Okay, so I paid a small fortune for this chocolate… yes, initially for the packaging.
Look at the details: tactile paper, twine, the hand-stamp technique executed with finesse. I appreciate the messaging — focused on the cacao farmer, fair-trade practices, chocolate made in small batches, cacao from a single origin.
Then I tried the chocolate…. wow. This chocolate is for a true chocolate connoisseur. Worth every penny!
Just came back from a family trip to Scotland. My mother was born & raised there, and I have a number of relatives still there. Always great to see the family, but this trip my husband and I made a point to travel around, see the sights, and savor the delights of Scotland.
We even had the chance to do some Scotch tasting, and we were particularly impressed with the branding at AUCHENTOSHAN. Apparently recently re-designed, we appreciate that AUCHENTOSHAN decided to break from tradition to create a very modern, clean label-design — a clean appearance for a clean, triple-distilled single malt scotch. It certainly stands out amongst it’s competitors on shelf.
They’ve done a great job creating a cohesive family of products, and carrying it over to the distillery, tasting room, and shop. A job well done!
Here’s a brief tour:
We went to the Fancy Food Show in San Francisco earlier this week. We go every year to see what’s new, to be inspired, to meet new people, and, as typical san francisco foodies, to taste new fare. As usual it was a great source of inspiration, and, as usual, we left full and with sore feet.
There was too much cool packaging to keep track of and usually thedieline.com covers that for us, but as a foodie, I certainly discovered some new and exciting treats. Again, so many things were yummy, but here are a few that stood out:
Siggi’s / Icelandic style skyr strained yogurt
It wasn’t long ago that I discovered Fage (pronounced Fa-Yeh) greek yogurt at the Fancy Food Show, but this year I’ve discovered something new, tangy and delicious. Siggi’s Skyr is creamy, thick, and only slightly sweet (sweetened with agave syrup). It comes in the most fantastic flavors. Move over strawberry, here comes orange & ginger, pomegrantate & passion, and açaí berry. Just delightful!
We discovered Happy Goat Caramels in the What’s New section of the show, and they make their caramels from goat’s milk. Now, I love caramel, and I must admit I’ve tried a few times to make it myself. But Happy Goat was really unique. The goat’s milk infused a tangy flavor and it was speckled with vanilla bean. Of course, the caramel was just the perfect consistency – not to soft, not too chewy.
Bolani / East & West Gourmet Afghan Food
A local farmer’s market favorite, Bolani is an super-yummy Afghan stuffed flatbread. Spinach filled flatbread with a sun-dried tomato spread on top…. or pumpkin stuffed flatbread with cilanto garlic sauce. As I was offered one combo after another, after another…. I had to remind myself that I was just visiting my first aisle of the day with way more food to try! I will absolutely be visiting them at the farmer’s market soon!