Category: Food Beverage

Early pandemic lockdowns raised appreciation for the joys of travel and for eating out, two things people quickly found they really missed when they could no longer do them. This has fueled the current pent-up demand, and one easy way to satisfy both urges is with a visit to America’s longest running food and wine festival – which just happens to be held annually (except for the pandemic) at one of the nation’s very best hotels , the Forbes 5-Star Boston Harbor Hotel.

The Boston Wine Festival has been a fixture on the culinary and oenophile scene for three and a half decades, and for almost all of that time, it was the labor of love of its founder, Chef Daniel Bruce, career executive chef at the property and one of the world’s leading experts on food and wine pairings. For 30 years Bruce spent a good part of each year visiting vineyards, meeting with wine makers and tasting wines, carefully designing dishes and creating special menus entirely focused on best matching the special pours.

But two years ago he retired, and in his second year under the direction of it his successor, Chef David Daniels, the event returns this winter with an added emphasis on food and a slightly new name to reflect this, the Boston Food and Wine Festival , now in its 34th^th seasons.

I have had the good fortune to attend the festival a couple of times in the past and can personally vouch for its excellence. I now understand why so many regular patrons give it high priority on their annual calendars.

This festival has a very different format than newer ones such as South Beach, Aspen, New Orleans and such. Most run from a single day to a long weekend and are typically spread across multiple venues throughout an entire city, often with conflicting scheduled events you have to choose between. In sharp contrast, this one is an ongoing series of brunches, seminars and dinners, only one at a time, that runs for a staggering three months, all winter long. This makes it very easy to attend, whether you live in Boston, happen to be visiting for business or pleasure, or plan a special trip for the festival. However there are often events on back to back nights or twice in a single day, which makes it more worthwhile for planning a weekend visit.

It kicks off on January 12 with a special Staglin Family wines dinner and brings back some of the biggest special nights that have become a regular part of the festival, including the opening night gala, Far Niente and Opus One dinners and the Battle of the Cabs (two editions, one for California and one for the world), along with some high-profile new additions such as Hitchhiking Through Napa With Kevin Zraly. One of the biggest names in the wine world, Zraly was the legendary sommelier from New York’s late Windows on the World, a world-renowned wine tasting instructor and author. New York Times wine critic Eric Asimov is another special guest.

Those are just some of the highlights of the all-star lineup of 34 intimate winemaker-hosted dinners, seminars, thematic receptions, and celebratory brunches. Some of the world’s great winemakers consider it an honor to come to Boston and explain each of their choices, of course, in an up close and personal way that is hard to replicate anywhere else. Unlike the so-called “Grand Tastings” you find at most festivals, with dozens of winemakers of varied quality pouring minuscule samples in big tents, each event is an intimate special day or night, most of them are full service, sit down multi-course meals co-hosted by Daniels, explaining the dishes and pairings, and the winemaker, explaining the wines and how he or she created and selected them. These often include special limited editions that are never for sale.

There are also a handful of spirits events such as the Cocktail Jazz Brunch and a Chocolate & Spirits Pairing. Tasting seminars like Wines of Chile and Rose Master Class start at just $65, and multi-course wine pairing dinners start at $195.

You don’t have to be a guest of the hotel to attend the events, and many locals take advantage. But the Forbes 5-Star is one of my favorites in the entire country, as well as one of the world’s best dog friendly luxury hotels, and

As part of its enforcement activities, the Food and Drug Administration sends warning letters to entities under its jurisdiction. Some letters are not posted for public view until weeks or months after they are sent. Business owners have 15 days to respond to FDA warning letters. Warning letters are often not issued until a company has been given months to correct problems.

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Jam Jam Services, Inc.
Sunrise, FL

An import company in Florida is on notice from the FDA for not having FSVPs for a number of imported food products.

In a June 1, 2022, warning letter the FDA described a Jan. 25 through Feb. 3, 2022, Foreign Supplier Verification Program (FSVP) inspection of Jam Jam Services, Inc in Sunrise Florida.

The FDA’s inspection revealed that the firm was not in compliance with FSVP regulations which resulted in the issuance of an FDA Form 483a. Some of the significant violations are as follows:

The firm did not develop an FSVP for any foods they import, including the following foods:

• Powdered Scotch Bonnet Peppers, imported from (redacted)located in (redacted).
• Beverage Mix Coconut Flavor, imported from (redacted)located in (redacted).

The full warning letter can be viewed here.

La Serranita Import and Export LLC
Elizabeth, NJ

An import company in New Jersey is on notice from the FDA for not having FSVPs for a number of imported food products.

In a Sept. 19, 2022, warning letter the FDA described a March 30 through April 13, 2022, Foreign Supplier Verification Program (FSVP) inspection of La Serranita Import and Export in Elizabeth, NJ.

The FDA’s inspection revealed that the firm was not in compliance with FSVP regulations which resulted in the issuance of an FDA Form 483a. Some of the significant violations are as follows:

The firm did not develop, maintain, and follow an FSVP for any of the foods they import, including each of the following:

• Frozen Corn Cobs imported from (redacted)located in (redacted)
• Frozen Whole Yellow Hot Pepper imported from (redacted)located in (redacted)
• Special White Cheese of Cayambe imported from (redacted)located in (redacted)

The full warning letter can be viewed here.

JR Imports LLC
Mission, TX

An import company in Texas is on notice from the FDA for not having FSVPs for a number of imported food products.

In a Nov. 9, 2022, warning letter the FDA described an Aug. 5-31, 2022, Foreign Supplier Verification Program (FSVP) inspection of J and R Imports LLC in Mission, TX.

The FDA’s inspection revealed that the firm was not in compliance with FSVP regulations which resulted in the issuance of an FDA Form 483a. Some of the significant violations are as follows:

The firm did not develop, maintain, and follow an FSVP for any of the foods they import, including each of the following:

• Prickle pear imported from (redacted)located in (redacted)
• Cilantro imported from (redacted)located in (redacted)
• Poblano peppers imported from (redacted)located in (redacted)

The firm imports fresh produce that is “covered produce.” As an importer of covered produce, they must have an FSVP that demonstrates that their supplier is producing the food in compliance with processes and procedures that provide at least the same level of public health protection as those required under section 419 of the FD&C Act (regarding standards for produce safety) and the implementing regulations in the Standards for the Growing, Harvesting, Packing, and Holding of Produce for Human Consumption.

The full warning letter can be viewed here.

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