You may have noticed that my blog entries are a little lax this month. While I apologize, I have been no less busy typing away. In fact, I’ve been writing this year’s booklet for our 2009 Innovation Roadshow®!

While I can’t reveal what we’re showing (although faithful readers may have caught a hint here or there), I can say that we’ve tapped into a variety of trends this year – from ethnic flavors, to convenience, to cost saving ideas. We’ve even taken a few classics, and turned them on their heads – gaining new life out of consumer favorites.

With only a month left to go, I’m looking forward to seeing our guests. Looking at our registration list, I see repeat attendees who make a point to attend every year, and some new attendees that I’m excited to meet for the first time. If you haven’t registered yet – what are you waiting for?

If you’re in product development and innovation — if you are a food scientist or technologist, R&D Director, chef, marketing executive or brand manager — you should be here!

Below, I’ve listed our TOP TEN Reasons to Attend the Innovation Roadshow (with apologies to Mr. Letterman, of course).

1. The Innovation Roadshow is a FREE event! There is no cost other than your travel and accommodations.
2. You will experience innovative flavors and applications – from out-of-the-box concepts to ideas that are ready for market.
3. You will learn about new product development and flavor technologies, including flavor modifiers, such as salt replacers and sweetness enhancers.
4. Re-charge your innovative edge – we’ll get you thinking in new ways!
5. See and taste product concepts in a variety of categories – from confections and baked goods, to distilled spirits and ice cream!
6. Learn how to adapt these concepts to your own product line. Think a savory frozen snack concept doesn’t have applications for your cookie line? Think again.
7. Participate in a thought-provoking panel discussion on private label brands and national brands, and the strategies each uses to appeal to consumers.
8. Interact with David Michael’s global creative team, as well as others in your field.
9. Learn more about current and emerging food and beverage trends.
10. Taste exotic flavors from around the world!

David Michael’s 2009 Innovation Roadshow will be held on October 21^st in Philadelphia. To learn more or to register, click here.

A Jersey girl, born and bred, you may think that a love for Jersey Tomatoes was in my blood. Not true for many years, as I was never a fan of a tomato that wasn’t sauced or ketchuped. But with maturity came appreciation, and before I knew it, I was trolling the farmer’s market for the perfect plant to take home.

With a practically sunless yard, I set forth for a potted garden of herbs and tomatoes on my deck, each year gaining new insight and passion for those few but beautiful plants. This year, I planted three tomato plants to fill my small, sunny domain. Three plants – three varieties. One – my very first heirloom tomato plant, grown from a seedling gifted to me by our own Chef Julie Snarski – as of this weekend has grown over six feet tall.

But a little bit ago, I noticed some yellow spots forming on the leaves of one of my plants. Having read about late blight, a devasting crop disease, over a month ago, I worried, but quickly dismissed my fears, assuring myself it was simply a lack of sun. But as tomato after tomato from my most fruitful plant began to show greasy, black rings, and the plant itself looked lifeless, I knew it was more. I sacrificed my faithful plant, by fire of course, in order to save my precious heirloom, which has only now started to fruit.

As I wait for my heirlooms to grow, I’ve begun to notice some spots on the leaves that were closest to my blighted plant. Fingers crossed, I will harvest a few precious homegrown heirlooms before the blight takes its toll. And, I’ve moved my third plant as far away as possible (which is sadly, only a few feet).

But I am not alone, as late blight has devastated commercial and backyard farmers all over the east coast. Even domestic goddess Martha Stewart lost 70 percent of her crop that included 50 varieties of tomatoes! Her photos will break your heart…

This weekend, I stepped off of the subway, and into another world…literally. I, along with a gaggle of women, visited Brighton Beach, Brooklyn on Saturday night for an unconventional bachelorette party at The National – a Russian supper club where English is scarce, and the vodka is French.

A display of cold appetizers awaits us.

Smoked sturgeon and lox.

When we were seated at our table for 18, a traditional Russian spread was already waiting for us. A bevy of cold appetizers ranging from Russian potato salad, smoked sturgeon, lox, grilled vegetables, chicken liver pate, pickles, eggplant, assorted salads, and beef tongue. Even in this brave group of women, the beef tongue was met with cringes and “no thank you’s,” until our intrepid friend Jennie manned up, and chased it quickly down with pumpernickel and vodka – a scowl on her face.

The infamous beef tongue!

Almost full already, the food kept coming, and miraculously found space on the table. More cold appetizers – pancakes with salmon roe, more fish, more salad. Then the hot appetizers – roasted potatoes, chicken-filled pirozhki (like a dumpling, pierogi or knish), grilled white fish, and stuffed roast beef.

Getting stuffed - chicken pirozhki amid a table full of food!

