(By: Sandy Eller)

Once again, Kosherfest made its way to the Meadowlands, showcasing the best in kosher and ancillary products in what is always an exciting event. From exhibitors who have been part of the expo for years, to newcomers hoping to make their way into the rapidly-growing market, Kosherfest brings the Jewish world together in a trade show that speaks our universal language – food.

More than just a networking event where you can also eat your way up and down the aisles while picking up swag, Kosherfest is all about the business of food. Still, it’s hard not to enjoy the expo and Yeshiva World News is proud to present its own Kosherfest Hall of Fame, highlighting some of the most intriguing components of this year’s show. In the interests of full disclosure, I should mention that I skipped all of the meat and wine booths at the show, so the fact that none of those products are mentioned here isn’t a reflection on their quality, it just means I didn’t want to be fleishic and wanted to be able to drive home.

Best Bites – Green Valley Oreo-Coated Hazelnuts and Lotus-Coated Cashews
I don’t think too many people besides me even noticed these delicious goodies, sitting in a small tray off to the side of the Green Valley display that included assorted nuts, spreads and oils. But having fallen in love with Oreo-coated nuts at the Machane Yehuda shuk last month, I was thrilled to see them at Kosherfest and they were every bit as good as I remembered. Sadly, they aren’t available yet in the United States, but hopefully they will make it here soon.

Best Adult Snack – Wild Country Vegetarian Tapas
Imported from the Philippines, these thin, seasoned strips were set out at the show to look like jerky and would look fabulous on a meat board, but – surprise, surprise – they are actually made out of coconut, with nary a trace of cow to be found anywhere. These organic snacks aren’t just gluten-free, they are also guilt-free and taste-full.

Best Dairy Product – Norman’s Farmstand Fruit N’ Yogurt Smoothy
How many times do you find yourself running out to the house, wishing you could just grab something quick that you could eat on the run? Looking very much like an overgrown leben pouch, Norman’s new cholov yisroel Smoothy fills that niche and is about to hit store shelves in the coming weeks. These shakes pack a nice amount of calcium and protein while still coming in at less than 200 calories and should make it through airport TSA checkpoints if you freeze them, making them a great choice for flyers of all ages.

Best Treat – Mr. Joy! Cool Cups
Italian ices are always a crowd pleaser but I have always found myself wishing that someone made them in a smaller size for kids, who inevitably leave half their ices over. Available in a cherry, lemon-lime, berry and strawberry 8-pack, these 1.34 ounce mini Cool Cups are on the soft side when frozen, a great texture that makes these easy to squeeze and eat.

Best packaging – La Carreta Pura Pina Pineapple Juice
You can’t go wrong with sweet baby pineapple juice from Guatemala, but the packaging here was a real gamechanger. A leak-proof dispenser valve on the side of the three liter box made it easy to pour the juice, while the bag-in-the-box design keeps the juice fresh for an entire year, even after opening.

Most Unique Product – Mommy’s Cookie Jar Chocolate Chunk Lactation Cookies
Cookies made with ingredients to help nursing moms boost their milk supply are nothing new, but they have been few and far between in the kosher market until now. Developed by two sisters in law, one of whom is a professional cook, Mommy’s Cookie Jar products are made with brewer’s yeast, flaxseed and oatmeal to promote milk production, and they taste good enough that nursing moms might just need to hide them from the rest of the family.

Most Creative Slogan – David Elliot Poultry Farm
The folks at David Elliot Poultry Farm must have been appealing to people like me when they put out the sign that said “chicken broth so good its worth getting fleishig for.” There were two large coffee urns at the booth filled with chicken soup, and people kept coming back for more, in addition to checking out David Elliot’s new, pre-packaged pre-kashered chicken livers and their adorable little ice packs shaped like fluffy, yellow chicks.

Best Bags – Bank of America and Prairie Street Co.
Kosherfest isn’t supposed to be about the swag and the samples, but with plenty of goodies to entice people to stop by, a good bag is essential. Kudos to Bank of America for their grocery-sized tote, with outside pockets for papers – definitely the most popular bag at the show, and one that will be equally practical for general shopping. Equally well executed was Prairie Street Co.’s rollup bag, which was just the right size for the show and folds up into a neat little package that tucks away nicely in your pocketbook, knapsack or suitcase for future use.

Best Matzav – Culinary Depot
There was a crowd at Culinary Depot’s massive booth all day long and while I don’t know how many people were actually there to do business, everyone was clearly enjoying the carving station and the crispy chicken sliders topped with slaw and pickled onions, as well as the potato kugel and rugelach.

Best Booth Design – Mixcraft Kosher Craft Cocktails
As the last booth in the last row of the show floor, which didn’t actually open until about noon, it would have been easy for show participants to just bypass the Mixcraft booth. But apparently the lure of a food truck that was actually serving up signature cocktails instead of food, was just too hard to resist and Mixcraft had a perpetual line at their booth, with everyone walking away smiling.

Best Guests – Secaucus Police Department and Hudson County SWAT
Given recent events, both Hudson County SWAT and the Secaucus Police were on site at Kosherfest, with over a dozen metal barriers set up at the perimeter of the Meadowlands Exposition Center and significant amounts of weaponry in evidence. Kudos to the nice folks at Natural & Kosher cheeses, who handed a fresh hot pizza to a SWAT guy to share with his fellow members of law enforcement.

Honorable Mention
With so many great products on the show floor, narrowing the stars of Kosherfest down to ten standouts was nearly impossible. Other items that were too good to ignore included Hello Salad dressings, in flavors like basil zaatar and avocado Caesar, HoneyGramz creamed chocolate pomegranate honey, Rambam’s gorgeous canned Moscato and rose wines, pints n’pies fabulous pareve peanut butter ice cream, Arnavim’s adorable grape flavored araq in a fun squeezy pouch and Deutsche’s vanilla cream-filled chocolate cookies that were just too good to be gluten-free.

VIDEO & PHOTOS VIA KUVIEN IMAGES