Auckland Food Show 2011

I must admit, I was really looking forward to attending the Auckland Food Show, it was my first time and I had heard so many great things that I just couldn’t wait to get up there.
A huge thanks goes out to Robert Harris Coffee  who provided us with tickets (and a friendly chat at the show) you guys ROCK and have AMAZING coffee. Another big thanks goes out to Andrea from So D’Lish  for providing insight on what to expect with her awesome blog that was done on the Thursday after attending the Preview Day.
I had several agenda’s for the day. First of all, we are getting married on 11/11/11 so I was looking for ideas on products to serve at our wedding (a simple BBQ/Fingerfood event), and secondly, I wanted to catch up with the amazing list of companies that we have had the pleasure of dealing with over the last year.  It was shaping up to be a great day.

So Sunday morning arrived and off we set, armed with my  ‘must do’   list

We arrived at the ASB showgrounds not too long after 10am and entered Hall 3 (which I thought was Hall 1 – see I was already lost). The first company we were greated by was The Fresh Grower. We were promptly handed a delicious green leaf which had a lovely filling of what I believe was sweet chilli chicken. Oh my gosh, if that was how the day was going to progress then I was already hooked. Plus I thought this would be a great idea for our wedding !!!

Next we came across the Gü stand. I got to try a couple of their products but then received a phone call so didn’t get to try all their tasty treats…but I WILL return because the couple that I did try were OMG amazing… Key Lime – I can’t say anything else other than TRY IT.

From there, we made our way around the various stands, sampling and chatting as we went. It was great to catch up with some of the companies we have dealt with previously like  Savour the Taste,  Queen Products, Hansells, and more, and also great to meet up with some other awesome companies. Some of them I have to confess that I had never heard of so it was great to have my eyes opened (and my tastebuds).
At times it was hard to work through the crowds and I was extremely greatful for the frequent little open areas where I could take a breath and just get my bearings back again. Plus it meant 5 minutes where I  could talk to my partner about what he thought about things etc.

Although there were a few wine companies in attendance, we only sampled a few, although those ‘few’ were definately wines I would buy in the future. Brown Brothers convinced me to try one of their wines, despite the fact that I am not a red wine fan and I must admit that I am extremely glad I did. If you get a chance to try their Cienna, I would definately recommend it.  Another of the wine companies we were lucky to sample was Ti Point. Thanks so much Jan for taking the time to chat with us 🙂 It was so lovely to meet you and your wine is quite simply devine. Make sure you try their Ruby Rose if you get the opportunity. The last wine company we tried was Tohu . Being a reisling fan I was not disappointed by the wines they had on offer. Again, thanks guys for taking time to chat with us.

Food wise we were far from disappointed. What was amazing was that a lot of products weren’t just on display, the companies had actually USED them to show you just how great they are.
One example was West Indies Spice Traders.  All I can say is OMG. If you haven’t tried their products before (I had) then I seriously suggest you do. They had chicken & salmon on display, seasoned with their Jerk Chicken seasoning & Sauce and it was one of my favourites of the day. Seriously, I could have stayed there all day. The guys are so friendly and willing to share recipes etc – it was great to talk to them….needless to say I walked off with a small bag of goodies.
Speaking of favourites, another of mine was Mel’s Gourmet Foods – being a HUGE fan of  Indian Food, these guys were definately on my list of  ‘must do’  and I’m so glad I did. They had their Butter Chicken mix made up and it is quite simply devine…Since being home, I have also found out that I won a hamper of their goodies so I am excited in the prospect of that turning up.
Another company that were on my ‘must do’ list was Annies.  My twins LOVE their products and I was looking forward to meeting the company. I was over the moon to see that Ann herself was there (what a lovely lady) and even more over the moon to find out that she had already heard all about us from So D’Lish. So great to hear that our name is getting out there to other quality companies. The  Wiggles snack bars are 100% pure fruit which is naturally fat free, gluten free, no added sugar, yeast or dairy so are GREAT for school lunches.

