sofi Award Winners Announced at Summer Fancy Food Show

The winners of the 41st sofi Awards for the outstanding specialty foods and beverages of the year were announced last night at the Summer Fancy Food Show at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York.

The awards (sofi stands for Specialty Outstanding Food Innovation), from the Specialty Food Association, were presented at a red-carpet ceremony hosted by internationally-acclaimed chef Marcus Samuelsson. This year’s contest was the largest in its 41-year history, with specialty food makers submitting 2,573 products across all 32 awards categories.

This spring, a national panel of specialty-food professionals convened over eight days to taste and evaluate all entries and select 125 finalists. To determine the winners, more than 150 buyers at the Summer Fancy Food Show sampled the finalist products and cast votes for their favorite in each category. The final results were tabulated by an outside accounting firm.

The 2013 sofi winners are:

• Appetizer Antipasto, Salsa or Dip: Gourmet du Village, Hot Parmesan & Artichoke Dip Mix, booth 4130.
• Baked Good, Baking Ingredient or Cereal: Fromagerie Belle Chevre, Goat Cheese Cheesecake.
• Cheese or Dairy Product (tie): Caves of Faribault, Jeffs' Select, booth 369; and Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Co.,Toma, booth 273.
• Chocolate: Chocolat Moderne, Avant-Garde Bar Blood Orange Bergamot Flavor, booth 5116.
• Classic: Cypress Grove Chevre Inc., Humboldt Fog, booth 266.
• Cold Beverage (tie): Brands of Britain, Fever-Tree Premium Sparkling Lemon, booth 2048, and Canada Enterprises, Jin-Ja, booth 4662.
• Condiment: The Virginia Chutney Company, Spicy Plum Chutney, booth 359.
• Confection: The Sticky Toffee Pudding Company, Chocolate Tiffin with Biscuits, Roasted Almonds & Cherries, booth 3926.
• Cookie: Tate's Bake Shop, Whole Wheat Dark Chocolate Chip, booth 4141.
• Cooking Sauce or Flavor Enhancer: Korean Delights, We Rub You, Spicy Korean BBQ Marinade, booth 4720.
• Cracker: Lesley Stowe Fine Foods, Salty Date and Almond Raincoast Crisps, booth 873.
• Dessert or Dessert Topping: McConnell's Fine Ice Creams, Double Peanut Butter Chip.
• Diet and Lifestyle Product:Fromagerie Belle Chevre, Belle & The Bees Breakfast Cheese.
• Food Gift: Bee Raw, Manhattan Rooftop Honey Flight.
• Frozen Savory: Hancock Gourmet Lobster Co., Old Port Lobster Flatbread, booth 4225.
• Hot Beverage: Bhakti Chai, Bhakti Chai.
• Innovation in Packaging Design or Function: HoneyPax, HoneyPax Raw Tupelo Honey Packets.
• Jam, Preserve, Honey or Nut Butter: Wildly Delicious Fine Foods, Beet & Red Onion Marmalade, booth 4144.
• Meat, Pâté or Seafood: Creminelli Fine Meats, Campania Handcrafted Italian Salami, booth 243.
• New Product (tie): Artisan Biscuits Ltd., The Fine Cheese Co. Pearls of Pure Goats’ Cheese, booth 1047; and Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Co., Point Reyes Bay Blue, booth 273.
• Non-Food Specialty Item: EcoTensil Inc., EcoTaster Mini.
• Oil: Los Chileros, Stöger Cherry Seed Oil, booth 5126.
• Pasta Sauce: Ritrovo Italian Regional Foods, Ritrovo Selections Casina Rossa Due Formaggi, booth 4376.
• Pasta, Rice or Grain: Luquire Family Foods, Carolina Creole Stone Ground Grits, booth 4858.
• Perishable Foodservice Product: Sukhi's Gourmet Indian Foods, Pakora & Aloo Tikki Indian Bites Platter, booth 4058.
• Product Line: Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams, Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams, booth 4658.
• Salad Dressing: NaGo Foods, Ginger Sesame Miso Dressing.
• Shelf-Stable Foodservice Product. Effie's Homemade, Single Serve Oatcakes, booth 4805.
• Snack Food: POP! Gourmet Popcorn, Rogue Blue Gourmet Popcorn.
• Soup, Stew, Bean or Chili: Sarabeth's Kitchen, Legendary Velvety Cream of Tomato Soup, booth 2437.
• USDA-Certified Organic Product: Pro Ecuador, RUNA Hibiscus, Berry Guayusa Tea, booth 5454.
• Vinegar - Italian Harvest, Inc. - Sopraffino 12 Year Aged Wine Vinegar

“The sofi awards honor innovation and excellence. With a record number of entries this year, the products that emerged as winners truly represent the best examples of the passion, creativity and care specialty food makers are bringing to their craft,” said Ann Daw, the association’s president