A Weekend of Good Food & Fancy Food

I sat down with myPanier's Head of Sourcing and Procurement, who attended the Good Food Mercantile and Winter Fancy Food Show in San Francisco this past weekend. She was there with a few other members of the myPanier team.

There were a lot of specialty and gourmet food events in Northern California this past weekend. Can you clarify what the myPanier team attended?

The myPanier team attended the Good Food Mercantile on Saturday and the Winter Fancy Food Show on Sunday and Monday. We did not attend the Good Food Awards or the SoFi Awards on Friday, but we are very proud of our artisans that received honors!

Rooftop view from the Good Food Mercantile

Why did you attend the Good Food Mercantile and Winter Fancy Food Show?

We attended for several reasons. Firstly, many of our artisans ended up winning Good Food Awards & SoFi awards, and we were there to support them in their success. It was really cool because at the Mercantile, we would walk up to a booth and see all of the artisans’ awards, including those from the night before. They were so proud! Also, myPanier is part of the Good Food Guild and we were one of the first to join! So we wanted to travel up to San Francisco to support not only our artisans but also the guild as a whole. Since we are in the same industry as the Winter Fancy Food Show and it was the same weekend, we decided to go to that as well.

Beautiful San Francisco Fall colors

How did this weekend align with myPanier's values?

At myPanier we strive to connect small-batch artisans with consumers through sale of their products and sharing artisans' stories. The Good Food Mercantile was very well aligned with myPanier's mission and I loved the vibe as well! The artisans represented were small-batch, authentic, and very approachable. I loved chatting with each artisan. Some of our makers were also at the Fancy Food Show, but because of the size of it, it was not as intimate. We still had a wonderful time, though!

A lovely spread at the Fancy Food Show

Which of myPanier's artisans did you connect with?

Too many to count! One of the coolest set-ups, though, was the Savory California artisan section. They were all set up in a square, so we had a great time rotating around and visiting our own local artisans as well as chatting up some new ones we haven't worked with. Those included Pernicious Pickling, Becca's Petites, Rockin' Rubs, B. Toffee, Jenkins Jellies, and Atheen Oats!

What was your favorite part of the weekend?

The samples! We were there all day long and I got to eat so many things. I tried meats, cheeses, pickles, sweets, chocolates, vinegar, and so many others. What was fun about sampling was also talking to the artisans about their foods and really connecting with such passionate people.

Trying out some truffle soup

Do you foresee onboarding any of the artisans you met last weekend?

Definitely! We met a lot of wonderful artisans, and I'm talking with a few of them now about selling on myPanier.

Check out our collection of the Good Food Award & SoFi Award finalists and winners!