Find out all of the information about Food Revolution Day in Orlando below, provided by Livepretty.com and make sure to RSVP to attend this event.

JAMIE OLIVER FOUNDATION LAUNCHES INAUGURAL FOOD REVOLUTION DAY  
Celebrate Food Revolution Day Orlando with Free Family Urban Farm Tours
Winter Park Harvest Festival, Edible Orlando magazine, Slow Food Orlando and Livepretty.com Combine Efforts in First-Ever Day to Stand Up for Real Food

WHAT: 

The Jamie Oliver Foundation is launching its first-ever Food Revolution Day, a global day of action to inspire, educate, and empower people everywhere to stand up for real food. Thousands of people worldwide will participate in events to raise awareness on preventing diet-related diseases, and to arm people with the knowledge and tools to make healthier food choices.

Here in Orlando, the Winter Park Harvest Festival, Edible Orlando, Slow Food Orlando and Livepretty.com have combined efforts for Food Revolution Day Orlando featuring Family Urban Farm Tours where attendees can:
·       Learn about how the Urban Farm was developed and thrives, and tips and tricks you can use in your own garden.
·       Enjoy a seasonal collard greens cooking demonstration and cook-off featuring top regional foodies and chefs – Dawn Viola, Elisa Scarpa and Sarah Cahill.
·       Bring the family to enjoy children’s art & planting activities, and family entertainment provided by Florida Hospital’s Healthy 100 and Mission: FIT Possible programs.
·       Enter a food-lovers raffle featuring prizes from Loews Royal Pacific Resort at Universal Orlando, Whole Foods Market Winter Park, the Audubon Park Community Market, Ethos Vegan Kitchen and The Spice & Tea Exchange to support Florida schools through The Jamie Oliver Foundation food education box project.

WHEN:    
Saturday, May 19, 2012,
Tours start at 10 a.m., 11 a.m. and 12 p.m.

WHERE:           
Winter Park Urban Farm
1650 Pine Ave.
Winter Park, FL 32789
Park and play in nearby Phelps Park. Street parking is also available on the north side of Pine and Elm.

COST:           
Free
Raffle tickets available for $3 each the day of the event.

RSVP:             
Space is limited, so please register to attend online at livepretty.com/foodrevorlando

WHY:              
The majority of the world’s population is more likely to die from obesity than from hunger. In fact, in America, more people die from diet-related diseases every year than drugs, alcohol and war combined. Food Revolution Day aims to empower people to make healthier food choices that lead to healthier lives. One hundred percent of Food Revolution Day net funds raised will go to support food education projects for both children and adults through the Jamie Oliver Foundation in the U.S., UK and Australia.
 
WHO:            
For more information about Food Revolution Day, visit foodrevolutionday.com.
Food Revolution Day Orlando is hosted by:

The Winter Park Harvest Festival, a project of A Local Folkus, is a day long event focused on connecting the grass-roots with the deep-roots of our local food-shed by celebrating our local farmers, gardeners, entrepreneurs and non-profits. Visit winterparkharvestfestival.com for more information.

Edible Orlando is a quarterly magazine that celebrates the foods, farmers and chefs of Central Florida and its beaches. Visit edibleorlando.com for more information.

Slow Food Orlando is a chapter of Slow Food USA, a non-profit educational organization dedicated to supporting and celebrating the food traditions of North America through programs and activities dedicated to Taste Education, Defending Biodiversity and Building Food Communities. Visit slowfoodusa.org for more information.

LivePretty.com is an Orlando-based lifestyle blog dedicated to family, food, and entertaining, with a special focus on sharing both the extraordinary and everyday moments of our lives. 

MEDIA CONTACT:        
Julia Montgomery Stewart
407-310-4694
julia@livepretty.com

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The new Eat St. iPhone App helps both the users and vendors. Users can search vendor listings by proximity, popularity and cuisine type. Viewable information on the App are vendor hours of operation, location, menu and specials, directions via GPS and Twitter feed where applicable. For the vendors, they have the ability to claim their cart, allowing them to keep hours, menus and locations up to date. An integrated Twitter feed also allows vendors to push messages out to app users who are researching their cart. With everyone participating and using the App, finding food trucks and food carts will be even easier, as both the users and vendors add information to stay current.

Want more info and the newly updated Eat St. iPhone App? Check out the press info below and hit the download link at the bottom of this post! It’s a FREE App!

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Discover the best street food in your city with the improved Eat St. App! The new version of the Eat St. App for iPhone is NOW available for download!

