Okay, where did I leave off?
Breakfast, right.
Okay, so after Nick and I ate that morning, he took the F-line down to Fisherman’s Wharf to walk around and take pictures while I toured around the Farmer’s Market with some other bloggers.
I had another cup of coffee while walking around that morning – this market was the largest farmer’s market I’d ever seen! There were foods I had never even heard of before and everything was beautiful and so colorful.
Seriously, a foodie’s heaven.
Oh, and I found the stools I want in my retro kitchen!
After walking around the market, a bunch of headed over to the hotel for our morning sessions. I had signed up for a Farm to Table discussion with the Chef at the Hotel Vitale and the manager/owner of Hearst Ranch.
It was really interesting to hear them talk about food and where it comes from – especially since we had both sides of the street (the one who raises the beef and the chef who buys/makes it for consumers).
I think the best thing (and most memorable!) was that they said “In order for something to be sustainable, it has to work for everyone”. Sustainability is such a huge thing right now, but I think that point often gets forgotten. If a process or method won’t work out for everyone involved (the grower, the buyer, the consumer, the middlemen, etc), it can never be a successful process.
I ended up having to leave the session a little early so Nick, Sabrina and I could catch a cab to where we were cooking at 12:30!!!
Ah!! After my latte that morning and the cup of coffee at the market – not to mention the ridiculous adrenaline rush – I was buzzin’ waiting for the Taste Pavilion to begin.
They had the crowds waiting behind velvet ropes – it was so surreal.
It was so much fun! The Nature’s Pride group and Foodbuzz did an awesome job of setting up our cooking stations and everything went so smoothly – pretty amazing considering none of us had ever cooked in a situation like this!
Needless to say, by the time my cooking time was up, I was just coming off a caffeine/adrenaline high and I ended up not even tasting most of what was in the room! I did try some things, and everything was awesome -
This little butternut/wild rice/pom tart was so, so good! I’m going to be recreating this soon 
New friends!
These cookies – to die for. Nick and I both loved the toffee milk chocolate chip.
All of the Nature’s Pride Bread Ambassadors!
And that’s only through 2:30 on Saturday!
Before heading back to the hotel, Nick and I walked through Chinatown since I had never been. What a cool place! The stores and restaurants we passed had the coolest things and all the food smelled so good…but I had to keep my appetite for dinner.
My dinner pictures didn’t out great from that night – the lighting was strange in a few places, but the food was amazing.
Everything was delicious, and I loved that the dinner was put on with Outstanding in the Field. They have such a great mission – it was so cool to be eating dinner in a produce warehouse with the kitchen beside you and you just know that the food you’re eating is super fresh and grown from love and passion.
We all had different plates and the table was set up so that it went all throughout the warehouse. The food was served family style, which was fun but I cannot use chopsticks for the life of me! Eating was a challenge (and funny) but I did get to try everything.
This mushroom risotto was out of this world. The crispy mushrooms on top were like nothing I had ever had before.
I had also never had beef cheeks and they were so tender – it just melted in your mouth. The brussel sprouts were probably my favorite of the night Perfectly roasted!
Loved the cookie crumble + pears on this!
They gave out the Foodbuzz awards and so many people I “knew” won! It was so exciting!
I am extremely sad this weekend is over – everything happened too quickly, I didn’t get to talk to everyone, and I’m ready for the next festival already
Thank you, thank you to Foodbuzz for an amazing festival weekend, for all the planning and thoughtfulness and the passion you have to get foodies together all across the world.
And a BIG thank you to Nature’s Pride for making it possible for me to attend.
Honestly, this was the biggest surprise of my life.
I would never have imagined that I would be cooking one of my recipes for anyone but family. I had no clue how to cook 5 years ago when I got married, so having my recipe chosen and being able to cook for other foodies is an experience I will never forget. It was a bit intimidating cooking for people who love food as much as I do, but I can’t tell you how fun and exciting it was.
These people at the festival are more than just bloggers – they’re my peers, my friends, my inspiration.
I think one of the most amazing things about this weekend was that it didn’t matter who you were talking to – you just got absorbed into new groups all the time. Everyone was friendly and talkative and hungry Being around other people who love food as much as you do makes it easy to get along and find things to talk about. The conservation never stopped, and I loved every minute.
I just hope I don’t have to wait until next November to see everyone again!
