Charcuterie Board 101 Class - Techniques and Tips to Elevate Your Cheese Board

This April, I wanted to try my hand at teaching. So, I reached out to my local library and luckily they gave me a chance. I’ve made so many charcuterie boards before but never taught a class, and guess what I loved every minute of it.

I loved showing attendees new techniques and food products that they’ve never tried before. It was a great reminder that everyone is on different levels of experience when it comes to cooking. Something that comes with ease for me, was something foreign to someone else. I’m glad I had a few moments of ah-ha from folks; and truly felt guests had some actionable takeaways.

I’d love to do it all over again. I’ve now been bitten by the teaching bug... And with that mindset of learning, I wanted to share some of the products and techniques I used in class.

In the workshop, I taught basic techniques including how to make a salami rose and river, the “star” cut fruit technique, an herby goat cheese tutorial, and how to build and elevate our board with bright fresh flavors and colors for any occasion.

Fun Facts: Charcuterie is just a fancy word for cured meat. The word derives from French origins in the 15th century, when people used every last bit of the meat and left nothing to waste. The meat was then put through a preservation process of curing and often formed into some sort of sausage or dry-aged meat.

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Crackers:

I did a variety of crackers and some fresh toasted baguette on the side.

Since it was a spring board I did buy these butterfly crackers from Pepperidge Farms. If there’s anything you should know about me it’s that I need to match a theme.

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Cheeses:

Purchased the following cheeses from Costco which had the best selection and bang for your buck, especially if you’re hosting a large party.

• Triple Cream Brie from President (Cut into small triangles and fanned these out in a circle)

• Cabot Cheddar, Ages 3 Years (Broke the block of cheese apart for a rough rustic cheese display)

• Manchego (Styled into triangles)

• Goat Cheese:

  • Taught two different techniques here. Where you can roll the goat cheese into balls and take a Ziplock bag of Everything Bagel Seasoning and roll them in the seasoning to coat.

  • Another option is chopping fresh herbs (basil, rosemary, parsley) and putting the fresh cut herbs in a Ziplock bag and coating the goat cheese balls in the herbs. It’s a great way to start to use your spring and summer herb garden.

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Meats:

• Variety of Salami & Prosciutto from Fratelli Beretta at Costco (1 package was enough for the group, and it came in a two pack).

• Techniques I taught in class: How to make a salami river, a salami rose, and how to style your prosciutto on the board.

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Fruits:

• Strawberries - As a special treat I used: (Oishii Berries) Grown in the world's first and largest indoor vertical strawberry farm.

• Raspberries

• Blackberries

• Grapes

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Extras:

• Peach Clementine Jam from Bonnie’s Jam

• Honey Sesame Almonds from Trader Joe’s

• Pink & White Shortbread cookies from Trade Joe’s

• Dried Apricots 

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Boards I Have:

Walmart (Better Homes & Gardens), here's the link. I've gotten boards at Target, and I love and have one from Brooklyn Slate.

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Here was the final board! Truly loved teaching this class and the group was so fun.

If you do have charcuterie board workshop needed in the Hudson Valley, NY, definitely let me know! 😉

Hudson Valley Restaurant Week 2023 - Westchester County Press Event Recap

This Fall Hudson Valley Restaurant Week 2023 is kicking off October 30 through November 12, 2023.

With more than 130 restaurants, spanning seven counties across the Hudson Valley - Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, Ulster, Orange, Sullivan and Dutchess counties. Prix-fixe lunches and dinners will be offered at $24.95, $29.95, $39.95 or $44.95. (Pricing does not include tax, beverages, or gratuity.) Prix-fixe menus will be offered for both dine-in and takeout. 

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We were able to cover Westchester County’s Press Preview at Red Horse by David Burke. While sampling drinks like Cosmos, Old Fashions, and signature cocktail “ Horse with No Name”, with Syndicate Distillers Vodka and Bourbon.

It was great to here from, Director of Westchester County Tourism and Film, Natasha Caputo, County Executive George Latimer, Catherine Rinaldi, Metro-North President and Long Island Rail Road Interim President, Mike Martinelli, Today Media’s Hudson Valley Group Publisher, and Chef David Burke himself. All showcasing the wonder Westchester has to offer while embracing dining out and tourism. This is a must for businesses, especially to create and maintain a thriving community of food and culture.

For bites the had their signature “Clothesline Bacon”, which is the only way I’ll take my bacon now. And yes, it is an appetizer option on their HVRW Menu!

We sampled their locally grown butternut squash soup, tuna and salmon tartare, chicken skewers, short rib tacos, and enjoyed their charcuterie spread.

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Get out there and dine!

Browse participating restaurants and make reservations through Valley Table.

Specialty Food Association - Summer Fancy Food Show 2023 - Breakfast Trends, Cocktail Culture, and Storytelling Focused Favorites

Overwhelming is the word used most often at this year’s Specialty Food Association’s Summer Fancy Food Show in New York City. Occurring over 3 days (June 25-27, 2023) at the Javits Center in New York, SFA pulled out all the stops. There is a lot of ground to cover here. Let’s first start with some background about me. If you didn’t know this about me already, in my full time job I manage trade shows and events. From someone that does this in their day-to-day, I’d say it’s pretty rare to find a show organizer that is constantly improving and innovating quite like SFA. This year they had:

• Sold-out show with more than 2,000 domestic and global specialty food and beverage makers and manufacturers.

• Keynote speaker celebrity chef Giada De Laurentiis

• Product pavilions dedicated to the hottest categories including: Plant Based, Deli, Bakery/Confectionery/Snacks/Sweets, and Beverage. This year they also had a Sips Bay (Beverage Pavillon and Diversity Pavillon)

• International Pavilions from 31 countries and regions across Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, Oceana, and South America, including partner country, the Kingdom of Morocco.  