VANCOUVER, May 9, 2012 – The street food revolution has given rise to North America’s tastiest, juiciest fleet of mobile eateries and Eat St. wants to be your fearless captain.

The new version of the Eat St. iPhone App, developed by Invoke and Paperny Entertainment to complement the popular Food Network television series, can now direct you to the best street food dishes in your city, as verified by the experts — street food aficionados like you. Local foodies can snap pictures of a food cart’s individual dishes, rate them and offer tips for the benefit of locals and tourists. A city’s food carts and dishes are ranked, so users can quickly see the must-try dishes locally, in every city in North America. 

Just like in the previous version, the Eat St. App will display local delicacies and the carts that serve them. Integration with Google Maps makes finding your next street meal a breeze. Foodies demanded new features and the Eat St. App is excited to deliver:

• More accurate locations

• More food cart menus

• A “to-do” list of dishes to try later

• More video content from the Eat St. TV series

• The biggest street food database on earth – more than 4,000 carts and trucks!

The iPhone App is launching alongside Season 3 of Paperny Entertainment’s hit TV series, Eat St., premiering at 10pm ET/ PT tonight on Food Network Canada and 8pm on May 15th on The Cooking Channel in the U.S. Discover the most incredible food carts in North America and the UK, and then take it to the streets with the App to kick off your most delectable summer yet.

What are you waiting for? Download the new and improved Eat St. App for iPhone and discover your next favorite food truck meal today!

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The conference weekend started on a Friday evening with a opening reception at the Tampa Museum of Art. The event had tasty bites and desserts, along with some potent mixed drinks. A fun time for conversations, introductions and re-connecting with food blogger friends. (I only took iPhone photos that went on Foodspotting and Instagram.)

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On Saturday morning, food bloggers gathered at The Roosevelt 2.0, the event space for TECHmunch conference. The location was a great pick, offering an artsy and cozy atmosphere, far from the usual conference room hall or classroom. The walls had colorful painted artwork and it was a comfortable space to learn in that sparked creativity.

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Morning breakfast in a box, with baked goods from Datz Deli in Tampa.

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I missed the details about the cold coffee, but it was a good brew. Add some creamer and sugar, then shake… very enjoyable.

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Jeff Houck, writer for the Tampa Tribune, gave a warm welcome and opening remarks.

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TECHmunch Founder, Babette of Bakespace.com gives an overview about TECHmunch, its history and goals for the conference.

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The first panel was up and it was our time to take a seat on the stage. This was the view from my seat, I was not expecting the large photos, but at least twitter handles were posted.

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Thanks to Photographer Bill Leon in Tampa for sharing these photos!

Tapping into and Leveraging Food Trends and Social Media
The panel: Moderator Erik Deutsch, Todd Sturtz of Tastingtampa.com, Droolius, Brian Roberts of Roosevelt 2.0, Eric Hochberger of tvfanatic.com

My first time speaking at a blog conference and it went well. With the topics of discussion, we all had something good to say and share with the audience. Everything said seemed to be relevant and it was noted live on Twitter via #techmunch hashtag. We discussed the local food scene, food trends in using local products from local farmers. I mentioned “Support local farmers by blogging about them”, which correlated with Brian Roberts speaking about the focus of Roosevelt 2.0 and the local food and sustainable movement. Todd of TastingTampa and I both spoke about local restaurants and food trucks in the Tampa and Orlando markets, while Eric of tvfanatic.com shared the inside scoop of using social media in the television and celebrity world. I think we all had something valuable to share about our use of apps, social media, and how we incorporate it into everyday life.

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Another photo of our panel, courtesy of Gerardo Luna of Tampa Daily Photo

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Snacks during the conference. I really enjoyed these berries from Driscoll’s!

 
Even though I was a speaker at this conference, I stuck around the rest of my day to get my learn on. After all, we can always learn from someone else and I did take notes to share…

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Content Strategy – Moderator Erik Deutsch, Sara O’Donnell of AverageBetty.com, Merry-Jennifer Markam of MerryGourmet.com, and Sandi McKenna of MidlifeRoadTrip.tv

This session focused on creating valuable content for readers, releasing content in a timely manner, and how to improve content with video and using other tools.

A few valuable tid-bits:
• When you experience a creative stint, write a lot and stock pile blog posts. Stagger posts and optimize posts to when you get the most traffic.
• Companies come to you because you have something they need. They trust your voice for your followers because your audience trusts you.
• Use Google Analytics to see who is interested in you, finding which companies are snooping around.
• In making videos, invest in audio to sound like a pro!

