Good food never gets old. I will eat Mission St. Cupcakes and Frog Hollow Pears till the cows come home!!
Our day started with breakfast after a brisk mile walk over the Federated Media HQ.
I was very impressed with the organic yogurt, which was as thick as greek!
And the breads and pastries – Larbs and I split a scone along with some toast and fruit
Then came the nerve wracking part of my day – public speaking! Still scares me every time. I was honored to be on a panel with some of my very favorite other blogs to read: Peas And Thank You, How Sweet Eats, Joy the Baker and shutterbean. We talked about taking your blog to the next level – what it’s taken for us to become fulltime bloggers or get book deals or move into podcasting. These other ladies are so inspiring : )
The panel ended with a taste of one of MamaPea’s new Pumpkin Molasses Dough Balls – SO DOUGHY!
I went to support Ashley in her photography lesson for Session II.
When the sessions were over, a group of us went for a walk in search of some salad greens to provide a healthy foundation for an afternoon of taste testing.
After a couple of dud restaurants that were closed, we stumbled upon a quaint French bakery that had the perfect menu –
Warm Goat Cheese salad for me!
The tasting pavilion started at 1pm – and what better to kick it off with than a cup of liquid chocolate!?
Go big or go home.
Here’s a snapshot from last year of the types of foods there are to taste. So many gourmet specialty products – including lots of cheese + chocolate!
2011 Best Of Show
TCHO chocolate
Foodzie‘s Fat Toad Farm Vanilla Bean Caramel
Alaska Seafood’s Lettuce Wraps and Terri’s Cod Chips!
Ganache by Ticings
And their beautiful patterns!
And Ball jars!
Frog Hollow Pears (always <3 )
Green Valley Organics
Fentiman’s Dandelion Soda – like a natural root beer!
Ricotta from Bellwether – like ice cream!
Hotti Biscotti – perfectly smooth crumbly
Vignette Wine Country Sodas –
Tasted like real wine without the alcohol!
CORE bars – made with raw oats that were so doughy and an impressive whole food bar
Three Twins Organic Ice cream (even better when it half melted in my hand!)
Of course, of course the CUPCAKES!! Mission St. rules. Especially the pumpkin!
Oh, and Tyler Florence was there! Impress the foodies.
Larbs and I are laying like two bumps on a log in our room while we relax for a bit and digest. The grande finale starts in 2 hours!
kaila@ healthy helper blog! says
OMG EVERYTHING LOOKS AMAZING!!! I wish I lived in that tasting pavilion!!!
Sana says
🙂 Soo jealous, everything looks amazing!
lynn @ the actor's diet says
i miss those frog hollow pears!
Molly @ RDexposed says
Next year: Chia seed beer! Ha. In the mean time I want one of those ganache!
Laura @ Sprint 2 the Table says
You guys were great this morning!
My favorite taste this afternoon was the CORE bar. And the 21st Amendment beers. 🙂
Hope to meet you tonight!!!
KathEats says
Definitely – come find me!!
Cait's Plate says
Gah! It all looks SO SO good!! Glad you’re having such a blast!!
Susan H. @ the food allergy chronicles says
Wow! It all looks so amazing! Real food…real people…living life to the fullest…and sharing it with others! Thank you!
Beth @ Beth's Journey says
Hey! That’s me in your last photo talking to Tyler Florence. SWOON!
KathEats says
omg!! Let’s say hi tonight!
Lauren @ Oatmeal after Spinning says
I just looked at that and thought “is that Beth??” 🙂 Lucky girl!!
Julie H. of Spinach and Sprinkles says
That is amazing! …From that one picture, I totally recognized SO many of my favorite bloggers! You are all awesome!
J @ Ess and Jae V2.0 says
Holy cow, this look freakin’ amazing!!! Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!
Sarena (The Non-Dairy Queen) says
Now that looks like a delicious day and Tyler Florence to boot! Yum!
emily says
Aww, I’m so jealous I couldn’t go this year! The tasting pavillion was my favorite part during the ‘Fest I attended!
Christine (The Raw Project) says
You were awesome on the blogger panel and smart move getting some greens before the tasting panel, wish I did! 🙂
KathEats says
Thanks!! Hope we can meet tonight!
Amanda says
Public speaking also makes me nervous, but it sounds like you rocked it! 🙂
What an amazing day…and Tyler Florence?! Crazy awesome.
Emily says
Looks incredible!! I’d love to try that organic ice cream!
Christine @ Oatmeal in my Bowl says
So would have loved to meet and take a picture with Tyler Florence. I so miss his Ultimate Breakfast show.
I know all of you did well on speaking. Even with as nerve wracking as it was. And the food… I am just gaining weight looking at the pics. 😉
elle @ nutritionella says
Hey Kath! I’m in school with Anne and totally meant to come find you today after telling her I was going to hunt you down – but alas, I lost you in the group. 😉 I loved your panel presentation & your photos of the tasting this afternoon are fab! I’ll be missing out on the gala but have a blast tonight! Hope to meet you some day 🙂
KathEats says
Sorry to have missed you!!
Angela @ Eat Spin Run Repeat says
Ooooh wow the Mission St cupcakes sound amazing! I visited the Frog Hollow stand when I was at the Ferry Building in October and sampled some of their pears and pluots… SOOOOO good! I wish I could have stayed longer. It looks like you had a great day today and how fun that you were able to do a session with so many other great bloggers – they’re some of my fave ladies too! Totally wish I was there.. maybe next year! Can’t wait to see more!
Jen says
Yum, that salad with the bread in it looks delish!