• State and Regional Pavilions including Brooklyn Goes Global, Georgia, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, the Southern United States Trade Association (SUSTA), and Virginia. 

• NEW NOW NEXT Pavilion featuring Incubators and Startups.

• Unveiling of the sofi™ Product of the Year and New Product of the Year award winners.

• 5 Borough Block Party - End of the first exhibit day featuring food trucks from the 5 boroughs + drinks and a live DJ…. A real taste of New York.

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Most Notable Trends:

There were no shortage of mocktail inspired business here were a few that were on the top of my list.

Alcohol-Free Cocktail Culture

✨Sayso - Sayso is behind the first-ever cocktail tea bag. All you do is steep in cold water for 3 minutes and add your spirits or keep it a mocktail. Flavors include an Old Fashion, Skinny Spicy Margarita, and Rosemary Honey Moscow Mule.

✨Fauxmosa - A bubbly alcohol-free (0.0% ABV) mimosa that playfully blends California grapes, real fruit juice, and botanical flavors with a hint of apple cider vinegar to create a regret-free cocktail that suits your lifestyle. These little cans come in flavors such as: Cranberry with Hibiscus & Ginger, Pineapple with Lemon & Mint, and Orange with Turmeric.

✨Twisted Alchamic - These are 100% cold pressed, fresh juices are for those who care about quality, but would rather spend time creating killer cocktails than juicing and cleaning. I’ll admit I went for seconds on this one. The Three Citrus Margarita and Passion Fruit juice were my top favorites.

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Luxury Breakfast

Since brunch is our business, I tried to source and seek out the best new breakfast products. What I found was there were so many brands that were using the finest ingredients in their products or on a mission to make breakfast more family friendly.

High Quality Breakfast Ingredients:

✨Runamok - Runamok is a specialty foods company focused on creating fun, innovative, and delicious products with quality, natural ingredients. At the show I had an interview with the President, Curt Alpeter, he walked me through their product line of syrups, mixers, and honey.

Newly launched this year is their Maple Grenadine cocktail mixer. They showcased this by having this really nice side-by-side comparison of the leading grenadine and the comparison of their quality ingredients. It was delicious and I don’t make a ton of things with grenadine but I’m pretty sure they converted me. Along with this, Curt really took his time to explain to me the different grades and quality of maple syrup. As well as where and how they source their honey, and what the difference is between raw and processed honey. It was a really fascinating conversation about agriculture.

✨Jesha’s Sourdough Pancake Mix - This pancake mix is made from stone-ground whole grains that have been slow fermented with sourdough culture giving it a ton of nutritional value. I love a sourdough, and it didn’t dawn on me how truly tasty a sourdough pancake could be. Plus, I loved that Jesha is a town over from me. Did we just become best friends?!?

✨Cometeer - This coffee company works with some top quality roasters (Joe Coffee, Counter Culture, Birch, Intelligentsia, and more) to brew and flash freeze into these little pods so unlimited flavor. And I will say the the quality shows. As a huge cold brew/iced coffee girl; this packed smooth, bold flavors. I could have taken 20 of these with me.

✨Natural Blonde Bloody Mary Mix - Admittedly, I’m not a big Bloody Mary fan, but, this bloody mary mix was smooth as so much less acidic than a traditional Bloody Mary. It’s made from yellow tomato juice giving it its light blonde color and lower in sodium.

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Breakfast Made Easier for Families:

✨Happy Grub - Is a squeezable instant pancake mix, aimed at more fun and less messes, with the goal of bringing more families in the kitchen. Ashley, the founder has been on our podcast before and honestly I’m all for making breakfasts easier and fun with my kiddo. Plus her whole team is incredibly nice and so generous with their time.

✨Hidden Foods Co. - Homestyle Pancakes - With an addition of flaxseed and oats to this protein packed mix--and the hidden fruits & vitamins. I love the concept of sneaking extra goodies in, plus the pancakes tasted great.

✨Mama Biscuits - A gourmet biscuit company, Mama Biscuits specializes in a variety of biscuit flavors including sweet, savory, vegan and gluten free. In the fall of this year, Mama Biscuits will be launching some new ready to-go breakfast biscuit sandwiches.

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2023 Overall Show Vibes:

In terms of overall show vibe, it felt different than last year. I had gotten far more Press Releases last year. I’m not sure if it is because more companies didn’t do them. Specialty Food Association honestly provides so many great resources to their exhibitors and members. Including a webinar on PR 101 and how to engage with media and they have cubbies in the press room where you can decorate and drop off materials.

My only thought here was last year in 2022 it was the first real year back with less restrictions after Covid. Perhaps companies had more time to create press releases and new product launches compared to this year. Overall, many exhibitors felt very standoffish and focused on buyers and didn’t engage much. Or even worse were the ones that didn’t sample their products at all.

This leads me to shout out the companies that made a real effort to engage, tell their stories, and had really great products…

More Favorite Brands from Summer Fancy Food 2023:

✨Kola Goodies - Sajani Amarasiri is the founder behind Kola Goodies, vegan superfood lattes for energy, mood, immunity, stress relief & wellness. I tried the Sri Lankan Milk Tea and it was out of this world, incredibly tasty, warm, and gave you all those cozy vibe feelings.

✨Brooklyn Dehli - Premium Indian Pantry staples from sauces, condiments, and spices. My all time favorites are the Coconut Cashew Korma, Tikka Masala sauce, and Mango Chutney. Meeting Chitra Agrawal was also pretty epic, we mostly chatted about kids and Kingston, NY, she was super down to earth.

✨Yolélé - Yolélé is changing conditions for rural West African smallholder farmers. Their mission is to support biodiverse, regenerative, and climate-resilient farming systems; and to share Africa’s ingredients and flavors with the world.

