This past Saturday in honor of Halloween, my friend Heather and I headed to the Brooklyn Flea for a trick or treat tasting of our creation. While in Fort Greene, we discovered a cool contest and amazing flavors hidden between the rows of old chandeliers and vintage dresses.
With visitors to the flea in search of last minute additions for the perfect Halloween costume, we came across “The Next Big Brand Contest” — a permanent costume of sorts to design the branding for one lucky food start-up. Sponsored by the The Rooster Group, it’s open to any producers in the tri-state area. Check out details here, and enter by November 30th!
The team at The Rooster Design Group are the creatives behind Early Bird’s granola whose samples appealed to the more health conscious at the flea. Our favorite nibble was Jubilee, cherry and pistachio granola. For the straight up sweet tooth, there were two great chocolatiers showcasing their treats, both with roots in South Africa. Our next stop was Nunu Chocolates where we tried a raspberry ganache, and looked longingly at the Jasmine and Early Grey varieties. Named for the South African term, ‘Nunu’ is an affectionate nickname for little children in Africa where Justine, the Chief Chocolate Officer, spent her childhood. Nunu was followed by Fine and Raw where we sampled the 78% chocolate bar, a combination of pure raw chocolate with a touch of blue agave. The low heat cooking technique maintains the chocolate’s original flavor.
Next, we explored the baked goods. We waved at Liz and Jen of Liddabit Sweets, and chatted with Wanna Hava Cookie whose whoopie pies transition flavors and colors with each season — the orange and black en vogue in October. On the other side of the table was a new twist on an old favorite–blondies. They are the signature item produced by Hot Blondies who opened at Candylicious, the largest candy store in the world spanning over 10,000 square feet in Dubai this September. Finally, we were dazzled by the swirls of frosting atop the $1 each bites at Kumquat Cupcakery — not quite adventurous enough to try the quite popular Maple Bacon, a maple cinnamon cake topped with vanilla frosting and a thick cut of bacon.
If you were in the mood for more meat, Salvatore Brooklyn was featuring pancetta on a baguette with some of its famous cheese. Of course, with dessert on our mind, we would have gone straight for their incredible canolis, if we had any room left. We were mesmerized by the chefs as they constructed the dessert before us.
All of our goodies could be washed down by a home made beer from the Brooklyn Brew Shop. Assembly at home required and appears worth the wait time.
Check our our trick or treating route here.
canolis from Savatore Brooklyn
