Wozz! Kitchen Creations wins sofi™ Gold and a Salute to our Fellow Makers

Okay, so as an actual "maker" of specialty foods as in yes, we are in the kitchen every week peeling fresh vegetables, stirring pots, twisting lids and carrying boxes...we are thrilled to take the aprons off, leave the land of more pine trees than people and head down to NYC for the annual sofi™ awards to receive the sofi™ Gold for our Kiwi Lime Salsa Verde.  I guess peeling the sticky skins of tomatillos for hours and topping and tailing jalapeno after jalapeno and let's not forget peeling fresh kiwis....well I guess it's worth it?!

We were in great company at the awards ceremony with fellow Vermont producers taking home a few honors as well. Big Picture Farm won Best New Product for their Raspberry Rhubarb Goats Milk Caramel, Fat Toad Farm won Outstanding Product Line for their line of farmstead goats milk caramel sauce and Vermont Creamery took home the gold for their cultured butter sea salt basket. You can't get any more artisan than these guys...from raising your animals to the making of the products...that is straight up hard work and a whole lotta love. 

{photo courtesy of Big Picture Farm Blog}

I must add that Vermont Creamery was also nominated for their Bonne Bouche aged goats cheese which goes fantastic with our Spiced Beet Savory Spread and Balsamic Fig Mostarda....just thought I would slip that into the conversation.

Potlicker Kitchen took home a sofi™ Silver for their Carrot Cake Jam...yup carrot cake jam...and well it's THE jam.  We hung out with them at NYC's Eataly post show and closed the place down....so much good cheese, pasta, wine...It's Eataly what can I say. 

{Vermont Sofi Winners: Potlicker Kitchen, Fat Toad Farm, Big Picture Farm and us}

We also got to share a table and a few bottles of wine with our new friends; Wackym's Cookies whose salted sour lemon cookie was nominated for a sofi™ in the cookie, cakes and brownies category...they were lovely, lovely people and Bittermilk, whose line of cocktail bitters is beautiful...they have the nicest packaging and they handcraft all their own products themselves down in Charleston, South Carolina.  They even smoke their own honey and char-grill grapefruit...don't you want a cocktail now?  That's why they were nominated for Oustanding Product Line.

I have to also give a little shout out to CoolHaus Ice Cream because if you guys didn't know it ...I work with your uncle Dr. D at the hospital. For real. Small world. And to Nella Pasta...#Boston #SOWAsundays

The sofi™ ceremony was held at the Javitz Center and not only were newbies like us celebrated but pioneers of the specialty food industry were recognized.  The founders of Dean and Deluca were one of the recipients of the lifetime achievement awards and listening to their speech was quite insightful. On opening up the first Dean and Deluca shop in NYC's soho district, co-founder Jack Ceglic spoke about the start up and how they painted the walls themselves because they had no money...my mom was our first cashier, he said.  You realize we all start somewhere with a fire in our hearts and you learn quickly that opportunity is usually dressed in overalls.  Dean and Deluca, the big shiny storefront speckled with the best cheeses, cookware and specialty foods that you see now all over the world...it started with one shop and a few people who had an idea. 

To be in a room a few tables across the way from these pioneers, to sit at a table and chat with fellow producers and to have won the sofi™ award  is such an honor and something we are truly grateful for.  The Specialty Food Association has been pivotal in our success, they've provided us with some amazing opportunities and we feel pretty damn lucky. ###