Best know for producing chips, pilaf, and products with Fonio, a gluten-free African grain; what was new this year were their African Spice Rib + Dip mix set - and yes they were so tasty and make for a perfect summer dip.

✨Xinca - Authentic Salvadoria Food - Xinca is a family-owned company led by Cynthia Duran, a *Salvi (Salvadorian American) Latina. After her family migrated to the United States while fleeing the Salvadorian civil war, her family found comfort in cooking authentic dishes that reminded them of home. The Four Bean & Cheese Pupusas were my favorite and absolutely flying off the sample table.

✨ Matriark x Sfoglini - Two great brands that teamed up at the show to collaborate on their products - Sfoglini pasta with Matriark’s tomato sauce.

Matriark Foods upcycles farm surplus and fresh-cut remnants into healthy, delicious, low sodium vegetable products for schools, hospitals, and food banks.

Sfoglini pasta sources the finest North American organic grains and unique ingredients from local farms and green markets with traditional Italian techniques to create fun pasta shapes that hold optimal sauce. Plus they are based in the Hudson Valley.

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Would love to hear what your experience was like if you attended Specialty Food Association’s Summer Fancy Food Show this year. What were some of your favorite brands and trends? Let me know in the comments.

I already can’t WAIT to see what next year’s show has in store.

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10 Years of Brunching - Our Most Memorable Brunch Events & Learnings

This year in 2023, we’re celebrating our 10 year brunch anniversary!

All starting in the summer of 2013 when Sheryl Sandberg, the COO of Facebook at the time, released her new book called Lean In. After the release of the book a huge conversation was starting to emerge around women leadership, women empowerment, and breaking the glass ceiling.

At the time, I was living in NYC and was attending a LOT of events. None of them involved a focus on women and each event felt so bland and impersonal. I remember coming home after each event with a purse full of business cards but couldn’t remember much about any of the people I had just met.

It was the good ol’ “there had to be a better way’’ mentality… and so I set out to combine my event planning experience to create a new type of intimate dining experience, centered around women, and thus Women Who Brunch was born… The brunch component of this is based off the fact that if you know New York, you know brunch is a lifestyle here…. plus I love breakfast foods.

Our first event was held August 2013, at Five Point in Manhattan - this restaurant has charged hands and owners several times unfortunately; but for a large sized group it’s still a great venue. We had speakers Megan Nuttall and Monica Lo, on the subject of “Passion Projects”. At the time, they received Google Glasses to beta test and brought the new technology to the brunch for us to check out. We thought we were so cool…

We have a whole list of past speakers and brunch events, what can I say I’m nostalgic for remembering all our events. Some of the most notable have been Deepica Mutyala, who is now the CEO & Founder of LiveTinted. At the time back in 2015, Deepica was working at Birchbox and her life had completely changed when her YouTube video went viral — a beauty tutorial about how to hide under-eye dark circles with red lipstick. She discussed a ton of marketing and content/social media tips - still a crowd favorite topic discussion at our events.

Learning about Blogging and Morning Pages (a daily practice of writing three pages of longhand, stream of consciousness writing), from Molly Ford - we had brunched at The Penrose, which is a great brunch spot. Days of May flowers provided floral arrangements and Michaela has turned out to be such a successful floral designer. It was at this brunch I realized the power of collaboration and supporting small businesses.

Molly’s now the CEO & Founder of Messy.FM and author of Reach Out: The Simple Strategy You Need to Expand Your Network and Increase Your Influence. She’s always a powerhouse of knowledge.

Dr. Sonya Rhodes gave us her new book at the time and got to brunch is her gorgeous Upper West Side. We felt very glamorous that day; like an experience straight out of Sex and the City - compared to my 4th floor Queens walkup.

Emily Merrell, Founder of Six Degree Society, another great events community for women, taught us how to network like a pro. She introduced me to “Asks”; going around the table and asking everyone what is one thing you need help with. I’ve used it ever since at our brunches because we all have a connection out there and could always learn to ask for more help.

Truly all our speakers have had amazing stories and learnings to share. I get so energized by the things I learn or the people I’ve met that have attended our events. That’s the magic behind keeping them intimate and smaller group sizes, it allows you to really talk and engage with someone. Each time there’s a new opportunity to learn something new, meet someone new, or try out a new brunch spot.

Of course, what had came out of the “pandemic” years was the launch of our podcast, Brunch & Learn Podcast, which is a podcast that features interviews with women in food while combining two of my favorite things: learning something new everyday and talking about food. It’s allowed me to share more stories from women all over the country about their entrepreneurial journeys. It certainly kept conversations and hope going when we couldn’t meet in person for brunch.

Now to present day, I’ve since moved outside the city and the path ahead is to continue to bring these event experiences to the Hudson Valley, NY region. And to continue writing and sharing the local scene around the greater NY & Hudson Valley. The challenge and balance I face often is balancing a full time job, toddler, and this community. I recently went to a conference and one of the speakers had said that we really need to fight for community and connect. We need to fight for in-person - whether that be events or making the effort to meet up with friends. It really struck a cord with me. That in a very social media driven world - the value in in-person is priceless. It’s what keeps me going on this brunch life.

I’d love to hear from you if you’ve attended an event of ours in the past and have a memory to share. Or new to the brunch crew, share your favorite local brunch spot.

And if you love food news, updates on event, or new food/CPG products - Join us over on our WWB Newsletter.

Thank you for being here & Cheers to another 10 Years!

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How to Exhibit at a Food Trade Show - Marketing Strategies and Tips for Food Brands and CPG Exhibitors

If you’re planning to exhibit at any of the major trade shows this is a blog post for you.

