"...we didn’t think things could get much better than this, but it did."
You may have seen us post pictures on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter from our day at Martha Stewart’s offices in New York City back in 2014. Daniel and I had such an amazing time learning about her company, touring the facilities, and best of all, watching her tape a segment from her show Martha Stewart’s Cooking School. What a dream it was to watch a master at work! Here is the story of how we got there…
Have you ever had the opportunity to attend SOBEWFF also known as The Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival presented by FOOD & WINE (that’s quite a mouthful)? This past February, Daniel and I had the pleasure of being there for the first time. It is a four-day long event with some of the world’s most famous chefs and culinary celebrities. We had an absolute blast soaking in the sunny South Florida weather, enjoying our days strolling along the shores of South Beach tasting some of the best foods we’ve ever eaten. There were so many trip highlights, it is hard to sum it all up in one blog post. Not the least of which was the beginning of our adventure to Martha Stewart’s studio in New York City last week (more on that later!).Our culinary adventure kicked off on Friday night with the Amstel Light Burger Bash hosted by Rachael Ray. Enormous party tents were set up beachside beside the Ritz Carlton in South Beach to house 31 different burger stations, each offering a different unique bite-sized burger sample created by some of the best chefs in the country. Each attendee can sample as many as he or she wants before casting their vote for their favorite burger of the night.We were given a “Map ‘O Burgers” that included a detailed description of each burger available for sampling. Just listen to some of these…
The Caribbean Cowboy Burger from Chef Allen’s in Miami: Shortrib and Brisket Burger with mango-bacon chutney and manchego cheese, with a side of Urban Hot and Sassy Pickles.The Original Ramen Burger from Ramen Burger, Brooklyn: Double Wagyu patty smothered in secret shoyu glaze and sandwiched between two cartily formed buns handmade from fresh ramen noodles.
The Skuna Bay Salmon Burger from Ed’s Chowder House, New York, NY: Salmon Burger, pickle relish, aioli, watercress and mustard on a Martin’s potato roll, with a side of goose fat potato chips.
The list goes on and on. My personal favorite was Gabby’s D’Lorean Burger from the Filling Station and Garage Bar in Miami: Seasoned burger topped with Nutella, peppered bacon and caramelized onion, with a side of pulled pork cheese taters. Yes – the same Chocolate hazelnut spread Nutella you know and love – on a burger with onions! Hey, don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.
The next day of SOBEWFF was arguably even more exciting than the first. From 11:00am to 6:00pm, we casually wandered on the sand of South Beach at the Whole Foods Market Grand Tasting Village sampling delicious dish after
delicious dish, tasting unique wines and spirits. However, the most amazing part of the day didn’t have anything to do with the foods we ate (though I tasted a delicious lambchop the likes of which I will likely never taste again… boy, that certainly was amazing) it was the culinary demonstrations. All day long, some of the biggest names in the culinary world took to the KitchenAid demonstration stages: Tyler Florence, Emeril Lagasse, Rachael Ray, Jose Andres, Anthony Bourdain and many more.
Our timing was perfect. Just as we arrived at the event, people were beginning to sit down to wait for Martha Stewart’s demonstration. We picked out excellent seats, and watched as she prepared a buckwheat waffle recipe, and a salmon dish that looked and smelled absolutely delicious. At the end of her segment, they began auctioning off a few KitchenAid items to raise money for Cook for the Cure. The first item on the block was a beautiful stainless steel KitchenAid mixer autographed by Martha Stewart herself. We raised our hand to place a bid as we are always glad to contribute to a meaningful cause and join in the fight against breast cancer. Much to our delight – we won the auction! As we walked up to accept our item and take a photo with Martha, we didn’t think things could get much better than this, but it did. At the last minute she threw in an invitation to spend a day at her studio kitchen in NYC. This little Smart Baker couldn’t have been any happier.
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