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A Down and Dirty Conversation about SEO for Food Writing with Josh Unseth
A basic run down on SEO with understandable examples like “chicken teriyaki” and how changes in Google affect websites and searchable content. A few key points:

• Content is king – content will get rankings
• Websites that Google trusts are gold when you get a link from those sites – more links from those sites creates more authority on your site
• Google has doc 60 page document on what they care about – what they like/don’t like:
http://static.googleusercontent.com/external_content…

Lunch Time

The Taco Bus came out and catered our meal. This was my first time having this food truck and I was excited from all of the recommendations from my friends.

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Rene Valenzuela, owner and chef of Taco Bus, shared his story with us. The business started out with one bus, and now has expanded to three locations.

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We started lunch with the Taco Bus staff serving us Tostadas with guacamole. This guacamole is probably the best I have tasted to date, and I am not exaggerating. I even heard a Los Angeles based blogger say so, that must say something considering the availability of Mexican food in L.A.

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Taco Bus Tostada with guacamole – For a simple dish, the guacamole had lots of great flavor.

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We all ordered our own plate from the Taco Bus. They offered a limited menu for the conference, with a choice of shredded chicken, pork, and tofu tacos, served with rice and beans.

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At the time, I didn’t think to order all 3 tacos to taste them all, but I went with one pork and one chicken verde. Both were great, full of authentic flavors, the meats tender and juicy. The chicken actually impressed me (which is hard to do for chicken) with its savory flavor and sauce. The beans and rice were just like my childhood friend’s parents used to make when I was younger. The Taco Bus was a treat and the real deal with authentic Mexican food.

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Food bloggers taking photos of food, food bloggers, and the food truck. We all had a fun lunch.

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Pitching Brands with Pros
Moderator Erik Deutsch, Laura Baddish of The Baddish Group, Ray Lampe of DRBBQ.com, Jaden Hair of SteamyKitchen.com, and Jeff Houck of Tampa Tribune

This panel, from the pros, gave us all an in depth perspective on working with Brands and PR agencies. Lots of valuable content from these seasoned experts. They shared their stories from how they started, to how they currently work with each other, and with major brands on various projects. A few important tips:

• Interact with brands via social media first, build a rapport, then ask permission to pitch.
• Pitch seasonally and make it relevant.
• Best pitches are direct. Ask directly and don’t make a company work to figure out your intentions.

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Future of food content – The Digital Kitchen
Moderator Erik Deutsch, Babette Pepaj Founder of TECHmunch / BakeSpace.com / CookbookCafe.com, Steve Wilson and Tom Setzer co-founders of GrillingCompanion.com

This session discussed blog content and different ways in building an App. Also how to get an App discovered and approved.
• Content from different sources has different meanings.
• Building an App for your website, extends your brand.
• Just because a person can build an App doesn’t mean they can build YOUR App

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10 Tips to Boost Your Food Photography with Susan Filson of stickygooeycreamychewy.com

Food photographer Susan Filson was giving the next presentation on how to boost your food photography. She walked on stage and said, “Where are My “People”? I want “people” too.” So I volunteered myself to help out a fellow photographer and to be her “people”. Todd from TastingTampa also came up and we both sat with her during the presentation as her “People”.

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Photo courtesy of Tampa photographer Bill Leon

The presentation had lots of good photography tips and I listened and followed along on the laptop screen. I didn’t take notes, but luckily Susan has the slide show presentation posted on her TECHmunch recap: http://stickygooeycreamychewy.com/2012/04/24/techmunch…

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The conference came to a close and it was really another good learning experience within the food blog community. The best part for me is the networking with fellow food bloggers and making new friends in the area and out of state. I’m not sure why I never make it to the Tampa area, It is so close but yet so far. The area has a growing food scene, which I will definitely be exploring with blogger CarlosEats and more local bloggers. Big thanks to all of the sponsors and event coordinators who made the event happen. I had a great time participating as a panelist and really enjoyed listening to all of the speakers that day. It was definitely a good time meeting everyone at TECHmunch. Until next time, see you all in your city or at another conference.

Stay in contact:

Twitter @Droolius
Facebook Facebook.com/DrooliusBlog

 
Words and photos by Julius Mayo Jr.
Content and photos © Droolius.com 2012

Media Contact:
Shaina Anderson
Big Wheel Provisions
321.775.5684
shaina@bigwheelprovisions.com

For Immediate Release
May 4, 2012

Bacon Off to Feature Orlando’s
Big Wheel Truck vs. C&S Brisket Bus
in the Battle of the Bacon

Bacon Off: The Fight Your Mouth Wants.

