Expo Talks Upcoming Food Trends and Helps Local Restaurants

Through cooking demos and fresh samples, the expo helped local businesses dealing with food

FARGO, N.D. — Hundreds of vendors are helping local restaurants use the resources they have to stay up to date and better serve their customers.

They packed the Fargodome with smells, sizzles and plenty of food samples for the 2017 Food Expo.

It’s a chance for distributors to expand their customer base, and for food operators to stay up to date on the latest food trends.

“We cover the whole gambit,” said Vicki Roberts, an FSA produce buyer and specialist. “If you eat it, they can get it from us.”

Roberts said one of the more recent food trends in the Fargo-Moorhead area is simply knowing where the food comes from.

“When you know the farmer and you go to a farmers market in the summertime, the tomatoes may not look beautiful, but they sure taste good, right?” asked Roberts. “It’s because it’s local. It doesn’t have to travel the distance.”

They said ethnic cuisines and breakfast burritos are climbing to the top of food trend lists.

But another new item which apparently has not yet reached the FM area is veggie noodles.

“You’re going to see it coming very soon, 2017 soon is my prediction,” Roberts said. “We’ve done zucchini with a spaghetti sauce. Barely could tell the difference.”

Staff with Ameristar Meats said they come here every year.

“The ability to bring customers in and show them our full line of products in a very short time is absolutely fantastic,” said Ameristar Meats Sales Vice President Wayne Angstrom. “It gives us a chance to show off our creative chops so to speak.”

For others, it’s a way for the smaller local chains and shops to get help catering to their customer base using what they have.

“The fast food places of the world typically have more resources available to them, whereas the more local and independent operators are more short staffed,” said FSA Business Solutions Manager Chase Frize. “They have to be unique in how they prepare the recipes. We cook, we make hot dogs, make ground beef patties, do portion steak cutting and make deli meats as well.”

The event only lasted one day, but they hope to continue expanding the annual expo each year.

They said a big challenge for local farmers is keeping up with the cheap prices offered by bigger farming companies around the nation.