And, oh wait, there’s more!!! A few hours into dinner, dancing, and live music, and there were more hot appetizers to be had! Just when we thought we couldn’t eat another bite, the waiters served us a beautiful bread bowl filled with beef stew that was out of this world. All the while, straight vodka was the beverage of choice, and our requests for water were lost a bit in translation.

Bread bowl with beef stew.

Happy birthdays were sung to those from one year to 50. Anniversary dances were made with grandkids running circles round. And then, the stage show began. White suits and mesh leotards accented by wigs, hats and feathers. Salsa prevailed in the Carnivale theme that didn’t seem out of place, even though every other bit of chatter was in Russian.

Beef tongue, later in the evening, remains mostly untouched!

Dinner was served as we watched, a collection of chicken and pork kebabs, stuffed chicken breast…and french fries (a little random, but completely appreciated!). The evening finished with more dancing and singing, as well as cakes, pastries and coffee. For those six hours of solid eating, I felt as if I had been transported to Russia, and all I did was drive up the turnpike. It’s amazing how food can do that – in concert with language, song and vodka, of course!

We asked why the vodka was French, but the Russian speaking waiters didn't quite understand our question. The response? "It's for fun."

**Thanks to all the ladies that donated their food pictures!!!

Today, I’m gazing longingly at a new addition to my dream vacation list – the CuisinArt Resort & Spa, a Greek inspired resort in Anguilla. Brought to you by the man that founded CuisinArt, the resort boasts organic gardens and a hydroponic farm, partially housed in an 18,000 square-foot greenhouse, which supplies its restaurants and spa with everything from lettuce and tomatoes to chervil and bok choy.It’s foodie mecca meets ultra-lavish Caribbean vacation. Not too shabby.

Of course, it will cost you, which is why it’s on my dream list for now. But, according to e-newsletter Tasting Table, the resort is currently running a summer special that makes things a bit more reasonable. A girl can dream…

Phew – last week is a bit of a blur – a marathon of Roadshow related activities. Yup, it’s that time of year again. The clock is ticking as we count down the days to the annual Innovation Roadshow®, which is just over two months away (or 68 days).The Roadshow Committee met with our global technical department for final tastings on all of the concepts that will be shown at this year’s Innovation Roadshow. And while I can’t reveal anything that we’ll be showing (so sorry!), I have to say that we’ve once again outdone ourselves.

Not only are all of the products super tasty, but we’ve got some great concepts too! After all of the products were reviewed, we went into photography mode. Committee members Denis Blais (senior account manager) and Danielle Durso (marketing coordinator), as well as Kelly DeFusco (senior food technologist, bakery & cereal) took over our board room, along with photographer, Anthony Sinagoga for an intensive photography session, styling for this year’s 27 booths!

Below are a few shots we snapped over those days, just to give you a few behind-the-scenes peeks!

All the necessary ingredients for the perfect shot.

Denis’ magic notebook - his sketches for each shot.

The man behind the curtain. Denis picks out a glass for the next shot.

Denis and Kelly

Anthony and Danielle talk angles.

Kelly bringing the sheen out on a tartlet.

Danielle and her checklist.

On a quick lunch-time shopping trip to Target today, I found the coolest thing! Terracycle has partnered with Frito-Lay to make back-to-school supplies for little tikes out of old chip bags. Determined to break a certain 12 year-old’s “cool kids don’t recycle” theory, I picked up some Wavy Lay’s folders for the nieces and nephew, and a Rold Gold pencil case for myself (why should they have all the fun).

My awesome pencil case!

Terracycle itself has a cool story, but the products are even cooler. Beyond the composters, rain barrels and natural cleaners, they have a number of fashionista-friendly accessories made from repurposed food packaging – Capri-Sun lunch box, Oreo messenger bag – the list goes on!

David Michael is the first flavor company on Twitter – www.twitter.com/DMFlavors!

Our “tweets” are a great resource for trend info and articles, and even the occasional recipe.

I recently read that women spend almost two years of our lives thinking about food! The study, conducted in the UK, found that the average British woman thinks about food for 44 minutes each day, or an entire day each month, which adds up to one year and 11 months over an average lifetime.At first, I gasped at this result. But when I think more about it, two years may actually be a little on the low side for me. Even removing all work-related food thoughts, I spend way more than 44 minutes each day thinking about food. And why not! I’m planning a menu for dinner, contemplating lunch, preparing breakfast, food shopping, fighting off ice cream temptations – it adds up.

So often, we paint food as the villain. Sometimes, we almost forget that it is essential – and even enjoyable! Hmmm…maybe we need one of these studies in the states.