On this Father’s Day, Sunday, June 17, 2012, the Big Wheel Truck and the C&S Brisket Bus, Orlando’s award winning food trucks, will place their house cured and house smoked bacon head to head for guests to choose the best bacon.

Starting off as playful Twitter banter between the two trucks on whose bacon is best, Bacon Off has developed into a multi-sponsored event, with the promise to bring some friendly fire to Orlando’s bacon lovers. As a first event of it’s kind in Orlando, the $30 ticket price includes a bacon sampler plate from each truck, with tastes of bacon in 5 different categories; guests will vote on their favorite, and the winner of each category receives bacon bragging rights. Ticket price also includes access to a bacon-filled buffet and a free beer.

Bacon categories to include: Best Original Bacon, Best Novelty Bacon, Best Bacon Side, Best Bacon Product, Bacon Grand Champion.

Bacon Off is being held at the construction site of the new East End Market in the Audubon Park Garden District. To be opened in late 2012, the East End Market will be an indoor farmer’s market, open to the public 7 days a week, and will also feature a commercial kitchen, restaurant, event space, office space and adjacent outdoor garden.

Event Producer, Miami’s Sef Gonzalez of Burger Beast, is making his event debut in the Orlando market. Burger Beast’s widely reaching blog promotes Comfort Food in the Southeast, and has supported the rise of Florida’s food trucks. Additional event sponsorships include local blogger and producer Mark Baratelli of The Daily City, and local food blogger Julius Mayo of Droolius.

Tickets are $30 each, and can be purchased at www.baconofforlando.com. Tickets can also be purchased directly from the Big Wheel Truck or the C&S Brisket Bus during service hours.

About:

Big Wheel Food Truck: With a mission to feature the best of Central Florida’s locally sourced food, the Big Wheel Truck rolls around Orlando 6 days a week, bringing handmade, locally sourced food to the masses. Within a year of opening, Big Wheel was named 8 times “Orlando’s Best Food Truck, featured on The Cooking Channel’s Eat Street, the cover of the Orlando Sentinel, the cover of Orlando Weekly, filmed a commercial with Square, and featured in countless Orlando blogs and magazines. www.bigwheeltruck.com www.bigwheelprovisions.com

C&S Brisket Bus: Mobile Gourmet Delicatessen. We cure. We smoke. We braise. Fresh baked bread. House made condiments. Generous portions. www.facebook.com/CSBrisketBus

Burger Beast: Sef Gonzalez, better known as Burger Beast, is a respected South Florida Food Blogger, with national reach, who writes about unique food experiences. Although his blog was originally created to find the best burger in Miami, it now represents a publication with the aim to shine light on the often overlooked, undiscovered, and unappreciated culinary gems of South Florida and other noteworthy destinations. Burger Beast has also written for Broward New Times, edible south Florida, The Miami Herald and Ocean Drive Magazine.
www.burgerbeast.com

 

Droolius is proud to be a sponsor of this event!

Make sure to buy your tickets online www.baconofforlando.com

Like the Facebook Page www.facebook.com/BaconOffOrlando
Follow Twitter for updates @BaconOffOrlando

I have always wanted to combine Red Velvet donuts with bacon for some reason. It’s not too much of a stretch. You can find chocolate covered bacon being sold, as well as bacon donuts, and they both seem to be a hit around the U.S. I’ve tasted both (individually) in the past and I must admit chocolate and bacon pair well together, and so does bacon and donuts. Since Red Velvet donuts are chocolate based, why not top it with candied bacon? It was an idea I just had to do and after doing some research on how to make donuts at home, I decided to go for it.

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Baked Red Velvet Donut with Candied Bacon

I actually made these “bacon donuts” for the CFL Food Blogger Bake Sale last weekend, hoping the public would “get it” and enjoy these sweet and savory donuts. Everyone seemed to like the combination and I received positive feedback. I’ve received several tweets and a few emails about the recipe, so I’m posting it here for you all to try.

