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Saturday, 9 February, 2008 11:10 PM
Who Decides The Hottest Food
Trends?
Napa Valley,
Calif. – We like to think that we are in control
of our lives – that decisions we make about what we’ll
eat, or wear, are ours. But it’s just not so.
If pressed, when buying clothes, we may admit that glossy magazines,
or TV features, have swayed our choice. But what we eat –
the foods we put into our body – surely, one would argue,
these are our decisions. Hate to pop your bubble, but again, it’s
really not so. Just as designers and fashionistas control what colors
and cuts we’ll be wearing, a small cadre of food experts determines
what we’re going to eat.
It turns out, food companies, supermarkets and specialty food stores
are just as bent on selling trends as clothing manufacturers. Unlike
the fashion industry, though, which proudly boasts about the people
who determine fashion trends and then sews their names into the
garments, the food industry has traditionally been tight-lipped
about who controls what ends up on our plate.
However, veteran food expert with almost 30 years in the industry,
and respected food critic, Jim White, has broken cover to lift the
lid on the food fashions of tomorrow. This year, high on Jim’s
list of Hot New Trends are tasty, authentic, preservative-free ethnic
flatbreads.
“Every culture in the world enjoys some form of flatbread.
In South America it is the tortilla, in Italy its focaccia, in the
Mediterranean its pita,” says Jim. “I believe that the
spongy bagel’s time has come and gone… and that the
Next New Bread Thing is authentic, ethnic flatbread.”
In fact, Jim is not just telling bread makers to get into the act;
he is so sure of this trend that he and a partner bought a bakery
three years ago, with the aim of making authentic ethnic flatbreads
– to meet the perceived future demand.
In order to make certain flatbreads, though, like India’s
tasty naan, the first challenge was to invent, blueprint, and build
the world’s first continuous commercial tandoor oven, capable
of baking large quantities of flatbread on a clay surface at 1400
F degrees. As they’re made in an Indian restaurant –
just not one at a time.
Fabulous Flats Tandoori Naan, with distribution across the country,
have already been named “Best New Food Product in the U.S.”
by a leading food magazine. With Jim’s 30-year, proven track
record, it’s a good bet that his latest food predictions –
and flatbreads – will be in everyone’s homes before
long.
About Jim White
Jim has been responsible for inventing, developing, branding, or
marketing more than 8,000 grocery products. Many bear the names
of the chains for which they were produced – Wal-Mart, Safeway,
Stop ‘N Shop, Vons, Wegmans. As a respected food editor, food
writer and professional restaurant critic, with 30 years of experience,
Jim was twice named “Best Food Writer in North America”
for metro newspapers with circulation over 500,000. Jim has written
for, directed and hosted countless TV and radio broadcasts. He has
directed films for the National Film Board of Canada and has been
a columnist for Canada’s largest newspaper.
The bakery, which Jim and his close friend and partner Sam Ajmera
founded is called FGF Brands. The FGF stands for “Functional
Gourmet Foods.” Their lead item has been Fabulous Flats Tandoori
Naan, but they also make focaccia, pizza crusts, and lavosh, authentic
to their region of origin. “We make Food with a Purpose,”
says Jim. This is, succinctly, the bakery’s Mission Statement.
The bakery’s website is www.fgfbrands.com.
Source: News and
Experts
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