Hood River pastry chef a hit at Fancy Food Show
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) -- If there's going to be a Fancy Food Show, it's going to be in Las Vegas.
Food industry entrepreneurs who got to show off their products to eager buyers were in Las Vegas recently for the Specialty Food Association Winter Fancy Food Show.
"I think there were around 1700 exhibitors and multiple thousand buyers that came to the show," said Sarah Masoni, the director of Product and Process Development at Oregon State University's Food Innovation Center. "And our goal is to get our food entrepreneurs in front of buyers. So we go there to try and sell."
Masoni is so good at what she does, the New York Times described her as having a "million dollar palate."
She's humble about her status and won't take all the credit.
"People are really the creative ones. And my work in this industry has always been to raise other people up and to help them be successful," she told KOIN 6 News. "And I think that's really the heart of what we're supposed to be doing here at the Food Innovation Center."
One of the 9 entrepreneurs the Food Innovation Center helped this year, Lindsay Gott, said she began her company just as the pandemic hit.
The Hood River-based pastry chef created Gateaux, a line of frozen, ready-to-bake cakes.
"I always thought frozen take-and-bake was the right way to go because it's really fresh when it comes out of the oven and it's like aromatherapy in your house," she said.
Being in Vegas was a big deal for her.
"I did sort of feel that getting there felt like I kind of made it. It was a big goal for me. It was like, okay, I'm at the Fancy Food show," Gott said.
Gateaux is available at stores in the Northwest, but this event gives business owners like her a chance to expand and sell their products nationwide.
"If you're going to the Fancy Food Show, you're looking for buyers to buy your product. You have your ducks in a row a little bit more than you might have beforehand," she said.
Her advice: Trust your instinct. "Go for it. But get good advice. Tap into the networkls that are available here."
Sarah Masoni also has advice for anyone with a product to develop: Don't rush it.
She and the Food Innovation Center, based in Portland's Pearl District, work with clients for years to get their products just right for shelf life, food safety, taste and ingredients.