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Author: Droolius Baked Red Velvet Donut with Candied Bacon topping
Baked Red Velvet Donuts adapted from Katie’s Cucina
Prep time: 30 mins
Cook time donuts: 12-15 mins
Cook time bacon: 30 mins
Total time: 45 mins
Serves: 12

Ingredients for donuts and glaze:
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• 1.5 oz unsweetened chocolate, melted
• 1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 2 tbsp red food coloring

Instructions for donuts:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Spray a donut pan with baking spray (cooking spray ok). Melt the butter and chocolate in separate bowls in the microwave.
2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. In another bowl, mix together the sugar and egg. Add the melted butter and melted chocolate to the egg-sugar mixture. Add the vanilla, buttermilk, and red food coloring.
4. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, mixing just until combined. (It is a thick batter)
5. Fill the donut pan with the batter, filling each about 1/2 full in donut pan. Bake in preheated oven for 12-14 minutes.
6. Let donuts cool on cooling rack before glazing and adding topping.

*Note: Must have candied bacon prepared before glazing.

Instructions for vanilla glaze:
In a medium sized bowl, stir together 2 cups confectioners sugar, 1 tablespoon half & half, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract and 4 tbsp hot water (not boiling). Stir well together, making sure all ingredients are well incorporated, until sugar is dissolved completely. Use immediately.

*If the glaze starts to harden you can add more hot water.

Ingredients for candied bacon:
• 1/2 package of low sodium bacon
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 tbsp sugar

Instructions for candied bacon:
1. Preheat oven to 275F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and place the individual strips of bacon so it all fits onto pan. (about 1/2 package will cover 12 donuts)
2. Bake in preheated oven 20-25 mins, until slightly crispy.
3. Take bacon out of oven, place pieces on paper towels to absorb excess grease and let cool.
4. Chop up bacon into small squares.
5. In a pan over medium high heat, melt butter. Once melted add bacon and stir.
6. Add sugar gradually and continue to stir for a few minutes, coating all pieces of bacon.
7. Once coated, remove from heat and let cool.

Topping instructions:

1. Immediately dip donut into glaze, about 3/4 of the way and place on cooling rack.
2. Sprinkle candied bacon on each donut while the glaze is still warm, allow it to cool for a few minutes and bacon will set into glaze.
3. Once cooled, you can add more glaze on top if necessary.

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A few notes:

• It is up to you if you want to prepare the candied bacon first or donuts first. Since you have to let both cool, either one is fine.
• The glaze is made last, before adding topping
• I baked the donuts first, then candied the bacon, combined the glaze, then added topping.

BIG thanks to Katie from Katie’s Cucina who gave me tips about baking and answered my many questions about baking these donuts. When I told her my idea for the bake sale, she was totally supportive. Thanks!

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This is only my second recipe on the blog, so hopefully the steps and directions make sense. In the end, enjoy the donuts and let me know how yours turned out in the comments below. Happy baking and happy eating, they go great with coffee!

 
Words and photos by Julius Mayo Jr.
Content and photos © Droolius.com 2012

 

Check out the photos from the bake sale, it was a great collaborative effort and we all had a good time.

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The bake sale was just around the corner from the weekly Winter Park Farmers Market, so we were definitely trying to pull the crowd from there…

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Chris from EatLocalOrlando was the voice of our bake sale and did a great job vocally, grabbing the attention of people walking by, to stop and buy some bake goods.

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The table on the left featured baked vegan sweets and bread by Jacqueline from BeyondNFinity. The tent was where most of the baked goods and food bloggers hid from the hot sun.

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EatLocalOrlando Dream Bars, Droolius Baked Red Velvet Donuts with candied bacon aka “Bacon Donuts”, and Eclectic Recipes various cookies.

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The individually wrapped Baked Red Velvet Donuts with candied bacon or “Bacon Donuts” as Chris from EatLocalOrlando yelled. They were pretty good and I was surprised they sold out.

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Pink lemonade cookies by Eclectic Recipes

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Chocolate Cupcakes with Biscoff Buttercream Icing by The Little Kitchen

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Baked Sweets from Forkful

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Megayummo cupcakes and TastyChomps Cookies

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More Megayummo cupcakes

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Stay Calm Have a Cupcake cupcakes

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Kettle Corn Toffee Cookies, Rice Krispie Pops, and various sweets from Simply Southern

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Mason jar cookie mix – Toffee Blondies by My Sweet Zepol

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Rice Krispie treats, granola, and more by Katie’s Cucina.

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Raffle prizes from various companies like KitchenAid, Chicago Metallic, and Driscoll’s Berries donated products while restaurants donated gift certificates like Timpano Italian Chophouse, NaraDeva Thai, Auntie Dawn’s Bakery, and Korean BBQ Taco Box. These were only of few of many companies that made the raffle happen and raising funds a success.