First, let me introduce myself. Hi 👋 I’m Nicole. A bit of background on me before I shell out the advice. I come from a background of over 10+ years of experience working in event management. From working in Special Events at the Guggenheim Museum, to planning conferences and networking events for tech startups, to managing over 150+ regional US courses, workshops, and shows plus 8 major trade shows (per year) for my current company, FUJIFILM Healthcare Americas Corporation. The obsession for events is real and I’m here to teach you some simple ways you can manage your ROI at your next food and beverage trade show. And why am I focusing on food? Because I simply love food and new CPG brands.

Let’s start with the basics - What Trade Shows Are Out There?

Specialty Food Association - (Winter Fancy Food around January in Las Vegas, NV // Summer Fancy Food - Around June in NYC. ) SFA is membership-based trade association in the United States representing 3,000+ member companies. Where they create, connect, support, and share the extraordinary experience of specialty food with the world.

Natural Product Expo (New Hope Network) - Is behind two trade shows: Expo East (Philadelphia, PA) & Expo West - (Anaheim, CA) - The world's largest natural, organic and healthy products event, brings together an inspired community of industry members and exhibiting companies.

International Restaurant & Foodservice Show of New York: A once-a-year event that focuses on serving the foodservice industry in the Northeast.

Sweets and Snacks Expo - The Sweets & Snacks Expo is a can’t-miss event for thousands of confectionery and snack retailers, manufacturers and suppliers.

+There’s a ton more niche ones from grocer’s, suppliers, to coffee and pizza.

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Let’s Dive In…

Tip #1: Don’t Sleep on a Press Release

Storytime - This year I attended Specialty Food Association (SFA) Summer Fancy Food in NYC on a press pass to cover the show. TONS of cool brand, check out the recap here.

Needless to say I was overwhelmed with press releases and requests to “come check out our booth!”. One positive I will note; compared to Expo East, SFA had a great press room.

Couple of tips on this topic... I honestly tried to visit every single booth that had reached out to me and had sent me a press release. One, because there were so many new and interesting products that I had never heard of and 2. It’s low hanging fruit. It’s free, and it’s an offer that is being provided to you from the organizers to reach out to their press list. It’s worth an extra quick “goggle” to find a template and create one. I’ll truly never forget a company named Boulder, who was the last press release I received before the show. When I went to visit the booth and spook with the founder, she admitted she googled it, created it the night before and sent it. Press releases are worth it and they work.

This leads me to… Tip #2… Offer Press, Buyers, Suppliers, or anyone you identify as “High Quality Leads” a Special Gift or Offer

What do I mean by this? Well, there’s a few ways to approach this…

1. In your Press Release, offer some times to check out and stop by the booth. Once you get your responses, account for that X amount (if not a few extra) special gift bags or tchotchkes/swag items for when press comes by. This gift can include a printed brochure, flyer, copy of your press release and something nice, customizable, or even full size samples of your product.

   Here are some memorable Press gifts I’ve received:

   • Fancy Milk Frother

   • Limited Edition High Quality Bags (Customization and Limited Quantity is key here.)

     • Example: Lesser Evil had released two different high quality and different totes at ExpoEast, they only had limited quality. I got one the them and can’t tell you how many people stopped and asked me where I got it.

   • Scrunchies/bracelets/pins/branded shirts/socks - I personally love a shirt or pin of my favorite CPG brands.

   • OR think outside-the-box and have an experience at your booth. I’ve seen this done well with Eat Happy Grub where they hire a traveling pancake artist for their booth. Trust me, everyone loves a personalized experience.

2. *Even better, if possible, offer to ship products to press so they don’t have to “carry a bunch of stuff” around the exhibit hall. Trust me this small gesture is worth GOLD. No one likes shleeping stuff around all day plus you’ll likely get bonus social media content and shares out of it…Because who doesn’t love a PR box?

Tip #3: Understand how your are qualifying leads and what your expected goals and ROI post-show will be.

Knowing this and spending some extra time strategize is important here. I know because I manage my company’s trade show budget. Trade shows are a HUGE investment and can be extremely beneficial.

Some things to consider and ask yourself: Will you be investing in a lead scanner at a trade show? Old school business cards? Who are you targeting at a show? What’s your goals - brand awareness, new product, networking/sales, press?

BONUS Tip that I saw from Summer Fancy Food Show from Queen Majesty. If you’re bootstrapping and your goal is to simply get some email sign-ups for your newsletter, check out this example. Queen Majesty, a hot sauce company, simply set up a laptop/tablet on a table in their booth. I thought this was a brilliant, easy, and affordable way to collect new emails to feed their newsletter funnel. I still think a lead scanner and having a set of pre-defined criteria for MQL’s/leads is ideal, but this was a smart alternative. You can also easily set up a simple email landing page via your email CRM. Very smart.

Tip #4: Have a pre-show and more importantly a post-show plan for next steps and following up.

Just as important as it is to set up all your social media content for the pre, during, and post show, press releases, email marketing, etc. Spend time creating a few email templates based on your target “customer profiles”. Example: One post-event email for attendees, one for press, one for buyers/wholesale, etc. Have them ready to go after the expo ends.

Next, post-show, you have about a couple days to “rest”, then you need to be sorting through your business cards or combing through your Excel full of leads (if you purchased a lead scanner), and adding them to your CRM or email list for follow ups.

Tip #5: Don’t forget the Awards, Accolades, and Tapping into your Membership Benefits/NetWork

I learned this a few year’s ago from an exceptional Brunch & Learn podcast guest of mine, Kim Kaupe, on raising your hand. No one is going to knock on your door for an opportunity, you need to vote for yourself and raise your hand. Highly suggest taking a listen to the podcast episode here.

Here’s a few ideas to get your started:

Sofi Awards - At the Specialty Food Association, their sofi™ Awards have been honoring the best in specialty food. You get a cool trophy, a whole display section at the trade show, an awards dinner, and all the bragging rights. Plus SFA has a great membership community. I love how much they promote their members.

