Food Matters Again booth at Summer 2017 Fancy Food Show
I just got back from the Summer Fancy Food Show at NYC’s Javits Convention Center. I go to this show to see what’s new and keep up with trends in the food industry, but I also take personal pleasure in grabbing a few nibbles here and there. A lot of very, very high quality cheese and charcuterie was on offer, which invited comparative tasting across several favorite categories. And the winner, across the board, was a Brooklyn importer and distributor called Food Matters Again.
Sacre Bleu! Eric turned me on to this astonishing mountain of bleu but the name is covered by the sign holder!
Cheese Porn at Food Matters Again booth (if you click through to the higher rez version then blow it up you can read most of the labels.
According to the minimal info currently available (the website is under construction), FMA was founded by a long time cheese monger and recently added cured American meats. The selection and affinage was unbelievable… magnificent funky specimens, perfectly aged, presented at the peak of ripeness. My personal favorite was a 10-month Gourmino (love anything Gourmino) Schallenberger, but I could have stayed there gobbling one toenail-tasting tidbit after another till they dragged me out.
And about that local connection: roaming the booth was none other than Cheese Traveler’s Eric Paul. As it turns out, Eric already sells many of these cheeses in his shop and is about to become a local distributor in the Capital District. He doesn’t (currently) have the Schallenberger, but he guided me to a similar-tasting Gruyere d’Alpage which comes from the highest mountains in Switzerland where there is less grazing traffic so the grass grows especially lush and sweet.
Eric Paul at FMA booth at 2017 Summer Fancy Food Show
Stay tuned for more reports from the 2017 Summer Fancy Food Show.
