The Food Show 2012 - Auckland on the Menu 2-5 Aug 2012
ASB Showgrounds, Greenlane
This is Auckland's favourite food show, with almost 300 businesses exhibiting and reaching out to the consumers. Features like the Kenwood Kitchen attracted big crowds to enjoy free, close-up cooking demos from leading chefs, baristas, and bartenders, plus the Masterclass Series of limited-seating cooking seminars proved so popular that almost all of the 12 classes sold out.
We were at the Auckland on the Menu stand, a Auckland Tourism Events and Economic Development collaboration. There were several other artisan food makers, such as Clevedon Valley Buffalo Company, Nuts about NZ (macadamia nuts), Mustardmakers, Heron's Flight (boutique wines and grape juices), Culley's chilli sauces, Wild Wheat bakery and more.
What was there?
- Introduction of Vege Tofu (no, not of our business name, but of the product). The Vege Tofu is organic firm tofu, with fresh carrot juice and spirulina added. This gives two natural shades of orange and green, adding colour to the dish, as well as extra nutrition! A first in NZ!
- New product launch - Organic Tofu Misozuke. A 100% vegan product, this is not yet available in NZ, so another first! The Tofu Misozuke is a traditional Japanese delicacy which dates back to at least the 18th century. Our organic firm tofu is steeped in miso, then aged for months. The lengthy curing process results in an intense-flavoured and creamy product which can be enjoyed on its own. It is a vegan’s answer to cheese; it is also a cheese lover’s newfound friend.
- Our products were also used in Ray McVinnie's MasterClass and attendees could get a free product from our stand after the class.
What we discovered:
New Zealanders are mad about food. Half of the people in the crowd were pulling trolley bags, picking up the best products they could find. The Show also depicted the fact that there are many small food businesses around. And that these makers, alike ourselves, are making premium products which are of better quality than what major corporations are putting out into the market. The event also made clear the tofu situation in Auckland currently: one group is extremely excited about organic tofu, knowing all the benefits that come from the soybean; another group is clueless as to what exactly is tofu and who more prefer their cheese and milk. So give yourself a pat, if you belong to the first group! If you belong to the second group, never mind, so long as you are keen to find out, we are more keen to tell you about the tofu, which has been around for thousands of years.
We were at the Auckland on the Menu stand, a Auckland Tourism Events and Economic Development collaboration. There were several other artisan food makers, such as Clevedon Valley Buffalo Company, Nuts about NZ (macadamia nuts), Mustardmakers, Heron's Flight (boutique wines and grape juices), Culley's chilli sauces, Wild Wheat bakery and more.
What was there?
- Introduction of Vege Tofu (no, not of our business name, but of the product). The Vege Tofu is organic firm tofu, with fresh carrot juice and spirulina added. This gives two natural shades of orange and green, adding colour to the dish, as well as extra nutrition! A first in NZ!
- New product launch - Organic Tofu Misozuke. A 100% vegan product, this is not yet available in NZ, so another first! The Tofu Misozuke is a traditional Japanese delicacy which dates back to at least the 18th century. Our organic firm tofu is steeped in miso, then aged for months. The lengthy curing process results in an intense-flavoured and creamy product which can be enjoyed on its own. It is a vegan’s answer to cheese; it is also a cheese lover’s newfound friend.
- Our products were also used in Ray McVinnie's MasterClass and attendees could get a free product from our stand after the class.
What we discovered:
New Zealanders are mad about food. Half of the people in the crowd were pulling trolley bags, picking up the best products they could find. The Show also depicted the fact that there are many small food businesses around. And that these makers, alike ourselves, are making premium products which are of better quality than what major corporations are putting out into the market. The event also made clear the tofu situation in Auckland currently: one group is extremely excited about organic tofu, knowing all the benefits that come from the soybean; another group is clueless as to what exactly is tofu and who more prefer their cheese and milk. So give yourself a pat, if you belong to the first group! If you belong to the second group, never mind, so long as you are keen to find out, we are more keen to tell you about the tofu, which has been around for thousands of years.