Kosherfest is an annual, two-day

trade fair A trade fair, also known as trade show, trade exhibition, or trade exposition, is an exhibition organized so that companies in a specific industry can showcase and demonstrate their latest products and services, meet with industry partners and c ...

for the kosher-certified food industry held at the

Meadowlands Exposition Center The Plaza at Harmon Meadow is a shopping complex in the Meadowlands of Secaucus, New Jersey, approximately six miles from New York City. It was developed by Hartz Mountain Industries, whose corporate offices are located in the Plaza. The Plaz ...

Secaucus, New Jersey Secaucus ( ) is a town in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the town's population was 16,264,Diversified Communications Diversified Communications is a multimedia company, headquartered in Portland, Maine. The company provides market access, education and information through global, national and regional face-to-face events, digital products and publications. Hi ...

History

Kosherfest was conceived in 1989 by Irving Silverman, who hired Menachem Lubinsky, President and

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of Lubicom Marketing and Consulting, to market it.Sofer, Racheli. "Phyllis Koegel Keeps Corporate America Kosher". ''

Ami AMI or Ami may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media *AMI-tv, a Canadian TV channel **AMI-télé, the French-language version * AMI-audio, a Canadian audio broadcast TV service *''Ami Magazine'', an Orthodox Jewish news magazine Businesses ...

'', November 11, 2015, pp. 86-87. It was originally called the International Kosher Food and Food Service Trade Show. At its inaugural event, staged at the

New York Passenger Ship Terminal The Manhattan Cruise Terminal, formerly known as the New York Passenger Ship Terminal or Port Authority Passenger Ship Terminal is a ship terminal for ocean-going passenger ships in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, New York City. History The New ...

, there were 69 exhibitors and 700 attendees. By 2001, the show was attracting 500 exhibitors and 12,000 buyers from across the United States and 29 countries at the

Jacob K. Javits Convention Center The Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, commonly known as the Javits Center, is a large convention center on Eleventh Avenue between 34th Street and 38th Street in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, New York City. It was designed by architect James ...

. In 2014, 330 exhibitors and 6,000 registered attendees participated, filling all of the Meadowlands Exposition Center in

Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropol ...

, began co-producing the event with Lubicom. Kosherfest went on hiatus in 2020 and planned to return in 2021.

Location

In the 1990s Kosherfest was staged at the Meadowlands Exposition Center, but moved to the

in 1998, where it convened continuously from 2003 to 2007. In 2008 it moved back to the Meadowlands, where it has been held ever since.

Attendance

Attendance at Kosherfest is restricted to manufacturers, suppliers, wholesalers, buyers, caterers, retail stores, and media personnel, including photographers and food bloggers. The majority of participants are from the USA, however exhibitors come from diverse countries including Finland, Argentina, and Japan. In 2014, a majority of attendees were

Orthodox Jews Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Jewish theology, Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Torah, Written and Oral Torah, Or ...

. Kosherfest furnishes areas for daily prayer services and stations for ritual hand-washing.

Food trends and innovations

Kosherfest is considered a showcase for food trends and innovations in the kosher-certified food industry. At the first show in 1989, exhibitors displayed traditional kosher fare such as "

gefilte fish Gefilte fish (; from yi, געפֿילטע פֿיש, lit. "stuffed fish") is a dish made from a poached mixture of ground deboned fish, such as carp, whitefish, or pike. It is traditionally served as an appetizer by Ashkenazi Jewish household ...

chopped liver Chopped liver ( yi, געהאַקטע לעבער, ''gehakte leber'') is a liver pâté popular in Ashkenazic cuisine. This dish is a common menu item in kosher Jewish delicatessens in Britain, Canada, South Africa, and the United States. Prepar ...

stuffed cabbage A cabbage roll is a dish consisting of cooked cabbage leaves wrapped around a variety of fillings. It is common to the cuisines of Central, Northern, Eastern and Southeastern Europe and much of Western Asia, Northern China, as well as parts ...

and

kugel Kugel ( yi, קוגל , pronounced ) is a baked casserole, most commonly made from lokshen or Jewish egg noodles ( ) or potato. It is a traditional Ashkenazi Jewish dish, often served on Shabbat and Jewish holidays. American Jews also serve it ...

". Between 1992 and 1997 the number of kosher-certified food products grew from 26,000 to approximately 41,000. Along with the increase came more diversified fare, indicating that

kosher (also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, yi, כּשר), fro ...

"isn't just for

Passover Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday that celebrates the The Exodus, Biblical story of the Israelites escape from slavery in Ancient Egypt, Egypt, which occurs on the 15th day of the Hebrew calendar, He ...

, or Jews, anymore". Among the products on display in 1996 were kosher-certified venison, gumbo, imitation crab, and faux caviar. The 2013 exhibition included kosher-certified

kielbasa Kielbasa (, ; from Polish ) is any type of meat sausage from Poland and a staple of Polish cuisine. In American English the word typically refers to a coarse, U-shaped smoked sausage of any kind of meat, which closely resembles the ''Wiejska'' ...