Another product that caught my fancy at this year’s show is healthDropz^TM. Called a “Beverage Booster,” the company claims that by adding six drops to any beverage, you get the benefit of the supplement, free of flavor or calories. Available in energy, focus, and green tea, I decided that I was in grave need of a kick and tried the energy in water. There really was no flavor. I was truly surprised – it just tasted like plain water!

But since I am here to talk flavors, I was very pleased to find a line of flavored dulce de leche from the Argentian company el Semillero. Also a producer of chimichurri (yum), the dulces were available in mint, orange, and, I believe, cinnamon and coconut, aside from original, of course. I sampled the orange which was delicious. What a fabulous idea!

While walking the aisles of the show, I found inspiration for a friend’s baby shower at the Sutter Home booth. Alcohol Removed Fre® Wine tastes just like the real thing, and is available in all the classic varieties – Merlot, White Zin and Chardonnay, just to name a few. The Fre website also boasts “cocktails” using the wines. And at the booth, a few “Preggatini” recipes were available too – “cocktails for the mom-to-be.”

Other highlights from this year’s Fancy Foods Show included Jelly Belly’s new Superfruit mix, featuring acai, Barbados cherry, blueberry, pomegranate and cranberry flavors – a delicious mix, especially if you’re a red fruit fan like myself. Another fave, Brownie Pops take brownies, dip them in chocolate, and put ‘em on a stick – HELLO!

At the Winter Fancy Foods Show in California, hibiscus seemed to be all the rage, but in NYC it was all about the blood orange. In fact, quite a few blood orange flavored items (confit, juice, marmalade) took home Sofi Awards.

With over 2,300 exhibitors on the show floor, I had a tall order for this one-day jaunt. But once the feet start aching, and too much sampling leads to a thousand-yard stare, it’s easy to miss a great product. That’s why it’s always helpful to check out other show reviews – because we all see something different!

A few of my favorites this year are Bobby Flay’s review from the CBS Early Show (check out the video), New York Daily News (check out the mini-melon), Sara Moulton on ABC’s Good Morning America, and Slashfood’s day-by-day highlights.

Plus, you can revisit our reviews from the January Fancy Foods Show in San Francisco!

Next up on the fancy brigade is a stop in Peru. Last month, we took you on a little journey through Peru, with flavor chemist Yuko Nodo. But at the Fancy Foods Show, the flavors of Peru came to me.

So often, I avoid the international pavilions. The mind (and feet) can only take in so much in a day, and typically the pavilions are filled with a lot of commodity products. And let’s face it, there are only so many nuts and so much olive oil a girl can take.

But Peru did it right. At a large endcap of the pavilion I was drawn in by the call of Pisco Sours…delish! After one turn around this overly crowded display, I found out that the trade organization PromPeru had joined forces with a local Peruvian restaurant, Oh! Calamares (Kearny, NJ), to present an amazing spread of goodies. I snacked on potato pastries and chocolate flan! The lucuma fruit was heavily promoted through samples and signage, as were Peruvian potatoes and purple corn. Elderberry, amaranth and quinoa were also displayed in the pavilion. With all of the foodie interest in Peruvian cuisine recently, it was no surprise to see this was the absolute busiest booth at the show.

And, speaking of crowded booths, Ciao Bella Gelato had its fair share of traffic, too! I sampled the Key Lime Graham Cracker Gelato – a 2009 Sofi Award Winner in the Perishable Foodservice Product category. There’s no question why this product won! So often, key lime flavored products don’t translate as well into non-pie applications. If not done right, they can taste, well, artificial. But this was right on – authentic and refreshing, like a frozen slice of fresh pie.

Last fall, I read about Skyr - a strained Icelandic yogurt that’s been slowly making a name for itself. Plus, it’s non-fat and sugar-free. So when I happened upon the Siggi’s booth at the show, I was excited to taste! I tried the plain first, to experience the true flavor of skyr. It tastes quite a bit like traditional yogurt, only much thicker and creamier. It’s very filling, and sour. They had a number of flavors on hand to sample, and I went immediately for the grapefruit. The flavored varieties are sweetened with agave nectar. The grapefruit seemed a bit thinner than the plain, and was more tart, or course, but quite good. I wish I hadn’t been so full at the time, or else I would have tried more of their flavors – they all sounded delicious!

In an issue of Fast Track Fast Trends last year, we explored Coneinn Pizza, which is basically, a pizza in a cone! The product heats in the microwave, in an upright package. Sounds great, doesn’t it! Problem is – it’s a European product. That’s why I was so excited to see the Coneinn booth at the show! I was pretty sad that they didn’t have any samples to try (I’ve been drooling over it for a year, after all!), but I did find out that they’re looking for stateside distributors. They will be mine…oh yes, they will be mine.

One more installment to go! Next time we’ll talk alcohol-free wine and flavored dulce de leche!