Wednesday, June 4, 2008

3 Things I Learned In Vermont - 2008

After a three day adventure in the mountains of Vermont I am ready for an escape back to my own bed!

For its third year, Sante Magazine - http://www.santemagazine.com/ held a wonderfully informative and engaging Restaurant Symposium. The caliber of attendees was a strong group of food and beverage professionals that are into food, wine, spirits, education and FUN!

Sante has done a great job each year increasing the depth of its attendee roster as well as highlighting new trends in the culinary arts (aka mixology for one).

Three great things that I learned from the symposium that think all of my friends should know:

1) With great, fresh ingredients, you can make wonderful and exciting food! On attendee at the event was The Chef's Garden, a true eclectic farm that has taken small batch artisan greens and vegetables to a true art. Its not readily apparent in all environments, but when you use the best in quality (just as with wine) you get VIBRANT flavors. The farm is located in Huron, Ohio and it is well worth the visit for any foodie or wine lover alike.

Check them out on the web at http://www.chefs-garden.com/.

2) Mixology is really coming into its own as a culinary science and art form that will continue to grow and grab up an ever larger share of the pie with each coming year.

3) Morel mushrooms are Great! I was unsure about these tasty treats before from other preparations, but cooked with the right background ingredients they offer a tasty distinct flavor that is only paired with their unique texture.

Long story short, Vermont might not seem like a place to unveil culinary experiences, but my friends at Sante do know what they are doing when they put together a great room of PROFESSIONALS.

Cheers and I'll get back to more wine info soon!

PS - Bottling of the first vintage "Classy" wines from Lake County, CA has just occurred!