blend No. 1 made it to the finals. I hope to run into all of them at the awards ceremony wearing medals around their necks.
Another Santa Cruz local that is involved is Isabel Freed of Pantry House. Her mustards and jams have grown in popularity around town and for good reason. She sources only the purest local ingredients to concoct simple, perfectly balanced goods such as the sought after horseradish or whole grain beer mustards, her luscious fruit butters or my personal favorite, the red pepper jam.
The Good Food Mercantile is a brand new element being launched this year in conjunction to the awards, as a trade show for the producers making these authentic and sustainable products. Freed jumped at the opportunity to attend, as the Mercantile will bring together retailers looking to stock their shelves with what the artisans on hand are creating. The idea behind it is to unite like-minded buyers and sellers in an intimate, graceful setting. Typical trade shows tend to be chaotic, wasteful and bottom-line driven, which is what the Good Food Mercantile is definitely not about. Instead, it will be a light-filled gathering of no more than 100 food businesses looking to grow into new markets, but not in a huge way.
Not by coincidence, the massive annual Fancy Food Show in San Francisco falls on the very same weekend as the Good Food Mercantile. The contrast between the two events is part of the draw for Freed. She says, “I have attended The Fancy Food Show…it was just SO big with SO many vendors and it all turned out to be a bit overwhelming. At events like this it is easy for smaller craft food businesses to drown in a sea of larger and more established food companies. I am really looking forward to being a part of the launch of the Good Food Awards ‘Untradeshow’ and to connecting with people who share a vested interest in not just the business of food, but in the integrity and responsible processes of these businesses.”
If you would like to take part in this celebratory food weekend yourself, tickets to the awards ceremony and gala are still available. It is a majestic affair, all sparkly and glamorous, coming together just to applaud artisanal food and the sustainable practices that create it. Big names in the food movement will be presenting, including Mark Bittman who will deliver the opening remarks, Ruth Reichl and Nell Newman as honorary hosts and Sam Mogannam of Bi-Rite Market as Master of Ceremonies.
Following the ceremony, there will be abundant sampling of the winning products, broken out into regions and presented on plates with a selection of the goods. There will also be specially crafted appetizers, offered by members of the Good Food Retailers Collaborative, and a dozen original cocktails mixed up by Rye on the Road and Derby Cocktail Co. along with the winning ciders and beers.
If you can’t be there for the gala, don’t fret. The entire Ferry Building will feature a Good Food Marketplace on Saturday, January 10, where the winners set up their wares for the public to taste and purchase. The day will also include a Cider, Beer & Spirits Garden with plenty of sips to go around. This is a special opportunity to source some amazing products from all over the country in one place before everyone packs up and heads home.
About the author
Amber Turpin is a freelance food and travel writer based in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
