Gourmet Selection Trade show in Paris, France

What an incredible weekend!

It started the trials and tribulations that were thrown my way trying to get to the actual show.  In all honesty I was probably being a diva wanting Delta One, but I got bumped three times from it, switching plans over and over and it ended up not even mattering.  I flew into Amsterdam main cabin.

The next hiccup was my connecting train in Rotterdam was just cancelled.  I started freaking out a little and thought I was going to have to grab a bus, but I was able to catch the next train an hour later.  Standing room only for 2 hours was fun… I slept on the final leg from Brussels to Paris and then it took FOREVER to get to the hotel with insane traffic in Paris.  I fell asleep early to get ready for the next two days at the trade show.

Trade Show Day 1

Sunday, September 15, was the first day and even thought Valerie said it wasn’t going to be as busy it sure felt busy!  This was by far the biggest show I’ve ever been to.  Row and rows of companies pitching their products to people from all over the world.

I met Valerie’s sister and nephew, Marlon who I worked with all weekend.  I also met Michelle Schultz, an import/export trade lawyer who was amazing.  She’s a ball of energy and was telling my story in French to everyone trying Torcatha.  There was another guy who works with Valerie who was bringing people to the booth as well.

There was an incredible energy and when we started serving the brisket — it did not stop.

It was crazy to see everyone really loving the sauce and the story/brand behind it.  That’s something big that was stressed to me – the story and staying with people who you have connections with.  David from USDA was truly inspiring talking to.  He seemed very knowledgeable of how things work.  I will for sure be reaching out to him in the future.  He said “I don’t believe in coincidences” and neither do I.

It really showed me that I need to be the face and personality of the brand more than anything else.  It’s actually what I feel good at as well as marketing the product.  This weekend was a great feeling of building the team I think Torcatha needs.

So Day 1 was crazy seeing everything and figuring it out.  It made me realize France is the place to be.  They said this isn’t the biggest Gourmet Selection show, but it has the most reach.

The day ended with awards and a little party.  Old Bones won a Best Of award for their smokey jams.  The judges said they were surprised something like that came from Texas.  It told Valeria I want to win that award and we are going to!  The awards are legit too — The judges decided not to award any chocolate maker and award because none were up to snuff!

 

After the awards was a little social hour – win and snacks.  Valerie our rockstar was giving out samples and shredding the brisket by hand and putting Torcatha on it!