Taste of Atlanta 2008
Taste of Atlanta is Atlanta’s premiere food festival and event. I was so impressed at how well organized the event is this year. I thought last year was already fantastic but they’ve managed to make it even better. And bigger. There were more trash cans this year, more volunteers assisting with directions and such, more people, and more restaurants. One thing I noticed is that shrimp and grits seem to be the recurring theme today. There were probably 5 or so restaurants offering their own version of shrimp and grits.
Cooking on center stage was our very own Chef Richard Blais who, not only wowed the crowd with his cooking skills (not to mention his weapon of choice: a sous vide machine), but made it a point to connect with the audience by actually getting off stage and having a one-on-one with the regular folks. To me, that was way cool. He also fed everyone! His “rb-qued beef brisket with candied apples and cauliflower dumplings” was out of this world! The brisket was so tender that we were able to eat it with a spoon (no forks available). It was so flavorful with a nice balance of sweet, mustardy, and tangy. I would love to see this dish on a menu somewhere. It was worthy of fine dining!
On the other side, cooking at the Country Store cooking stage, was Chef Tomas Vallejo of The Highland Bakery. Interesting thing about him was that he used to be John Travolta’s personal chef. Local radio and tv celebrity, Adam Murphy of Channel 46 was at hand to host the cooking shows. There’s a reason why he’s on tv and radio — he’s really good at it! (By the way, thanks to Adam, for recognizing Chow Down Atlanta during the show. That was a nice shout out.)
the youngest (and very dapper) chef of the event
Notable restaurants making an appearance for the first time this year were Bhojanic, Desta, Chef Rob’s Caribbean Cafe, Mediterranean Grill, The Feed Store, Highland Bakery, West Egg Cafe, Ikea (with their sticky buns, Cafe 458 (an endeavor of the Samaritan House of Atlanta), Sweet Auburn Bread, Asam House, Strip, Lobby at Twelve, Room at Twelve, and a few others. Here are a few more pictures:
I attended a wine tasting session sponsored by Robert Mondavi (which had a nice set-up there complete with tight security, and a cooking stage). The wines they showcased were really very good (surprisingly). They worked in conjunction with Kroger Cooking School and had a cooking show. I can’t remember the chef lady’s name but she was great and very personable. She prepared two dishes that complemented a chardonay and a pinot noir from Robert Mondavi’s Private Selection.
I had a wonderful time today. This is one event you should never miss. See you there again next year!
More pictures here.
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