Culinary Landscape From 1950s To Today Featured In New Exhibit

The National Association for the Specialty Food Trade, Inc. (NASFT) is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year with a comprehensive online exhibit that features the products, people and pioneers responsible for changing American food.

The exhibit, "A Visual Feast," looks at the U.S. food culture from the early 1950s when brie and Swiss chocolate were considered exotic, to the culinary reaches of molecular gastronomy and today's passionate embrace of locally-sourced, artisanal products from farmers and food manufacturers who care.

Product categories such as cheese, pasta and charcuterie that have changed and matured are among 60 elements presented with photos and commentary. Also highlighted are specialty food pioneers including Chuck Williams and Alice Waters; the culinary landscape such as the rise in home entertaining and food on TV; and NASFT's history. The online exhibit is a companion to a museum-quality presentation that will be featured at the Winter Fancy Food Show, to be held January 20 - 22, 2013, in San Francisco. It was unveiled at last month's Summer Fancy Food Show in Washington, D.C.

"By looking back to our beginnings, it is clear that the specialty food industry has always been fueled by innovation, whether in products, flavors, ingredients or at retail," says NASFT president Ann Daw. "Today our industry is flouring amid unmatched interest and enthusiasm for new foods, new personalities, and new desires to produce outstanding products that will delight consumers."

The NASFT was established in 1952 when a small group of food importers joined together to protest tariffs on luxury imported goods. The organization presented its first Fancy Food Show in 1955 at the Hotel Astor in New York City with 82 booths featuring such exotic products as Bahlsen Biscuits and Knorr-Swiss Soups. Today the NASFT has 2,900 members in the U.S. and abroad.

The Summer Fancy Food Show has grown into the largest marketplace devoted exclusively to specialty foods and beverages in North America. At last month's show at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, in Washington, D.C., the exhibit halls were filled with 180,000 products from 2,250 exhibitors representing 80 countries and regions.

About the NASFT
The NASFT is a not-for-profit trade association that works to foster commerce and interest in the $75 billion specialty food industry. Today there are more than 2,900 members in the U.S. and abroad. The NASFT's website for consumers, foodspring.com, provides an insider's look at specialty foods and the companies, food entrepreneurs and artisans behind them. For more information on the NASFT and its Fancy Food Shows, go to specialtyfood.com.
A Visual Feast
Learn about the history of specialty food and the NASFT at specialtyfood.com/avisualfeast.