Whom You Know: Chef Marcus Samuelsson to Host sofi™ Awards for Top Specialty Foods of 2013 Speaking Fee to be Donated to City Harvest

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Chef Marcus Samuelsson to Host sofi™ Awards for Top Specialty Foods of 2013 Speaking Fee to be Donated to City Harvest

Marcus Samuelsson, the internationally-acclaimed chef, will host the 41st Annual sofi™ Awards to be presented at the Summer Fancy Food Show in New York City.

Samuelsson is the chef behind New York's Red Rooster Harlem, Ginny's Supper Club and American Table Cafe and Bar by Marcus Samuelsson and The New York Times-bestselling author of Yes, Chef. He is also a well-known TV food personality and committed philanthropist.

The sofi Awards are considered the top honor in the $75 billion specialty food industry. They recognize excellence in 32 categories including Chocolate, Cheese, Vinegar and Outstanding New Product 2013. Samuelsson will serve as the keynote speaker and present the awards at a red-carpet ceremony on July 1, 2013.

The awards are a highlight of the Summer Fancy Food Show, the largest marketplace devoted exclusively to specialty foods and beverages in North America. It is owned and operated by the Specialty Food Association (formerly known as NASFT). The show will take place June 30 – July 2, 2013, at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center.

"The sofi Awards represent the best of the best in specialty food," says Ann Daw, president of the Specialty Food Association. "Marcus Samuelsson is sure to inspire the award-winning food artisans and entrepreneurs who have devoted themselves to creating wonderful products."

In honor of Samuelsson's participation in the sofi Awards, he will be donating his speaking fee from the Specialty Food Association to City Harvest, the Fancy Food Show's anti-hunger charity for more than 20 years. Samuelsson is a member of City Harvest's Food Council.

"I am so pleased to be part of the sofi Awards and to honor the best in specialty foods from passionate food artisans and entrepreneurs," Samuelsson says. "City Harvest plays a crucial role in helping New Yorkers in need, and the Specialty Food Association's contribution will help us address the serious problem of food insecurity in the city."

At the end of each Summer Fancy Food Show in New York, exhibitors donate in excess of 100,000 pounds of high-quality food to City Harvest. The show donation has long been the largest single donation of perishable food to City Harvest each year.

The sofi Awards event will take place Monday, July 1 at 5 p.m. at the Javits Center. sofi Ceremony tickets may be purchased starting in mid-March via the Fancy Food Show registration page at fancyfoodshows.com.

The Fancy Food Show is open to members of the specialty food trade and qualified journalists. It is not open to the general public. Attendee registration is now open.

About the Specialty Food Association

The Specialty Food Association celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2012. It is a not-for-profit trade association established in 1952 in New York City to foster commerce and interest in the specialty food industry. Today there are more than 3,000 members in the U.S. and abroad. The association's website for consumers, foodspring.com, provides an insider's look at specialty foods and the companies, food entrepreneurs and artisans behind them. The Specialty Food Association operates the Summer and Winter Fancy Food Shows and presents the sofi™ Awards honoring excellence in specialty food. For more information on the association, go to specialtyfood.com.

About City Harvest

Now serving New York City for more than 30 years, City Harvest is the world's first food rescue organization, dedicated to feeding the city's hungry men, women, and children. This year, City Harvest will collect more than 42 million pounds of excess food from all segments of the food industry, including restaurants, grocers, corporate cafeterias, manufacturers, and farms. This food is then delivered free of charge to some 600 community food programs throughout New York City by a fleet of trucks and bikes. City Harvest helps feed the more than one million New Yorkers that face hunger each year.

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