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Twitter friend @missskye came out to support the bake sale and bought a Baked Red Velvet Donut with Candied Bacon. Thanks! Anyone like my Donut shirt?

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The group shot of food bloggers who stayed up late baking or spent the few days prior baking. We made it happen and raised funds for a good cause.

(Back row) Droolius, Angie from Eclectic Recipes, Wanda from My Sweet Zepol, Robin from Simply Southern, Katie from Katie’s Cucina., Julie from The Little Kitchen, Chris from EatLocalOrlando , Ricky from Tasty Chomps. (Front row) Jillian from Stay Calm Have a Cupcake, Marilyn from Forkful, Pearleen from Mega Yummo and Jacqueline from BeyondNFinity.

Big shout out and thanks goes to John Rife and the Winter Park Harvest Festival office for letting us bloggers use the spot outside their building.

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The Baked Red Velvet Donut with Candied Bacon recipe is coming up next! Stay tuned…

 
Words and photos by Julius Mayo Jr.
Content and photos © Droolius.com 2012

 

This Saturday May 5, 2012 is the Inaugural Winter Garden Harvest Festival. The festival events will be held in the downtown, historic district of Winter Garden at 104 S. Lakeview Avenue, Winter Garden, FL 34787. During the day from 9am until 5pm, the festival features local farmers, local food, craft vendors, a few food trucks and more. The festival has live entertainment and family-friendly activities.

Specialty events are taking place as well. “Sips and Skylines” event is sponsored by Edible Orlando Magazine from 4-6pm and a Farm-to-Table dining event is scheduled 7-10pm. See the details below for all of the festival information and click on the links to register for the special events and for more information about the festival.

p.s. They are looking for volunteers! *Be a volunteer! Learn more here.

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INAUGURAL WINTER GARDEN HARVEST FESTIVAL
Festival to Celebrate Winter Garden’s Agricultural Heritage and Showcase the City’s Unique Food Culture

WINTER GARDEN, FL – A Local Folkus, LLC, producers of the fall Winter Park Harvest Festival, are partnering with the City of Winter Garden and Slow Food Orlando to produce the first Winter Garden Harvest Festival this spring.

The festival will take place on May 5th, 2012 in the heart of Winter Garden’s Downtown Historic District from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. It will feature a local, producer-only farmers market adjacent to the city’s existing Saturday market. The event will offer an assortment of local food, craft vendors, farm and food related demonstrations, family-friendly activities, and live entertainment. Neighbors and visitors alike will have an opportunity to interact with local food purveyors, gardeners, and food experts throughout the day.

From 4:00 to 6:00 p.m., Edible Orlando Magazine has partnered with the festival to hold “Sips and Skylines,” a rooftop garden tour of Green Sky Growers and a cocktail tasting and mixology demo in Winter Garden’s new restaurant, Al Fresco.

Following the daytime festivities, a Farm-to-Table dining event will take place from 7:00 to 10:00pm in Winter Garden’s beautiful downtown pavilion. The ticketed dinner will highlight West Orange County’s chefs’ local, seasonal farm-fresh ingredients, as well as some of Central Florida’s best micro brews.

This event is an opportunity to celebrate the City of Winter Garden’s farming heritage, while spotlighting its modern connection to the local food scene. In an effort to build on the community’s unique history and offer more options to its citizens, the City of Winter Garden has made local food a priority. For instance, the city has championed a highly successful farmers market in the Downtown Pavilion, and has furthermore developed a farm incubation program to help small farmers grow their businesses on city-owned land. Through these efforts, and through the first Winter Garden Harvest Festival, the city will continue to strengthen its community bonds and will further the availability of local food to its citizens and businesses.

*Purchase your tickets for the Farm to Table Dinner – here.
*Register for “Sips and Skylines”- here.
*Want to be a vendor? Apply here.
*Be a volunteer! Learn more here.

More information: www.WinterGardenHarvestFestival.com

Like the Winter Garden Harvest Festival Facebook Page

Contact: Heather Grove
Cell: 407-702-3473
Email: WGharvest@gmail.com

 
Photo by Julius Mayo Jr.
Content and photos © Droolius.com 2012

 

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As if you didn’t need another reason to come out, let this tantalizing Baked Red Velvet Donut topped with Candied Bacon lure you out tomorrow and support our bake sale.

There will also be an opportunity to buy raffle tickets to win some awesome prizes too. Find the CFL Food Bloggers Bake Sale Raffle Information at Katie’s Cucina.

