Our first stop was talking to Jim May, CEO of Sweetleaf, and having a chat with him. More details will follow, but talking to Jim was wonderful for the both of us. He's a man with a dream and the persistence to stick to it like no one I've ever seen. His research in Stevia has paved the way for much more work in that field, and he has pioneered an all-natural form of extraction. It was fantastic to get a peek at what he did and how he went about doing it.
In between interviews, Keepitcoming and I tried more foods. It was definitely more of a savory day than yesterday's chocolate bonanza, and we sampled bits of Serrano ham off a large hock. The California Dairy Board also brought fantastic samples, like a Carmody cheese, which smelled like fresh butter and tasted like a nutty Havarti, and Foggy Morning, a soft, creamy breakfast cheese. Wholly Guacamole had a fantastic display with stress-relieving avocado toys and an entire guacamole, queso, and salsa bar. We grazed all day and finished off with a little Carménère from a Chilean booth.
The rest of the interviews went quite well, too. I met with Tracey Downey from Xan Confections and sampled her delicious truffles. I also got a chance to talk to PR representatives from Tribe Hummus and Kimberly Strenk from Beanitos and try some of their newest flavors and product lines. It was really fun to see what the companies had in store and check out their offerings. Keepitcoming and I finished grazing with some hot sauce from Antigua, Susie's Hot Sauce, and chilled out in the German section, helping foosball players settle bets and hanging on the incredibly chic chairs.
Hard hitting food journalism at its finest, people! I am a majestic beast, patron saint of kicking shit.And that concludes day two. We sampled flamboyant water and discovered a true passion in Sharkies. I love Sharkies.
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