Food Booths at the One of a Kind Show

Logan Niles

Spring rolls from Saigon Soul Food

I had the pleasure of attending the One of a Kind Show this past weekend at Toronto’s Direct Energy Centre.  I naturally couldn’t wait to check out the food products, do some sampling and get a feel for the kinds of culinary items displayed.

It was definitely a mixed bag of offerings from fair to great. My best advice would be to show up as early as possible during a weekday rather than at 12:30 on the final day like we did. It’s much more enjoyable to sample products when there isn’t an elbow in your back and someone’s heel squishing your toe as someone muscles in to get their free taste. It also makes you look (and feel) like less of a street urchin vying for that last scrap of discarded bread simply by way of having to practically fight your way towards the poor sales person handing out samples.

Once you get down to business and have the time to enjoy both the samples as well as the conversation with the very passionate entrepreneurs, you’ll see why everyone loves coming to this show two times a year.

Doing trade shows are never easy and doing shows involving food are particularly challenging. After all you have to keep the food safe to sample and keep a smile on your face regardless of how many times you’ve answered the question “What is this?” or “Are there nuts in this?”.

It was wonderful to see so many Canadian manufactured food products displayed. Though there were many vendors I wanted to focus on some of the companies that are a little ahead of the pack in terms of combining great product taste, variety, packaging and salesmanship.

Saigon Soul Food has been a show favourite for years. Owner Tam Nguyen has clearly put time, money and a great deal of thought behind the company’s look when setting up their large booth complete with Asian pottery, motifs and traditional attire on the staff. Nguyen wins for best salesmanship due to her calm yet energetic presence in the face of hungry hordes. I’m happy to report the food is equally as good with an impressive vegetarian spring roll that clearly contains more than the regularly bland mixture of mung bean sprouts and cabbage. It’s no wonder Nguyen sells out of product at each show since Saigon doesn’t offer online ordering. Luckily you can purchase their spring rolls, additional appetizers and complimentary dipping sauces at various locations, including Pusateri’s and Whole Foods. Gluten-free items can be special ordered.

Henderson Farms from Wolf Island, Ontario comes in second for over all congeniality as well as their very generous offering of samples. When you’ve got more than ten products on display it really does serve your best interest to offer samples for as many of them as possible. It’s unreasonable to expect customers to buy blind based on just one item and they clearly understand that at Henderson. Being a family run business (from harvest to the graphic design of their packaging) clearly comes through in their approach to dealing with customers where you truly feel your questions are being taken to heart and answered respectfully. With such delightful combinations like “Organic Fig-Rhubarb Marmalade”, the mildly floral “Stinging Nettle Jelly” and lovely “Wild Dandelion Wine Jelly” it’s no wonder they were busy. All of Henderson’s award-winning condiments are hand-made in small batches with produce grown on their farm. They offer a mail order form on their website and are happy to take corporate gift orders over the phone. They can also be found at numerous craft shows and retail stores across Canada throughout the year.

Other great companies to consider:

Olive Tapenade from The Garlic Box

The Garlic Box: 10 years of great products made with cold-climate Canadian Garlic.

The Fishery: salmon paté, gourmet canned wild smoked salmon, tuna, scallops & oysters. Not overly salty, smoky or fatty. The kind of canned seafood that puts store brand fish to utter shame.

Mary Macleod’s Shortbread: This booth was mobbed when I arrived but after being jostled to and fro for a bit I was finally able to get a very small sample of her melt-in-your-mouth Dutch chocolate shortbread.

Chocolates from Odile Chocolat

Odile Choclat: Diminutive confections that looked great under glass. Though without samples available at the show and no images online, one will have to visit their new retail shop at 829 Dundas Street West to put these beauties to the test.