This local bake sale is held in conjunction with the National Food Blogger Bake Sale and benefits Share Our Strength – an organization trying to end childhood hunger in the U.S.

You can also donate online at the CFL Food Blogger Share Our Strength page if you just want to support us or if you cannot make it.

ALL proceeds will go to the Share Our Strength organization.

 
Here’s the event details:

When: Saturday, April 28, 2012 from 10am to 1pm.

Location: 427 S. New York Ave, Winter Park, FL 32789

On sale: baked good include cupcakes, cakes, brownies, cake pops, doughnuts and more. There will also be some raffle prizes too.

 
Are you ready for the Baked Red Velvet Donut with Candied Bacon topping? Come out tomorrow and give it a try, before it runs out!

 
Words and photos by Julius Mayo Jr.
Content and photos © Droolius.com 2012

 

I signed up to participate in the Central Florida Food Blogger Bake Sale coming up this Saturday, April 28, 2012. Droolius bakes? Sure, why not? I’ve baked in the past and it turned out well. Want a taste of what my fellow food bloggers and I are baking? Come out to Winter Park and join us for our local bake sale, which is held in conjunction with the National Food Blogger Bake Sale and benefits Share Our Strength – an organization trying to end childhood hunger in the U.S.

ALL proceeds will go to the Share Our Strength organization.

The bake sale is being organized by Julie of The Little Kitchen and Katie of Katie’s Cucina. Last year, the group of food bloggers from the community raised over $1300. This year we all hope to raise over $2000 for this great cause!

So what can you do? Come out and buy some baked goods! You can also donate online at the CFL Food Blogger Share Our Strength page if you just want to support us or if you cannot make it.

Here’s the event details:

When: Saturday, April 28, 2012 from 10am to 1pm.

Location: 427 S. New York Ave, Winter Park, FL 32789

On sale: baked good include cupcakes, cakes, brownies, cake pops, doughnuts and more. There will also be some raffle prizes too.

Who: Here’s the blog roll call…

The Little Kitchen
Katie’s Cucina

Eclectic Recipes

MegaYummo!

Droolius

Eat Local Orlando

Forkful

Simply Southern Baking

ThatsSoYummy

My Sweet Zepol

Recipebox

Stay Calm Have a Cupcake

Tasty Chomps

So what is Droolius baking? You will just have to come out and see for yourself. All I can say, it will be good! Maybe I can post a preview and give you something to drool over, just so you will come out this Saturday.

More info: http://www.thelittlekitchen.net/bake-sale-2012/

Facebook invite: https://www.facebook.com/events/345113555547190/

Use the hashtag #fbbakesale to help promote this on Twitter.

Hope to see you there!

There were many dishes and drinks to taste, however I was not able to try all of them. Even if I was not busy taking photos of the event, not sure how far I would get in tasting each dish. Here’s most of the dishes I tasted and the photos I captured…

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The start of the Food & Wine at Portofino 2012, the crowd was just starting to enter the event.

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Each restaurant or chef had a table serving their dishes, with a few exotic cars around. Ferrari Enzo!

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Small plates or bowls for sampling of all of the chef and restaurant creations.

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Plating his dishes is Top Chef season 7 winner Kevin Sbraga, from his Philadelphia based restaurant, SBRAGA.

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Kevin Sbraga, SBRAGA
Escargot and Vegetable Fricassee, Spring Garlic

A good mix of savory and hearty flavors.

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Currently based in Miami, Chef Kenny Gilbert was voted the Top Chef Fan Favorite from season 7. He is the Corporate Chef for 50 Eggs Restaurant Group Inc. and we just saw him in Miami from our previous post from brunch at Yardbird Southern Table.

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Kenny Gilbert 50 Eggs Restaurant Group Inc.
Cinnamon Coffee Rubbed Quail, Toasted Irish Steel Cut Oatmeal, Hen of the Woods Mushrooms, Red Eye Black Plum Gastrique

This was actually my favorite dish of the evening. The Quail was perfectly cooked and I really enjoyed the use of oatmeal in a savory form.

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Peter Timmons The Gasparilla Inn & Club
Foie Gras Macarons

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Peter Timmons The Gasparilla Inn & Club
Foie Gras Macarons

Probably one of the most unique items on any menu, a good blend of savory and sweet. Actually they were a little addicting and enjoyed at least 5 of them.

