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
Yours looks incredible! I LOVE that pic with you and the knife; you know you’re REALLY adorable when you can pull that off without looking psychotic/creepy haha
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The new bread sounds tasty! Congrats again!
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Wow all of that food looks amazing!
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so much fun! I’m so glad we got to do this
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It looks like everyone had a great weekend, and all the food looks delicious! Especially the dessert…
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That is such a gorgeous photo of you!!! Hope your flight went well!
It is amazing how even though we were both at the same event we had such different experiences. I didn’t see or try about 5 of the foods you posted above! Crazy!
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everythign looks so incredible! Yummy!
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Wish I could have been there to see the demos live!
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It looks like you had a blast! Way to represent for RVA! : )
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everything looks great and love those wine glass ringers!!
that watermelon beer looks great!!
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looks like a great time
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I’ve loved keeping up with your in your recaps. This sounds like it was such an incredible experience! To be around people that all love food and sample all these yummy things – sounds like a dream come true
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Yummy food! Looks like so much fun. Food companies are getting so creative and still churning out healthy products. Health food has taken a huge step in the right direction and it’s so encouraging!
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Wow, that is a big knife you’re holding!! All the food looks great, sounds like it was an awesome trip!
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Congrats!! Looks amazing!
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That chocolate looks AWESOME!
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Your recipe looks so delicious!! Bravo!
I am jealous of all those tasty lookin pretzels!
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Hey Brittany! I’m not sure if I introduced myself to you, but I sure did introduce myself to your delicious Veggie sandwich!
I saw your scary pic with the chopping knife held high at Tina’s blog, and totally LOL-ed!!!
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you and that knife have been ALL over the food blogs. glad you had such a great time!
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Brittany! i loved that I got to meet you this weekend , you are amazing! I’m hoping we can definitely meet up again sometime soon! Are you planning on going to the Fitbloggin conference??
hope its a yes!!
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That is so neat that you got to demo a recipe! It sounds so tasty.
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So nice to meet you and cook with you! I was able to snag a bite of yours and it was great!! Man you got to try 5/6… I totally missed out on the first 2 which is a total bummer. I need to start my writeups LOL!
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How fun that you got to present your winning sandwich to people at the festival. And check out all that amazing food. I really like dukka (or duqqa). There is a local company here in BC that makes it – I have some in my cupboard actually.
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