ExpoEast/West has fantastic content for members, attendees, and press leading up to the show. From trends, what to expect, and even best practices on how t make the most out of the show. Use and tap into everything. Attend webinars, reach out to the conference organizers, pitch them on new products, tap into any member benefits or networking events.

Overall, don’t sleep on opportunities.

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Finally, I know we’re tired of hearing about the pandemic, but honestly live in-person events are back in full swing. It’s a point I’ve said for YEARS… I won’t remember a Instagram post or Tweet from a week ago but I will always remember some aspect of a live event. Whether it’s the food, decor, learning something new, or meeting someone new. That’s what makes events and trade shows a special piece to your marketing strategy.

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Bonus - 2024 Show Calendar

Specialty Food Association - Winter Fancy Food Show - Jan 21st -23th - Las Vegas, NV

Specialty Food Association - Summer Fancy Food Show - June 23rd-25th - New York City

Sweets and Snacks Expo - May 14 -16th - Indianapolis, IN

Good Food Awards Ceremony - April 28th - Portland OR

Cherry Bombe Jubilee 2024 - April 20th - New York, NY

Natural Products Expo West - March 12th -16th - Anaheim, California

Natural Products Newtopia Now - August 6th -8th - Savannah, GA

NACS (Convenience Stores)- October 7-10th - Las Vegas, NV

BevNet Live (Beverage) - June 12 - 13th - New York, NY

Stay in Touch

I want you to succeed and if you want to hear more tips on exhibiting or planning an event. Feel free to shoot me an email and reach out to me @ info@womenwhobrunch.com

Speciality Food Association - Summer Fancy Food 2022 Recap

Speciality Food Association’s Summer Fancy Food at the Javitiz Center in NYC of June 2022 was nothing short of spectacular. The show itself was epic with two floors of exhibitors. One floor entirely international food focused, another floor more America and start up focused. A whole section highlighting sofi Award winners, pitch slams, and not to mention that City Harvest NYC picked up hundred of donated pounds of food post-show. Incredible.

Highlighting my top favorite companies and products in the categories of:

• Brunch Products

• NY Local Businesses

• Women-Owned Businesses

Brunch Brands & Products:

Happy Grub:

The first ever instant pancake mix to come in a fun squeezable bottle. Flavors include: Buttermilk, Banana, Apple Cinnamon, Whole Wheat. Woman-owned company, Founded by Ashley Davies.

What I loved most about this booth was they had a pancake artist and were able to recreate our Women Who Brunch logo from their pancake mixes… plus the facts that the pancakes were actually delicious. Really enjoyed the buttermilk flavor and great idea for families and cooking with kiddos.

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RISE Brewing Co.

RISE Brewing Co. makes all organic nitro cold brew coffee, lattes, tea, cold brew, and oat milk. At the show they showcased their cold brew coffee nitro shots (available in 2023), and full lineup of oat milk canned cold brews. Personal favorite was the London Fog Canned Tea.

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Tillen Farms by Stonewall Kitchen

Bloody Mary Medley & Condiment Collection:

When building your next Bloody Mary, switch out your standard swizzle sticks in favor of these pickled veggies from Tillen Farms. Their Bloody Mary Medley & Condiment Collection includes tangy carrot sticks, petite cornichons, garlicky asparagus and spicy dilly beans all pair perfectly with this savory cocktail for edible garnishes that put celery stalks to shame.

Not to mention they have a Bloody Mary tea towel as a perfect edition to your kitchen or as a gift.

Stonewall Kitchen also has a great lineup of brunch flavor jams like bellini and mimosa as well as pancake mixes.

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Runamok

Runamok is a family-owned, Vermont based company that started with a foundation of premium, organic maple syrup and has expanded to an array of maple and honey-based products. 

Highlighting some of their new (and personal favorite) products: Sparkle Syrups, Maple Ginger Mule Cocktail Syrup, and Florida Orange Bloom Honey

Honestly what is brunch without great maple syrup?

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Butternut Mountain Farm:

Local farmers have been selling their maple syrup to the Marvin family of Butternut Mountain Farm for forty years. Based in Morrisville, Vermont, Butternot Mountain Farm is one of the largest maple processors and distributors in the United States.

New products: Squeeze Bottle Maple Syrups and Maple Sugar

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New York Brands:

Sfoglini

About the makers: Sfoglini was founded in Brooklyn in 2012. Since its founding, Sfoglini has been operated by Steve Gonzalez and Scott Ketchum: a chef and a creative director, respectively, each with a serious passion for pasta.

In 2018, Gonzalez and Ketchum sailed Sfoglini operations up the river to Coxsackie, New York, a Hudson Valley town of just over 8,000 people, where 100% of Sfoglini pasta is now dreamt up, made, and boxed.

Newest and most popular type of pasta is the Cascatelli pasta by Sporkful.

From the mind of James Beard Award winner Dan Pashman, creator and host of The Sporkful food podcast, comes CASCATELLI (Italian for “waterfalls”). Three years in the making, this brand new shape was created in collaboration with the artisans at Sfoglini. Cascatelli is designed to maximize the three qualities by which Dan believes all pasta shapes should be judged:

• Sauceability: How readily sauce adheres to the shape

• Forkability: How easy it is to get the shape on your fork and keep it there

• Toothsinkability: How satisfying it is to sink your teeth into it

I tried a sample of the Cascatelli pasta with Carbone sauce and it was truly toothsinkable!

The Matzo Project:

Artisanal matzo company founded in Brooklyn NY, The Matzo Project introduces carefully made, artfully packaged, legitimately scrumptious matzo.

A great story of Summer Camp friends Ashley Albert and Kevin Rodriguez setting out to bake a new take on the culturally beloved, but traditionally flavorless box of matzo.