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Peter Timmons The Gasparilla Inn & Club
Chicken Liver and Pork Terrine, Kumquat Marmalade and Frisee

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Jamie McFadden Cuisiniers “Soup and Sandwich”
• Soup: Foi Dumpling, Ramen Broth, and Napa Slaw
• Sandwich: Smoked Duck, “ham salad cream”, Rye crostini, Canadian bacon, potato chips and house pickles

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A whole pot of Pork Belly anyone? This was one of the common dishes found at this event, along with various uses of Foie Gras, and seasonal fruits and vegetables.

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Mark Boor Fulton’s Crab House
Ahi Tuna “Niecoise” Blistered Green Beans, soft boiled egg, balsamic redskin potatoes, olive tepenade

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Douglas Chin Hard Rock Hotel at Universal Orlando
Grilled Mojo pork tenderloin, tomatillo salsa, watercress salad, corn tamale

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Luke Forzano Loews Portofino Bay Hotel
Raviolo “Carbonara”, braised Pork Belly, English Pea Silk, and Shaved Black Truffles

I enjoyed the ravioli with its burst of egg yolk and of course the pork belly was great! The green pea puree was a nice pairing too. I didn’t see or taste any black truffles though…

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Michael Kopoian, Jeremy Madsen Ocean Prime
Lobster BLT Maine Lobster, pancetta, micro green, toy box tomato, lemonette

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Creating a really unique plate and playing with liquid nitrogen is winner of season six of Bravo’s Top Chef, Michael Voltaggio. Voltaggio’s new Los Angeles restaurant, “ink” was just named the “Best New Restaurant in America” by GQ magazine.

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Michael Voltaggio ink. Los Angeles, CA
Beef Toungue and Tendon Taco

Not exactly sure what was inside the taco besides the mentioned Beef Toungue and Tendon in description. Of course the fried pork skin added a good flavor and texture, while the frozen cheese-like topping was creamy and tangy, keeping the overall dish cold and refreshing. Always fun too see a chef use liquid nitrogen in a creative way. It tasted good and that’s what matters!

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Trio of Top Chef Cheftestants: Kenny Gilbert, Kevin Sbraga, Michael Voltaggio

These guys were super cool and fun to talk to. They entertained everyone’s questions and always happy to take a photo with guests.

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Droolius with Top Chefs Kenny Gilbert, Kevin Sbraga, Michael Voltaggio!

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Chefs were working hard throughout the evening, cooking and plating, serving creative dishes to guests.

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Melissa Kelly, Gilbert Ramirez Primo JW Marriot
Vin Santo marinated and grilled Florida Peaches, smoked proscuitto with pan seared scallops and aged blasamic

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Bice Ristorante at The Loews Portofino Bay Hotel
Rack of Lamb Lollipop in Sweet Vermouth and Sage Sauce over barley, fava bean, cremini mushroom salad

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Kevin Fonzo K Restaurant
Citrus Cured Cocoa Beach Cobia, pickled spring vegetable salad, Kaffir-Lime ginger sauce

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Chocolate art tower? Desserts and sweets, wine and beerss were plentiful at the event. So much food and drinks, so little time.

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Various desserts

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Dessert shooters – my favorites were pecan pie and key lime pie

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The Blues Brothers and other bands performed live on stage

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What’s a food and wine event without a Fashion Runway show?

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Various talent acts graced the stage for entertainment. The stage also hosted several auctions for donated prizes and trips, all raising money to benefit children’s charities.

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A view of the Food & Wine at Portofino, great atmosphere and luckily the weather cooperated.

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Chef Michael Voltaggio attempt to freeze a Lamborghini Diablo! Playing with some liquid nitrogen and entertaining his people, he poured the liquid nitrogen into the water created this cool looking mist like fog. I was lucky to grab this awesome shot, it looked like a scene from a movie!

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Ferraris

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The ticket give-away winners, Matt and Liza.

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Checking out the event with me, was my sister @iEatsbyJewelES

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Thanks to all the chefs that made the creative dishes that we all enjoyed. The move from the traditional Jetport party to the Portofino Bay Hotel was a nice transition and this yearly event seems to be expanding well. We’ll see if next year’s event will be a Food & Wine at Portofino or another location. Regardless it was another enjoyable part of the Annual Celebration Exotic Car Festival and raising funds for children’s charities was once again a success. See you again next year!

Food & Wine at Portofino
Loews Portofino Bay Hotel, Universal Orlando
Saturday, April 14th

Celebration Exotic Car Festival
www.celebrationexoticcars.com

 
Words and photos by Julius Mayo Jr.
Content and photos © Droolius.com 2012