When I attended the FMI Private Brands Summit at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel earlier this month a running joke from several speakers was that the recession is magically going to end on September 1, which was a date thrown out by some White House official. Well, if the crowds choking the aisles at the Fancy Food Show on opening day are an economic indicator, it might be safe to say that the recession ended on Sunday June 28.

The NASFT, which sponsors the show, estimates that some 24,000 people roamed its 55 aisles during its three-day run, gorging themselves on chocolates, olive oils, caviar, pastas and sauces, coffee, tea, wines, hors d'oeuvres, European meats, cakes, pastries, and cheeses -- hundreds and hundreds of varieties of cheeses. Exhibitors that I spoke with all said the turnout was better than they expected, especially in the midst of the recession. Many said they had good feedback from key supermarket buyers and some even talked about getting bigger booths next year. According to NASFT figures, gourmet foods account for 15.9% of all food purchases, making it a category that mainstream supermarkets should pay close attention to, and use to grow total store sales.

Bill Binczak, the proprietor of Cantore Di Castelforte, a 2,200-acre vineyard in Manduria, Italy, told me the show greatly exceeded his expectations. "We went through 900 plastic sample cups on the first day," he said. That's especially good given that his booth was in the back of the less trafficked lower level.

I noticed more mainstream-types of items in this year's show than true "gourmet" delicacies, things like old-fashioned button candy, fresh orange juice, ice cream and cookies. The most unusual item I saw was the Coneinn Pizza. Apparently all the rage in Spain, the Coneinn Pizza is a frozen pizza in a conical shape filled with a variety of "toppings," including sausage, pepperoni and tuna. The consumer simply takes it out of the box, places it in a special holder in the bottom of the box and microwaves it for 3 minutes. Don't look for Coneinn in your freezer sets just yet, however. An official at the booth told me the company was at the show looking for importers and distributors and hopefully Coneinn will be hitting supermarket freezer cases next year.