I’m officially here to say Ashley and Kevin were the nicest people to talk to and not to mention the cinnamon sugar matzo chips are my new favorite.

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Jessie’s Nutty Cup:

Quality ingredients, along with plenty of creativity, love and passion, remain at the heart of these amazing chocolate cups. Based in Brooklyn, NY, Jessie roasts fresh Virginia peanuts in-house, transform them into creamy peanut butter, add Belgian chocolate and voilá, we’ve created the perfectly nutty, two-bite treat just for you!

I absolutely loved how smooth the almond butter cup I tried was, and so rich and decadent.

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Little Red Kitchen Bakeshop:

The Little Red Kitchen Bake Shop was created by Susan Palmer in 2014, a native New Yorker who always had a passion for baking. Since she was a small child, you could find her side by side with her mom in the kitchen baking cookies.

Susan has even won Brooklyn Cookie Takedown in 2011 and 2012. With cookie pies, gift boxes, DIY Cookie kits, and cookie of the month club; there’s plenty of delicious options to choose from for any cookie lover. Now I’m hungry.

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Woman-Owned Companies

Sunday Night Foods:

From growing up on an Iowa farm to spending decades in corporate America, Eileen Gannon has always had a passion for baking, winning over 600 culinary awards. Now, she’s putting all her best-kept secrets into Sunday Night to share her delectable sauces and recipes.

Using a classic French technique, we make each small batch with legendary Guittard chocolate and cocoa, cane sugar, fresh cream and butter, pure Nielsen-Massey vanilla and sea salt to create chocolate euphoria.

Sunday Night also works with the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), and donates 1% of sales to NAMI.

Heat up a spoonful for 10 seconds in the microwave, put on ice cream or cookies and you will NOT be disappointed my friends.

Ossa Spices:

A story of Lisa Carson and Connie Wang, two co-workers-turned-friends-turned-co-founders who were so obsessed with the idea of getting just enough that they designed a spice pod and set up a factory.

In the same way a pinch of spice can transform a meal, their hope is that tiny portions can help transform the food industry.

Very interesting info from their website: (which by the way, is such a creative site. I love the visuals and copy on it. Bravo to good creative marketing!)

• Occo spice pods are made from aluminum, the most recycled and most recyclable material on the planet.

• Gound spices actually lose flavor within 3-6 months. Oxygen, light, heat, and humidity (common occurrences in a kitchen) cause the essential oils in spice to oxidize and decay. Without these aptly-named oils, spices lose their color, aroma, and flavor.

• Occo spices are portioned into half-teaspoon pods and sealed for airtight freshness using a modified atmosphere packaging technique.

My favorite part of the booth was that you could customize a packet of spice pods. Loved this display and concept!

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Rule Breaker:

Deliciously soft-baked vegan brownies and blondies. First ingredient? Chickpeas! Deliciously soft-baked, vegan, gluten-free, nut-free, non-GMO, and allergen-free! Allergy Friendly Snacking. Woman-owned by Nancy Kalish!

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Overall, I could have easily spent the full three days at the show talking to and checking out many other great exhibitors. I spent one day on mostly one floor alone! Next year if you’re in town, I highly suggest you check it out, especially if you’re a foodie like me.

Best of all, check out my epic snack and sample haul below... I don’t mess around.

My Go-To Baby Items for the First 3 Months

These past 3 months with my baby boy Oliver just FLEW by. It was truly a whirlwind of postpartum emotions and exhaustion. I wanted to start off this blog post by telling anyone with a newborn right now; that you’re doing great mama! ❤️

It has certainly not been easy with everything we’ve had to face… Covid, the isolation of restrictions, the loneliness that comes with a baby. For me, giving birth in 2021 I had no resources - no hospital tours were offered, only had access to all the same 3 baby “classes” (CPR, Breastfeeding, and Baby Basics); plus they were all offered virtually only. No access to a community or “mommy and me” groups. The constant fear of if I’m “doing this right” as a first time mom while balancing a whole new adjustment to my life, while having to go back to work, INSANE inflation, the cost of day care being the same as my paycheck… This list goes on and on.

I feel like I’m rambling here but the bottom line is motherhood is HARD and LONELY. I get it. And that’s why I wanted to reflect on these past few months and share what worked for us during the newborn phase. (I totally get how stressed I was putting things on my registry.) These might not work for you and your babe because every baby is different, but any help I could be to share in some of my very limited expertise just know I’m here for you and you got this MAMA!

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Amazon Storefront for all Products

🧸🧸🧸 - These “First 3 Months Must Have Baby Products” can easily be found on our Amazon Storefront for easy access. We only make a small commission via our storefront. 🧸🧸🧸

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Feeding / Pumping:

👶 - Baby Brezza Bottle Sterilizer - This came in handy when we sterilize all our bottle in batches and the cycle has options to take either 60, 45, or 30 minutes to sterilize.

👶 - Bottle Brush - A must to keep separate for cleaning just the baby bottles vs your regular dishes.

👶 - Babylist - Bottle Box - This box was super helpful during the first week or two when we had no idea what our bottles our baby would like… Ultimately his favorite was:

👶 - Dr. Brown’s Bottles (His #1 Preferred Bottle)

👶 - Larger Nipple Size 2 for 3+ months - This was a life saver when it finally clicked when my baby was taking SOOO long to finish a bottle and getting gassier, around 2 months. As soon as we switched to a larger bottle nipple size he ate so much better and had less discomfort.

👶 - Nose Frida & Saline Spray: Speaking of discomfort, I had also noticed that with the winter/dryer weather, every morning Ollie would be nasally and congested so every morning I started to use the Nose Frida sucker and Saline spray. Because his nose was a little clogged he had trouble feeding and get burps/gas stuck. Both these products are super helpful to have on hand.

👶 - Gas Drops & Gripe Water - I used both and they both seem to help with his colic/digestion, especially getting gas out. I love the Little Remedies brand.