I’m not that culinary savvy…who is Tyler Florence? 😉 And who’s who in the photo of the 6 of you ladies? I recognize you, Mama Pea and Jessica. Mama Pea is so tall!
Katie @ Peace Love and Oats says
I think I would eat myself sick if I were there!!! It all looks so delicious!
TeenyLittleSuperChef says
Oh my goodness, I’m so totally bummed for not being able to eat all those yummy foods with all of you. I think I would feel as though I’d died and gone to cupcake/chocolate heaven. What a good way to go, huh. And Tyler Florence! What a babe. Did you get to meet him? I hope you two are having an awesome time and I can’t wait to see what festivities go on tonight! Have fun!
Averie @ Love Veggies and Yoga says
The grande finale starts in 2 hours…wow, it’s over…in the blink of an eye!
Congrats on your win, Kath. I know how hard you work at your blog and give it your all; major congrats on your success and award!!
And love the group shot of all the ladies and I’m sure the panel was great. And I wish I could have heard Ashley’s session.
Angel7 says
What a food extravaganza!!!
The Alaska Seafood’s Lettuce Wraps look awesome! I wish I had some right now.
http://faithfulsolutions.blogspot.com/
Ashley @ My Food 'N' Fitness Diaries says
Oh my, looks and sounds like food heaven to me!! Looks like a glorious time so far!
kathleen @ the daily crumb says
wow. i am insanely jealous as i type this! thanks for “taking us all with you”, though, even if we can’t taste through the screen! how fun that you are able to attend with larbs this year. enjoy the evening!
Gina @ Running to the Kitchen says
Oh I could look at Tyler all day. I went to a cooking demo he did as part of the Food Network Food & wine festival in NYC last year and just stared the entire time 🙂
Christine Bowers says
So happy for you Kath! Enjoy your time there.
erica says
ack! tyler florence! i heart him.
i just tried that cream on top yogurt on friday, it was yummy and i let my dog have some and he LOVED it!
Annette @ EnjoyYourHealthyLife says
Oh WOW. That stuff looks amazing. I want some of that ice cream. And STAT.
Ashley @ Coffee Cake and Cardio says
YAY!! You must be having so much fun!! Love it
Lauren @ What Lauren Likes says
What an amazing amazing show! Howw cool 😀
jojo says
I would stuff myself if I was there!! Looks like an amazing event.
I only have it occasionally, but I love cream top yogurt, its sooo creamy… yummy…. the best!
Lindsay says
Agree – vanilla bean caramel was a hit! And those Wine Country sodas… so palate cleansing and crisp.
I can tell by the chairs (and the scenery) that your goat cheese salad came from La Boulange. It’s a famous Bay Area chain of cafes/bakeries. I’m always looking for excuses to stop by for breakfast!
Khushboo says
Pssh who needs vodka when you can have shots of chocolate instead!
Chelsea @ One Healthy Munchkin says
I skipped out on THIS for midterms?! What is wrong with me? 😛 All the samples look amazing.
Congrats on your presentation!
Anna says
Mmmmm whole milk yogurt and fried goat cheese. So decadent!!
And I love the Bellwether Farms napkins with the sheeps 🙂
Fran@ Broken Cookies Don't Count says
What fun! I need to get to a Foodbuzz festival!
Hope says
Everything looks delicious!!! I’m jealous that I didn’t get to attend 😉
Julia H. @ The Petite Spiel says
I haven’t been wanting salad in quite a while (which is pretty odd for me), but I think that salad up there just put me in the mood again. Crispy bread and huge chunks of goat cheese on greens? Uggggg I want!
Michaela says
fabulous!
I wish I was there, too. I bet it is so much fun.
Meagan says
Tyler Florence… he’s definitely one of my favorites! So jealous you got to see him in real person.
Amelia says
Clover is one of my favorite yogurt brands — their cows are grass fed on family pastures from start to finish, which is so nice…and I think the taste reflects this extra TLC!
Oh, and HELLO TYLER FLORENCE!
~Christy @ wonderofallthings says
Hooray for Tyler! Love him. Looks like so much fun tasting your way through the afternoon. How do you think your session went? Is there any one big take-away that you can share?
KathEats says
I think it went well, but I wasn’t on the receiving end! Joy, Jessica and I summed up a few points at the end:
1) Be yourself. Write as you and not who you might think people want to read
2) Have a sharp blog design and focus on taking great photos in natural light
3) Engage with your audience
Emily says
Trust me, you should be on the panel with those ladies that inspire you. You deserve it!
Jeff says
Kath!
It was great seeing you again on Saturday! Shoot me an email with shipment info… we have some Frog Hollow love to send!
Best,
Jeff
PS: Just gave you a shout out on our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/froghollowfarm
KathEats says
Thanks for the shout out Jeff!! Just ate my pear for breakfast 🙂
Kate G. says
Did you try Three Twins’ cardamom ice cream? That flavor is some next-level goodness — I like it more than any chocolate flavor I’ve ever tried (which is saying a lot). Their Lemon Cookie variety is awesome, too! 🙂 Despite our foggy weather, SF has some of the best ice-cream offerings around!
KathEats says
No I wanted to but they didn’t have it for sampling!
Kate G. says
Oh, man: if you can get your hands on some, do it! It’s especially awesome served with: 1) crumbled cookies from Bi-Rite; or 2) pomegranate arils. (The latter option makes ice cream all the more virtuous ;).)
Ashley says
Thanks for coming to support!! 🙂 I’m borrowing the photo of me for a post! So great catching up with you this weekend. xo