Say Fromage to French Food Connection

I’ve never seen a jam made of violets, with flowers suspended in a jewel-like substance in a glass jar. Nor have I ever tried a calisson before – an almond and candied fruit confection, a specialty of Aix en Provence. Besides these, produced by Albert Menes and Confiserie Leonard Parli respectively, many other treats, from stellar cheeses and rillettes, to oils and condiments were presented at the French Food Connection 2011, put together by the French Embassy Trade Office, Ubifrance, and French food producers, on a three city tour to Chicago, Las Vegas, and San Francisco.
Take a European staple – sauerkraut, a humble dish coming from the pre-refrigeration era. Produced by Andre Laurent, it now comes in a number of ready to serve gourmet styles, like traditional French, or made with grapes and goose fat, or with champagne and bacon, etc., etc.
The French Cheese Club is an association of five family-owned dairies specializing in the production of traditional French cheeses. Cecile Delannes, Ambassadrice, showed me how Etoile du Sud Saint Marcellin, soft ripened cheese from the Rhone-Alps region, can be heated in its own ceramic dish to make a great cracker dip for any occasion.
David Thiercelin of Thiercelin 1809 presented at the show some amazing spices and blends of his 200-year-old family business, producing high-quality saffron and vanilla, oils, vinegars, syrups, and mustards, among them the most delicious one with green apples – Moutarde a la Pomme Verte.
Another array of mustards came from Edmond Fallot, along with capers, gherkins, and cocktail onions. Then there were jams, jellies, and chutneys from Corsica Gastronomia; canned pates, terrines, and spreads from Jean Henaff; delicious frozen macaroons from Mag’m; more wonderful cheeses from Isigny Sainte Mere and from Interval; all kinds of honey, cake and candy from Le Manoir des Abeilles; steamed and peeled chestnuts from Inovchataigne Sarl; and a red berries and pomegranate energy drink from Deveurop, a family-run company in Paris, among other unique products.
All these wonderful French food producers are either looking for U.S. distributors or distributing in limited quantities here, while their definite plus is the use of healthy farm-to-table ingredients, without additives, fillers, and preservatives. To me, the French Food Connection 2011 looked like a dream – the most delicious products, and no fear reading the labels.