, "bacon" cheeseburgers,

chorizo Chorizo (, from Spanish ; similar to but distinct from Portuguese ) is a type of pork cured meat originating from the Iberian Peninsula. In Europe, chorizo is a fermented, cured, smoked meat, which may be sliced and eaten without cooking, or ...

, Cajun beef sausage, and Asian sauces. Additionally, some of the food developers and vendors were not Jewish. Recent trends seen at Kosherfest include

gluten-free A gluten-free diet (GFD) is a nutritional plan that strictly excludes gluten, which is a mixture of proteins found in wheat (and all of its species and hybrids, such as spelt, kamut, and triticale), as well as barley, rye, and oats. The inclus ...

foods (in 2013, gluten-free products represented nearly 20% of the foods on display),

Greek yogurt Strained yogurt, Greek yogurt, yogurt cheese, sack yogurt, or kerned yogurt is yogurt that has been strained to remove most of its whey, resulting in a thicker consistency than normal unstrained yogurt, while still preserving the distinctive so ...

organic food Organic food, ecological food or biological food are food and drinks produced by methods complying with the standards of organic farming. Standards vary worldwide, but organic farming features practices that cycle resources, promote ecological ...

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. Di ...

offerings, and dairy-free products.

Exhibition hall

With the abundance of

free samples ''Free Samples'' is a 2012 American independent comedy starring Jess Weixler and Jesse Eisenberg. It was the first film directed by Jay Gammill and the first film written by Jim Beggarly. Plot Jillian (Weixler), a Stanford Law School dropout reb ...

handed out by exhibitors in the exhibition hall, Kosherfest has been called "the world's biggest

kiddush Kiddush (; he, קידוש ), literally, "sanctification", is a blessing recited over wine or grape juice to sanctify the Shabbat and Jewish holidays. Additionally, the word refers to a small repast held on Shabbat or festival mornings after t ...

" and "a cross between a professional trade show and the buffet line at your cousin's bar mitzva". Samples run the gamut from dairy to meat to

pareve In ''kashrut'', the dietary laws of Judaism, pareve (from yi, פאַרעוו for "neutral", in Hebrew , and also parve and other variant English spellings) is a classification of edible substances that contain neither dairy nor meat ingredients. ...

, including cheeses, sausages, sauces, pastries, ice cream, wine and liquor. Non-food samples include kosher breath strips, teeth whiteners, and kosher

dog food Dog food is food specifically formulated and intended for consumption by dogs and other related canines. Dogs are considered to be omnivores with a carnivorous bias. They have the sharp, pointed teeth and shorter gastrointestinal tracts of ca ...

. Show policy is to allow each attendee to take home one bag of free samples, and leftover food is donated to local charities. Purveyors of food-service equipment, cleaning supplies, uniforms, paper goods, label printing systems, credit-card processing systems, and food-safety training also participate, as do kosher certification agencies looking to sign up new clients.

Prizes

Kosherfest awards prizes for best new kosher-certified products in 17 categories. These include Best in Show award, best new dessert, best new packaging design, best new snack food, best new organic product, best new beverage, best new food service product, best new dairy product, best new sweet snack, best new mix, best new dip, spread or salsa, best new pre-cooked packaged meat, and best new pasta, rice and grain. At the 2013 event,

Empire Kosher Empire Kosher Poultry, Inc. is the largest producer of kosher poultry in the United States.Guinness World Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

with their display of the world's largest

chicken nugget A chicken nugget is a food product consisting of a small piece of deboned chicken meat that is breaded or battered, then deep-fried or baked. Invented in the 1950s, chicken nuggets have become a very popular fast food restaurant item, as we ...

Other events

In addition to the exhibition hall, Kosherfest features lectures, book signings by kosher

cookbook A cookbook or cookery book is a kitchen reference containing recipes. Cookbooks may be general, or may specialize in a particular cuisine or category of food. Recipes in cookbooks are organized in various ways: by course (appetizer, first cour ...

authors, cooking demonstrations, and a culinary competition featuring celebrity chefs. Concurrent with the trade show, a Kosherfest

social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...

dinner and the Kosher Food Bloggers Conference are held in off-site locations. Kosherfest is widely covered by media personnel reporting on kosher food trends.

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.kosherfest.com/
"Photo Essay: Kosherfest 2014 at the Meadowlands Expo Center"
''

Yeshiva World News ''Yeshiva World News'' (YWN) is an Orthodox Jewish online news publication. It also has multiple services catering to Jews all over the world. History Yeshiva World News started in 2003 as a news aggregation blog by its founder Yehudah Eckstein. ...

'', November 12, 2014
"2013 Kosherfest Iron Chef Culinary Competition" (video)

"7th Annual Kosherfest Culinary Competition (2014)" (video)
Jewish American cuisine Orthodox Judaism in New Jersey Kosher food Recurring events established in 1989 Trade shows in the United States Festivals established in 1989 Food and drink festivals in the United States 1989 establishments in New Jersey