In & Around Food World

March 2009
by Dick Bestany

It’s March and time for the biggest event of event of the year - at least for food people - the International Boston Seafood Show. The event runs March 15-16-17 and is held at the Boston Convention Exhibition Center. This show is North America's largest seafood exhibition, attracting close to 18,000 seafood buyers and sellers from across the globe. At this show you can source the largest assortment of seafood, equipment and products all in one large hall and get a look at the newest products on the market along with meeting all your suppliers and sources for new business. And you can also discover strategies to help you make the most of the current economic conditions.

And through the many conferences at the show, you can stay informed on cutting edge topics covering areas in retail, foodservice, food safety/compliance and seafood processing.

Eighty five percent of the visitors to the International Boston Seafood Show have purchasing authority and attend the show looking for new products. The also attend to meet face-to-face with their current suppliers and to find new ones. The show attracts high-level, international buyers from supermarkets, club stores, restaurants, distributors and importers and exporters.

Seventy percent of the visitors to the show have said they found new products or companies as a result of their attendance at the show.

Also at the show’s new product showcase and competition you can see and taste the newest seafood products in the market. If you attend this show, you can stay on the forefront of the seafood industry.

And speaking of trade shows, Associated Wholesalers Inc. of Robesonia, PA will be holding a two day show at the York Fairgrounds in York, Pennsylvania on March 24 and March 25 . The times of the show are 9:00 a.m. through 4:00 p.m. on both days. On Tuesday, the show will highlight meat, deli, seafood, produce, home meal replacement and store development. On Wednesday, the show will feature grocery, dairy, frozen, HBC/GM, specialty foods and bakery. If you would like more information on these shows, contact Donna Miller at donna.miller@awiweb.com.

More that 350 supporters and members of the Network of Executive Women attended a luncheon recently in Charlotte, NC kicking off the newest chapter of the group. The luncheon was preceded by a networking reception and followed by “Straight Talk from the Top,” a panel discussion on leadership by Fawn Germer, author of the Network’s book, The NEW Woman Rules.

The panel featured: Cathy Green, chief operating officer of Food Lion; Bobbie O'Hare, vice president of new business development for Johnson O'Hare Companies; Regenia Stein, vice president of strategy and integrated planning and execution for Kraft Foods; and Tracy Van Bibber, senior vice president of sales for the Dial Corporation.

On a sad note, we are saddened to report the death of David G. Gundling, 58, of Roswell, GA who died unexpectedly last month.

Dave will be remembered by many of our readers from his days as president and COO of Richfood, Harrisburg, PA and executive vice president of SuperRite Foods, Harrisburg, PA.

He also served most recently as chairman and CEO of Spartan Management Group, Inc. in Atlanta.
Dave grew up in Hazleton, PA. He graduated from MMI Preparatory School and continued his education earning a bachelor's degree from Allegheny College.

He is survived by his wife the former Judy Taub and was father to Brian. His son, Adam predeceased him in October 2007.

Memorial donations may be made to The Alzheimer's Association or to Agudas Israel Synagogue, Pine and Oak Streets, Hazleton, PA.

More than 1,300 executives are registered to attend the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) Future Connect Conference. The first industry wide leadership education event will be held May 4-6, 2009, at the Hyatt Regency in Dallas.

Future Connect will educate high-potential associates from all levels of retailer, wholesaler and supplier companies to direct teams, focus skills and talents and achieve high-profit sales. Interactive education sessions and group round tables will help associates understand the landscape of issues facing the industry, including current business and consumer trends, developments in global food sourcing and managing an increasingly diverse force.

And just in case you haven't visited it yet, we must report on the newest restaurant in the Baltimore restaurant scene - La Famiglia. La Famiglia is the brain child of Dino Zeytinoglu, who was the maitre d’ at Boccaccio. (Boccaccio’s owner, Giovanni Rigato passed away in September and the restaurant closed after his death.) If you like Italian food and enjoyed the fabulous meals at Boccaccio of Little Italy, you must visit La Famiglia located at 105 West 39th Street in Baltimore. It is “fabulous”!

LaFamiglia is housed in what was formerly Brasserie Tatin. Dino has hired many of the staffers from Boccaccio, and as we have witnessed, is doing a great business. The food is excellent with many of the dishes that were so popular at Boccaccio, including bruschetta, pastas, fish, steak and some of the best veal you’ve ever eaten. The head chef is Fabio Mura, who at one time worked at Boccaccio. He went on to run his own restaurant and then later was the chef at Baltimore’s Blue Sea Grill. He is ably assisted by our good friend, Vince Gentile, who was a long time cook at Boccaccio.

The restaurant features a comfortable bar, with the ever popular Burt Quinn as the mixologist and assisted by the beautiful Teresa Fitch. And making the delicious sauces is Joe Bestanelli, who has been a sauce maker for some 38 years. However, to best appreciate it, you must visit and partake of the food and wine. You won't be disappointed.

According to reports from the United States Commerce Department and Phil Lempert’s Lempert Report, “Fourth quarter 2008 consumer food spending met its steepest decline in more than half a century. Spending on food at retail and restaurants fell 3.7 percent from the previous quarter, with consumers swapping their Starbucks for homemade coffee, and trading in name brands for generic. Sales of alcoholic beverages saw one of the largest declines at 10.9 percent from the previous quarter.”

Georgia-Pacific Professional has announced Ecologo certification of a broad selection of the company’s tissue, towel and napkin products. This designation by the Ecologo Program, a third party environmental certification organization, is another building block in Georgia-Pacific Professional’s Green by Design program, it was announced by Dan Silk, a Georgia Pacific vice president. Since the 1930s, Georgia-Pacific Professional and its predecessors have pioneered systems that reduce waste.

Georgia-Pacific produces 200 away-from-home products containing 95 to 100 percent recycled fiber and 40 products that help companies earn LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification. Georgia-Pacific Professional works closely with its affiliated recycling company, Harmon Associates, which facilitates the brokerage of six million tons of recovered paper each year. For more information about Green by Design, call 1-866-HELLO GP (435-5647).

Birthday wishes go out this month to: Barbara Wolf and Steve Delman, Acosta Sales & Marketing; Tom Bleakley, Star Sales and Marketing; Ken Gore, K.B. Gore & Co.; John Weiland, husband of Best-Met’s advisor to the publisher Nina Weiland; and Denis McCrossan, Crystal Geyser Water. 

You can e-mail Dick Bestany at