Thousands of attendees made their way to San Francisco to celebrate the return of the Gourmet Housewares Show. The compact show brought great exposure to new introductions to the market and, with its co-location with The San Francisco International Gift Fair, was heralded as a success with retailers and vendors alike. Retailers and vendors also celebrated the show with the selection of Gourmet Golds, which were announced Saturday night.

"It was really outstanding to win. It took me back to have that happen for Vita-Mix and the team from Vita-Mix," Dan Koch, national sales manager for Vita-Mix, said. "It's been a team effort. We're excited about the new product -- it brings a terrific functionality and ease of use to the home consumer. It was an honor to be chosen best of show."

The new Vita-Mix Professional Series 500 combines professional performance with preprogrammed convenience. The addition of three programmed settings means home chefs can prepare delicious gourmet foods with amazing ease. The added attraction is that this powerful and versatile blender features a beautiful brushed stainless finish.

The three programmed settings are Smoothies, Hot Soups and Frozen Desserts. After filling the container, Vita-Mix Professional Series 500 owners simply set the dial for the desired setting and start the machine, which will automatically shut off when processing is complete.

The Professional Series 500 also offers a new pulse feature for more precise control over the texture and process of foods. Pulse can be used alone or in combination with the programmed settings or the variable speed control.

This multifunctional kitchen essential is equipped with a commercial-grade 2+ peak horsepower motor that generates blade speeds up to 240 mph. The container is BPA-free and safe for all food products, hot or cold. The large, full-capacity 64-ounce capacity lets owners create soup for six or grind a small scoop of peppercorns to perfection. The machine will be available for shipment October 2009 with a suggested retail price of $549.
Each entry of Gourmet Golds was scored on quality, innovation, design, product solution and consumer appeal. This year's winners are:

Cookware & Bakeware:
Winner: Minden Grill Company Inc. - Minden Master Range Top Grill
Finalists: Kuhn Rikon and Lodge Manufacturing

Gadgets, Cutlery & Accessories:
Winner: Inno-Labs - Firewire
Finalists: EdgeCraft and New Metro Designs

Gourmet Gifts & Specialty Foods:
Winner: Highwave Inc. - Australian Beer Glass
Finalists: Zojirushi and Wine Things Unlimited

Green by Design:
Winner: Roland Products Inc. - Goodbye Detergent!
Finalists: Full Circle and Pacific Dry Goods

Kitchen Electrics:
Winner: Fissler USA - CookStar Induction Pro Portable Cooktop
Finalists: Greystone and Nespresso

Tabletop & Textiles:
Winner: Mastrad Inc. - Vegetable Keep Sack
Finalists: Calibowl and Coastline Imports

All exhibitors of the Gourmet Housewares Show were eligible to enter new products, launched to the trade between March and August of 2009, into the Gourmet Golds competition and display. This year's competition was a fierce race to the finish with upward of 100 product entries that a panel of distinguished judges reviewed and scored. The judges were:

- Sam Grawe, Dwell Magazine
- Liezel Munez-Gunn, Oprah Magazine
- Margo True, Sunset Magazine
- Warren Shoulberg, HFN
- Peter Giannetti, HomeWorld Business
- Karen Martin, Kitchenware News
- Michelle Moran, The Gourmet Retailer

The 2009 Gourmet Housewares Show® will wrap up today at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, co-located with GLM's San Francisco International Gift Show®. With the move back to San Francisco, the Gourmet Housewares Show® continues with strong momentum.

Koch's feedback from the show went far beyond his win: "The show has been terrific; we've written several orders, opened up new accounts, and made contacts with new accounts we hadn't been aware of. Traffic has been consistent throughout. We will be back next year to support this show and the industry."

"The show may be smaller, but for us, this year was better. We had good contact with people, and we had a lot more sales and interest. It was exciting. I was excited to come to San Francisco vs. Las Vegas. We had a good show," said Cheryl and Damon Ishida, Ke-Anu LLc, makers of the Aloha Chiller.

"It's been surprisingly great. I had a certain goal in mind and then so much happened, it exceeded my initial expectation," said Ken Erdman of Dry Spice.


Retailers concurred: "I've found a lot of great new products and have written more orders at this show than during other shows I've attended," said Margaret Junkin, owner of Cooks Emporium in Ames, Iowa.

Visit www.thegourmetshow.com for additional updates and more detailed information.