Foodbuzz Taste Pavilion

Saturday was the big day for all the Nature’s Pride Bread Ambassadors!

We each had a caterer to help prepare some samples in advance, as well as, all the ingredients at our demonstration table to show the attendees how our recipe was prepared. I was eager to get chopping.

The demo was so fun! Having my own caterer really took the pressure off and I was able to chat with the attendees, explain how I came up for the idea for my recipe, and have them try it. It was an a-mah-zing experience.

The veggie stuffed hummus sandwiches the caterer prepared using my recipe turned out great. (I tasted one just to make sure!)

  

Originally I used the Nature’s Pride 100% Whole Wheat bread but for Saturday’s demo I was able to use Nature’s Pride’s newest variety (just released on Saturday)- the Nutty Oat loaf.  If you’re a fan of hearty sliced bread with a bit of texture you should check it out. I was given a sample last week to test and it’s awesome!

BranAppetit presented her Pumpkin French Toast

I definitely couldn’t turn down Brandi’s Pumpkin French Toast- it was the first thing I tasted after entering the pavilion. Delish!

Rhodey Girl Tests whipped up her Egg Frittata Muffins

How cute is she?

Steph Chows made Peanut Butter Choc. Chip Bread Pudding Muffins and I was able to try one of those as well, however we were cooking at the same time so I didn’t get to snap a picture. Check out her blog for more details. I also had a taste of the Fried Halloumi Cheese Toast by the Ravenous Couple but I’ve somehow misplaced the photo. Unfortunately, I had to pass on trying the Savory Pumpkin Bread Pudding by Tri to Cook because it had sausage, but everyone was raving about it. All the dishes I tried (5 out of 6) were awesome- congrats to all the Bread Ambassadors and thanks to Nature’s Pride and Foodbuzz for making it all happen!

The Foodbuzz taste pavilion was filled with so many great sponsors and vendors with delicious samples. It was like the never ending lunch…

I loved the foodbuzz wine charms. Such a neat little trinket. Now I will always be able to differentiate between my glass and Isaac’s!

The coolest part was that I hadn’t heard of the majority of the vendors and they all had such different ideas and products. I ran around like a mad women meeting all the vendors and tasting their samples. It helped to subside the nervousness of presenting later that day.

The Mission Minis from Friday night’s Street Food Fare were back and I made certain not to miss out on the pumpkin cupcakes. I’d heard marvelous reviews on Friday but unfortunately they were all out when I went to eat dessert so I ended up having the almond instead. The pumpkin totally took the cake!

The company/website that I have mentioned before called Foodzie (the Etsy for food) had a row of booths with many of it’s producers handing out samples. It was so cool to chat with the actual artisans.

I stumbled upon a product I had never heard of through the Foodzie booths- Vibrant Flavor’s Oregon Dukkah. Dukkah is a mixture of nuts, sesame seeds and Middle Eastern spices that originated in Egypt. It’s full of protein, calcium, minerals, and fiber -and tauted as the perfect healthy addition to entrees, appetizers and snacks. The dukkah comes 5 different varieties (Coconut, Sweet Dukkah, Traditional, Smoky Hot, and Zesty) The three flavors that were being sampled were the Traditional, Zesty, and Smoky Hot.

To sample the dukkah they had bread to dip in olive oil and then in the spice mix. I tried the spiciest flavor (Smoky Hot) and was very surprised by how mild it was, however it was tasty.

I would be very interested in trying the sweet varieties, particularly the coconut, as I think they would be a great topping for yogurt and other desserts.

The producer of the Oergon Dukkah also offers interestingly flavored pretzels. I was impressed by the many different flavors and the crunchiness of the pretzels. I’d even go out on a limb and say that they were the crunchiest pretzels I’ve ever had.

I tried all the flavors- the beerzels were very mild and to be honest I didn’t really taste the beer so I wasn’t too excited about that flavor. The maple bacon was vegan and tasted a lot like bacon, although still not my favorite flavor. The sweet onion and italian herb were definitely the flavors I enjoyed the most. Both basil and oregano were very much present in the italian herb and it tasted just like pizza! The roasted garlic was by far the most potent flavor offered a.k.a even one little piece could likely give you some serious garlic breath.

There were a ton of wines to sample but I did want to end up tipsy for my demo so my first and only alcoholic drink of the afternoon was The 21st Amendment Brewery’s Hell or High Watermelon Wheat beer.

I love all things watermelon so I certainly couldn’t resist trying a watermelon beer- plus Isaac is a beer connoisseur so it’s always fun to try new beers and tell taunt him about it.

One of my favorite products was La Mar’s Seasoning “Sand.” It truly did look like sand and the flavors were amazing.

The Sand chips totally won me over.

Lora and Bob, the owners of the company, told me that if you purchase the “sand” Lora also sends the recipe for her Sand Chips. I definitely see some sand chips in my near future!

Another favorite was the 479° Popcorn. I didn’t try all the flavors they had to sample, but the Madras Coconut Curry and Cashews caught my eye and I had to taste it.

It was awesome. This variety was sweet, like my beloved kettle corn, but the coconut and curry flavors shined through well. This is another product that I will probably end up purchasing in the near future.

After a lot snacky type foods I moved on to gourmet dishes made my head chefs at local restaurants.

A vegetarian wild rice cups topped with pomegranate,

That’s beets topped with a lemon meringue- I know sounds really odd, but it was surprising delicious. I could have eaten 10 of them.

Bertolli sauce bruschetta.

After all the savory samples I was ready for something sweet and of course there were plenty of options to choose from.

A pumpkin spice carmel roll

Sea salt and almond butter ganache- that was by far the best chocolate I tried all day.

And to tap everything off- there were eco-friendly utensils and plates – how cool is that!

The last event of the taste pavilion was a Foodbuzz photo booth filled with food bloggers….

I flew in late last night (from San Francisco- Charlotte – Richmond) and I’m back to work this Monday morning! I can’t wait to share the rest of the weekend’s events with you!

- Brittany

Tagged as: 479° popcorn, Foodbuzz Blogger Festival, Hell or High Watermelon wheat beer, Mission Minis, Nature's Pride bread, Oregon Dukkah, sand chips, Seasoning "sand", veggie stuffed hummus sandwich, Vibrant Flavors Pretzels