We're Baa-aaack!

So come see us at the 2012 RCA tomorrow, booth 409 in San Antonio!

We'll be showing our creations inspired by Kaleidoscope, IFF's unique methodology for analyzing and interpreting consumer trends.  We don't want to give it away, but think of camping, healthy and nostalgic indulgence, extraordinary cheese, and buzz-worthy tail mix!

We'll report back on the show with impressions and photos from our favorite event of the year.

See you there!!

It's that time of year!

The RCA reception was held in the Oceans Ballroom at the Georgia Aquarium

Visitors got to see the life aquatic up close

A fuzzy picture of a really beautiful room!

We love the RCA and we're here in Atlanta in the thick of it!  A couple of us did the Fun Run this morning, some of us attended classes.  Tonight, the opening reception was held in the beautiful Georgia Aquarium where we got to catch up with our friends - customers and colleagues. 

Tomorrow, we are pulling out all the stops at our booth - #400, if you're keeping score.  We'll be showing some delicious, innovative, and healthy treats.  More about those tomorrow!

Chef Kevin in Singapore

  Recently, IFF's Chef Kevin, based in our South Brunswick Creative Center, visited Singapore and Shanghai to work with a customer.  While there, he took the opportunity to research some culinary benchmarks, share the CulinEssence approach with colleagues, and to do some serious culinary exploration for himself and his fellow chefs. 

"We had some specific benchmarks we were working on for our customer there," said Kevin, "but it would be impossible to not do some exploration of my own in these incredible cities.  And when you take these very big trips, you feel an obligation to squeeze every opportunity you can out of them - both for the company and for your own natural curiosity."

Singapore and Shanghai did not disappoint. "The markets, the street vendors, the high-end restaurants all have something to teach you," Kevin continued.  "One of the things I find so fascinating is the ability of everyone - no matter where life has brought you or how humble your tools - to make food that is exciting, comforting, delicious, and nourishing.  Look at this cleaver and this stump.  The knife is old, but it cuts.  The stump works well as a cutting board.  In the hands of the right person, these humble tools can make great meals out of the most basic of ingredients.  As a chef, I find inspiration in this."

Singapore and Shanghai serve as culinary centers of excellence for IFF, but Chef Kevin expands on that: "These are great culinary cities with long histories of great food, everywhere you look.  I kind of see them as culinary centers of excellence - period."

Happy Thanksgiving

Cranberry Cake recipe from vanillagarlic

to all our American friends around the world!

Chef's Favorites: Food Cities

This is the second installment of Chef's Favorites, where we ask our global team the following burning question:

What is your favorite food city in the world and why?

Master Chef Florian:

Amsterdam--the multicultural city. It has so many different restaurants. One of my favorites is the Restaurant Nursery de Kas. Situated in the former Amsterdam city greenery from 1926. Extremely fresh reaped, seasonal vegetables, herbs and fruits. Rural Mediterranean kitchen..

Chef Kevin:
 NYC - not just the upscale joints but more the down and dirty ( Chinatown, Little Italy, bakeries, markets and street vendors) The smell of pretzels warming our coals on a cool fall afternoon

Chef Sarah: 

My best and most memorable food experiences came from touring around France (Auxerre, Beaune, Dijon, Paris). It was simple food prepared well. Great coffee, even the yogurt was delicious. And I was introduced to more adventurous stuff (for me) like escargot.

 

Chef Jenny:

New York City is the center of the universe. "If you can't find it in New York, it doesn't exist."  This is according to my mother in law who has lived there for over 50 years and I think I may agree with her. Every ethnic group is represented throughout the 5 boroughs so of course you can experience so many different cuisines. Every neighborhood is like globe-trekking to another part of the world.

 

Chef Michael:

Naples - great restaurants without pretence. fantastic fresh ingredients (fish, vegetables), great coffee and the best Pizza in the world.

 Chef David:

New York: you have to respect the diversity. "The City," has everything from the best street food to the hottest restaurants. Every time I visit, I am humbled by the cuisines I encounter.

 

Chef Ingreth: 

Brazilian Northeast food, is the one of most richest cuisines because of the big influence of Indians, African Europeans (Portuguese) and Others. This culinary has several types of ingredients from inland to coast , and also spices, peppers, herbs and so on.

 

Chef Bryan: 

New Orleans, because it is a melting pot, the food has inspiration from all over the world to include the French, Spanish, and African