Gosh so many companies, so little time. It was about this time that we thought maybe next year we would come up for 2 days and really spend more time, or perhaps come up on the preview day which has limited tickets and sounds a lot less crowded to me.
It was about now that we really needed a coffee and Jeds Coffee were only a stand away so we thought we’d give it a go. The guys there were really friendly (and their coffee was yumm) and I fell in love with their coffee machine (but at $5000 it wont be gracing our kitchen any time soon). Mark was however enthralled in the other coffee machines (chem sets) so while he looked at those, I spoke to the people at Bell Tea about their tea’s for kids. I think these are a great idea but I had a few concerns which I put to them and they were more than happy to answer my questions. So a big thank you to them.

Gosh, this post just seems to be going on and on but there were just so many amazing companies that even though I know I can’t put them all down on here, there are  lots that I just HAVE to share with you all.
Another of my favourites (that I also left the show with) was Frappe’ Vino. Use all natural Frappe Vino mix with any white or red wine, Rose or fruit wine to make an endless variety of frozen wine cocktails, sorbets, slushies or desserts. Mmmm a fruit wine slushie – what more could you want. My preference was the white wine slushie – I could have happily grabbed a seat and sat for the rest of the afternoon, but there were other companies calling…so we thought we’d better answer the call.

Collective Dairy – What can I say ? I already know how amazing the yoghurts from these guys are but there was one flavour I hadn’t yet had the chance to try. Apple Crumble. My favourite til then was the Strawberry & Rhubarb but now I’m not so sure. The Apple Crumble is extremely tasty and I can see it appearing in our fridge a bit more often in the future. No Bull !!!   However the real eye opener for me was the Lemon & Chilli Haloumi. The flavour is beautiful but not over powering so it was another ‘treat’ that had to leave with me.

Ice-cream – OK so anyone who knows me knows that this is my all time favourite food so there were a couple I got to sample – the first from NZ Natural. Honestly, what’s not to love ? And the second was the vanilla ice cream from Heilala Vanilla. This was absolutely devine… Once again, I could have stayed but time was getting on and we still had more to see and do.

Cupcakes – We did manage to find Delish Cupcakes and they are exactly that…..delish. Even my partner who doesn’t eat much in the way of chocolate, loved their chocolate cupcakes with raspberry frosting. If you’re in Auckland I would seriously make an effort to try these.
Another cupcake company that unfortunately we missed 😦 was Miss Melicious Cupcakes.  I was a bit disappointed at missing out on meeting them, but the comments I’ve heard from our members have been amazing. I can’t wait to try them at our next product meet.

The last 3 companies that I am going to mention are Alpine Gold, Jacks Links and Cuisine Scene.
Alpine Gold – I only tried their juice but that was enough for me…..I was hooked. My favourite was definately the Apple and Boysenberry. Talk about a taste sensation. Other flavours were amazing too but I could have taken a box of this one home..if I could have carried it of course.
Jacks Links –  OK this time I was pleasantly surprised. I have seen these before but in my head they were a strip of chewy meaty leather. I couldn’t have been further from the truth. The first bit I tried was the Teriyaki Steak Bar.  WOW. Tasty and Juicy are the first 2 words that spring to mind. And yes…..we bought some home with us which were gone within the first day. Will definately purchase in the future.
Cuisine Scene –  These guys were also on my must do list. Being that they have amazing products and are also a Hamilton company, I just had to go meet them and sample some of their goodies All their products are hand made and it shows. My favourite of the day was their Garlic and Chives Aioli. But definately check them out 🙂

I know there were many many other companies , but with it being so busy there were so many times we just couldn’t even get close enough to try things, let alone talk to the people.  There were a lot of stands we didn’t even get to which was a shame but when you’re fighting crowds to see everything, it can make things hard. Plus I found it hard to work out where we had been and where we wanted to go. Although there was a newspaper like publication, there was no way you could just open it up and browse through it. I would have preferred to see a smaller pamplet that was easier to read standing up.

One thing that did get me though, and I did find a little disappointing was the general public. There were a few times I saw products out for people to try, but often it was a case of hands in grabbing…with VERY few people stopping to even say thank you. That was probably my biggest negative of the show in all honesty.