Diaper Bag:

👶 - Diaper Bag - Freshly Picked

👶 - Munchkin Formula Dispenser - Perfect for on the go formula/feeding and Grandma’s house.

At Home:

👶 - Swing - Perfect for grabbing a moment of peace to put him down. I will say I keep hearing that babies either like the swing or rocker or both or may just prefer contact napping on you. Again every baby is different and Ollie really loved the swing. I will say it has been a bit difficult to ween him off naps in the swing; so just something to keep in mind!

As for our Swing we have this Fisher Price Swing. I will say it’s “OKAY”, the plug never worked for it so we had to solely use batteries. I did get rechargeable batteries for this… which in hindsight rechargeable batteries will be a long term better option for toys down the road.

👶 - Bassinet - Halo Bassinet

👶 - Contrast Cards - High contrast images are easier for babies to interpret, especially with their limited newborn vision. They are the best way for your baby to lengthen their attention span, improve their memory and develop their nervous system.

👶 - Nail File- Trying to clip a newborns nails was terrifying. This nail file works wonders on a newborn, no fussing either!

👶 - Soft Blanket - Never underestimate a soft warm blanket especially for a winter baby like my bub. His favorite is a Lila & Jack Blanket we got as a gift at our baby shower.

👶 - Swaddle Me Swaddles - My dad had picked these swaddles up at Target during our first week at home. Oliver loved being swaddled in the hospital with the hospital blankets so we decided to grab some more swaddles and these worked out so well for us.

👶 - Swaddles for Hip Dysplasia - Our son was diagnosed with a hip click when he was born. After seeing many doctors (long story), he was diagnosed with hip dysplasia and had to wear a brace for a few weeks. It was hard to transition the swaddles but we did find and like the Halo swaddles for the wider leg room for the brace.

👶 - Burp Cloths - An underestimated registry gift to have on hand. We love these ones off Amazon and registered for two sets. Between spit ups and feedings you truly can’t have enough of these on hand.

I’d say the same goes having EXTRA towels, wash clothes, extra bassinet and crib sheet too!

For Baby Boys:

👶 - Teepee Pee Pee - To catch stray pee.

👶 - Vaseline for Baby / Curad Singles for on the go - This is for if your son will be circumsised. You’ll have to apply this to the diapers for a very long time. Or also used for sensitive skin/eczema.

👶 - Bumco Bum Brush - So you don’t get all the Vaseline on your hands.

On the Go:

👶 - Britax Car Seat and Stroller - Love this carseat and stroller!

👶 - Car Mirror

Tummy Time:

👶 - Lovevery Play Gym

👶 - Bobby Pillow - Great for nursing and tummy time.

👶 - Contrast Cards & Water Mat 

Bath Time:

*Bonus - I’ll tell you all our bath routine that finally clicked in getting our baby to like baths:

• Heat pad - For bassinet to warm it up.

• Humidifier - Fill or clean before bed.

• Prep Bath Tub - Using a Baby Bath Thermometer at exactly 101/102 degrees F. I honestly thought these thermometer things were silly until we realized “playing it be elbow” was leading to cold winter baths and he would constantly scream. Trust me you’ll need this for bath time.

• Lavender Hello Bello Bubble Bath, run shower steam at the same time, and throw the towel in the dryer to warm up.

• Post Bath - Diaper, apply Hello Bello Lavender Lotion, Jammies, Feed, Book, Vacuum White Noise, Bed.

• You’ll also need a lighter hooded towel to wrap baby in when putting in the tub, washcloths, and a heavier towel when taking them out to dry.

Books & Memories:

👶 - 100 Word Books - Ollie LOVES the 100 First Word Books & these “STEM” inspired 100 (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math books. They also come in Art, Weather, Space, Animals, and more.

These 3 are some of Ollie’s favorite books.

👶 - Grumpy Monkey

👶 - Nibbles the Book Monster

👶 - Find Fergus

Memory Books:

👶 - Lucy Darling’s Baby’s First Year Books - I LOVE this memory book. Cute illustrations and love writing down memories for each milestone.

👶 - One Line a Day (For 5 Years) - Recently I bought this book. I always strive to be better at journaling but I always fall short, especially with a newborn. This book just always a few sentences so it feels very manageable. So many little things happen like Ollie’s first smile, first time he grabbed my finger, ect. It feels like a great way to document these little moments.

👶 - Milestone Baby Blanket - It’s so much fun to see your baby’s growth each month with a milestone blanket.

EXTRAS:

Resources that helped a TON:

The 5 S’s to calm a fussy baby - swaddle, side or stomach position, shush, swing, and suck.- Watch this video and trust me these worked for us. It makes so much sense of natural things your baby is used to in the womb.

Wonder Weeks - This is a book and an app. Honestly, I didn’t read the book or get the app. I just mostly Googled “Leaps”. It mostly had helped to understand both growth spurts and developmental leaps and weeks your baby might be fussier.

Women Who Brunch Event Recap - Brunch Board Virtual Event with Dream Boards Co.

This Summer in August we hosted our first virtual event, (oh quarantine!) - a demo/workshop with Rachael from Dream Boards Co.

The shopping list for our brunch board workshop featured mini bagels and croissants, two types of cheese including triple creme brie, hand rolled everything but the bagel seasoned goat cheese, a soppressata rose, fresh seasonal fruit, honey walnuts, honey and pansies.

In the demo we were taught:

• The 5 basic steps of building a board, tips on cutting goat cheese

• How to create your own seasoned goat cheese (demo with seasoning)

• How to create movement on your boards, how to make a salami rose

• The different kinds of brie, fruit currently in season

• How final touches like edible flowers and nuts can elevate your boards and what edible flowers are best.

