New York is seeing a lot of Singapore food these days. Earlier this year, a contingent of Singapore hawkers brought a taste of our hawker delights to the Big Apple for the inaugural Singapore Day. From July 8-13, it will be the food and beverage manufacturers who will be Singapore 's food ambassadors in New York .

The delegation, organised by IE Singapore and the Singapore Food Manufacturers' Association (SFMA), represents 12 companies and will participate in the National Pavilion themed "Tasty Singapore" at the 53rd Summer Fancy Food Show (8-10 July 2007). The Summer Fancy Food Show, organised by the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade (NASFT), features over 1,100 international exhibitors.

The Tasty Singapore Pavilion will showcase more than 180 F&B products. Two new products especially developed for the American market,"General Tsao" and "lo-mien" sauces, will be launched at the show. New York chefs Jake Klein and Cedric Tovar will also be giving cooking demonstrations at the pavilion to help consumers understand how they can use these products to create their favourite Asian dishes.

Commenting on the Singapore team's participation in the Summer Fancy Food Show, Mr James Ching, Centre Director of IE Singapore's New York Office said: "It's a great opportunity for our manufacturers to promote Singapore's cuisine and culture, and to showcase their diverse capabilities. The ethnic food industry is booming in the US and our manufacturers' ability to capture traditional tastes in modern and convenient packaging are well placed to meet that growing demand".

In conjunction with the food show, IE Singapore will be hosting a dinner reception for 55 US food industry leaders at the James Beard House on July 9, for the US launch of the Singapore cuisine recipe book 'Timeless Recipes'. The recipe book was co-developed by culinary icon Violet Oon, and presents a collection of favourite local recipes and Singapore signature dishes such as Chlli Crabs Singapura, Katong Laksa and Chicken Rice.

Mr Ching notes: "The Timeless Recipes cookbook is part of IE Singapore's effort to help local food manufacturers internationalise their products under the Tasty Singapore umbrella. Through this book, we hope that more people will see how easy it is to prepare their favourite Singapore dishes."

The US was Singapore's 5th largest trading partner for food products after Malaysia, Indonesia China, and Australia in 2006. In the same year, Singapore exported S$242 million worth of food products to the US, an increase of approximately 14.2%.