My first time at this show was eye-opening.  The trends were fascinating- cherry juices & aloe vera juices come to mind. There are also a lot of fruit juice-based carbonated beverages out there.  The marketplace is cluttered with them.

How do you differentiate chocolate?  If you’re Swiss or Belgian, you’ve got something to start with.  If not, try lavender (for chocolate or otherwise). There was also some playful categorization such as “earthy,” “floral,” or “fruity” chocolate flavor categories.

There were so many delicious foods to sample, I was very full- lots of cheese, in particular, although one of the most memorable samples was the jamon iberico from the Spanish pavilion.  Unforgettable.  Of course the Europeans were packing up 2 hours before the show was scheduled to end :)  Dressed in fine threads, they were at tables with exquisite foods and wine, toasting their efforts, critiquing and theorizing every possible thing.

I could not seem to get a conversation going for anything at the Chinese booths.  I need to study more on Asian culture, perhaps.  I find communication with people from Asia very challenging!

All in all, I got some very useful advice and made some telling new observations.  I will likely return next year, and make a D.C. weekend of it.  Hopefully it won’t be so hot next year.  It was 97 degrees at 5p.m. on Tuesday, with a heat index of 105.