This workshop was so much fun. My key take aways were learning how to make a salami rose and just when you think you’re done with your board keep layering.

Here’s some photos of my final brunch board and some behind the scenes of the demo.

Behind the Scenes - Virtual Set Up On My End

Quarantine "Time Capsule" Writing Prompts for Journaling & Reflection

Zoom parties and virtual events have been all the rage during quarantine. This week I attended one of my past brunch attendee’s Arielle event for Quarantine Time Capsules and writing prompts to think about for journaling and reflection during this time. Nothing like this virus has ever happened before in our lifetime and before we know it we’ll be back to normal.

Besides the fact that I’ve been collecting physical pieces to add to my journal… receipts from my very large grocery shopping spends at the peak of panic shopping, receipts from gas - never being this low at currently $1.81/gallon, and dried dead flowers my husband got for me for our 9 year anniversary during quarantine.

These prompts were what we discussed on our call. It was so interesting to hear other people’s perspective on some of these points and explore their daily lives. We had one woman who is a pharmacist noting the increase in antidepressants she started to see. A nurse on the front lines where they converted her facility to ICU/ER. A mom with 3 little kids at home. Others furloughed from their jobs.

Writing Prompts:

• What have you been consuming, binging, cooking, people you’ve been following, podcasts, content, memes, virtual music/band sessions, videos?

• What are you missing during quarantine?

• What are you NOT missing during quarantine? (example: going into work, traffic, etc)

• What have you been struggling with? The most challenging part of quarantine?

• How did we all adapt online, with social media and technology?

• How has the relationship with your mind, body, self care changed?

• What would you like to forgive yourself for?

• What’s the silver lining in all this? What practices would you like to carry on after quarantine?

• Where are you traveling to after this is over? Where does your mind wonder to?

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A few highlights and insights I wanted to mention from the discussion on this particular question to get the writing juices flowing:

Q: What’s the silver lining in all this? What practices would you like to carry on after quarantine?

• Silver-lining - These virtual events, never imagined being able to connect with so many different people all over the world.

• Time - We’ll never be able to have this much time again with our families, between traveling, work, commuting.

• Making memories with family whether it’s having to be the teacher to your kids, new recipes, at home activities, watching movies together.

• Carrying On - Most said they’d like to carry on with their daily workout routines. I think the thing we’re all going to take with us is taking better care of our physical and mental health. We know this virus affects those with lung/respiratory issues, diabetes, heart disease, autoimmune disease; believe we’re all going to start putting health at a forward focus now.

A Guide to Working From Home (WFH) Life

I’ve been working from home since October 2018.

To be honest, it was extremely challenging the first month to get used to… It’s very isolating. It’s very lonely. It’s difficult not really being able to talk to people during the day except during meetings. Or even being able to “read the room”, or knowing when to “jump into” a conversation. It’s taken me a while to find my rhythm and routine.

Recently, my whole team has to work from home due to the coronavirus as many teams have begun to. And truthfully, I’m actually glad.

I’m indépendant worker. I feel I get so much more done without office distractions and love being remote. Don’t get me wrong the work/life balance and flexibility of working from home is AMAZING, my stress has dropped significantly because of it. My only hope is my team will see this new way of life from my perscpective and feel the challenges I face with not always feeling like “part of a team” because you’re not physically there seeing them everyday. I’ll admit my biggest challenge when you WFH is having to communicate twice as much and be so much more “visible”.

Remote life definitely has it’s pros and cons.

If you’re new to WFH, here were some of my tips that have always helped me:

✨Be visible. I can’t stress this one enough. You have to show up twice as much being remote. There’s no way around this. You have to communicate more clearly and effectively. You need to speak up in every single meeting and be that authority perspective in your given role. You also need to raise your hand 🙋🏻‍ on new projects/opportunities.

✨ Have a work buddy you can call or chat.

✨ Get moving - Stretch, Get up and walk around, go to the gym. One of my tips is saving a podcast and only listening to it on a lunch break walk.

✨ Since I can’t always chat with someone. I CRAVE knowledge. I’m always listening to podcasts, audiobooks, reading, online/in person classes, I’m always trying to learn something new.

✨ Cook healthy meals, either on your lunch break or for weekend meal prep. You’ll thank yourself when work gets busy or there’s a meeting scheduled near lunchtime.

✨ Respect “offline” hours. Just because you’re work life is in your home space doesn’t mean your need to be “always on”. Create boundaries and a set time everyday on when you’re clocking out.

✨ Weekly check in calls. Especially to catch up with your team.

✨ Get dressed and shower. Make coffee, breakfast, journal….Create a routine for yourself.

Summer 2019 Bucket List & Recap

This year I’ve been obsessed with Mel Robbins. Like a cult following status - journaling, mapping out my triggers, getting more productive. So when she had mentioned to try doing a summer bucket I was all over it…

Writing it all down was not only fun but committed me to start thinking about and planning out my summer before it flew by, and I wasn’t about to miss any of it. Realistically we only get 3 warm months a year. Here’s a quick view of how my summer went.

Summer Bucket List

On my Summer list:

• Read 2 Books (Finished The Immoralists & Little Fires Everywhere)

• Picnic in Bear Mountain

• Smores & Chiminea Night

• See a movie - Downtown Abbey

• Farmers Market

• Austin Trip

• Write 3 Blog Posts

• Swim

• Go on a Hike

• Go to The Vessel

• Finish Paint by Numbers

• Ice Cream

• Plan Fall Brunches

• BBQ

• Enjoy day in the city - brunch, museum, explore

• Bake cookies

• Lobster Roll

• Beach Day - Went to the Jersey SHORE! GTL!

• Binge Watch Stranger Things Season 3

• Make Jam

• Spa Day Get Nails Done

• Try Broadway Roulette - Saw Jake Gyllenhaal in Sea Wall / A Life