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The Taste Trekkers Food & Travel Expo is coming back to Providence on October 4th, and I have a set of tickets to the Saturday “Foodie Day” session to give away! The Expo will take place at the gorgeous Biltmore in Providence, a place I love to visit but have never stayed! Interested in learning more?

About Taste Trekkers Food & Travel Expo

Taste Trekkers returns to Rhode Island to show passionate foodies how to explore the world through cuisine. It brings together chefs, farmers, wineries, brewers, food tour operators, and other artisanal food producers from different regions. Sample foods from different places, learn the culinary history of different regions, and gain practical tips for planning your own foodie vacation.

Check out the video from Taste Trekkers 2013.

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I’m giving away a pair of tickets to Saturday’s Expo at the Biltmore and Sunday’s Eat & Run Scavenger Hunt at the Providence Arcade.

 

Here’s a sampling of who will be at the Expo:

• Elle Armon-Jones – Owner, The Big Foody Food Tours

• Christopher Bakken – Author of Honey, Olives, Octopus: Adventures at the Greek Table

• Tom Bivins – Executive Director, Vermont Cheese Council

• Sean Buchanan – Business Development Manager, Blackstone River Produce

• Cesin Curi – Chef, Los Andes

• Grace Della – Owner, Miami Culinary Tours

• Jose Duarte – Chef & Owner, Taranta Restaurant

• Colleen Franzreb – Owner, Cape Cod Foodie Tours

• Tatiana Gana – Co-Founder, Gastro Tours

• Kimberly Gunning and Steve Lovelace – Owners, Niagara Culinary Tours

• Lisa Gustavson – Owner, Sojourner Tour Company

• Richard J.S. Gutman – Director & Curator, Culinary Arts Museum at Johnson & Wales University

• Jeff Landry – Produce Specialist, Native Mainse Produce & Specialty Foods

• Marina Marchese – Founder, American Honey Tasting Society and Red Bee Honey

• Richard Miscovich – Associate Professor, Johnson & Wales University

• Sam Poley – Director of Public Relations & Communications, Durham Convention & Visitor’s Bureau

• Neil Rogers – Executive Chef, Volturno Pizza Napoletana

• Lisa Webster – Owner & Operator, North Star Sheep Farm

• Thei Zervaki – Food writer and journalist

Entering to win is easy; Just check out the Taste Trekkers site and let me know why you want to go to the Expo. For an additional entry, tweet “I want to win @tastetrekkers Expo tickets from @traveleatlovemm” and follow Taste Trekkers on Twitter.

I will choose a winner next Monday, September 22.

Good luck!

Tags: events, Food, foodie, giveaway, Rhode Island, Taste Trekkers, tickets

A few weeks ago on a terribly freezing, snowy day, I warmed up in Hotel Chocolat’s newest space, their Cocoa Bar – Café.

Hotel Chocolat

As we shut out the bitter city, we were offered glasses of Prosecco and started to take in the delicious, chocolate-y sights and smells of Hotel Chocolat. The space is larger than when it was just a retail spot, and when that glorious warm weather finally arrives, they will have seating on Newbury Street.

Hotel Chocolat party

Hotel Chocolat and the Cocoa Bar aim to connect the experience of consuming chocolate with the sourcing of the chocolate. Some of their chocolate is even sourced from their property in St. Lucia, where they also have a hotel. I would certainly love to visit St. Lucia right now!

Throughout the event we snacked on chocolate treats, including these cheesecake truffles.

Hotel Chocolat chocolate

I also discovered heaven-in-a-bar, a banoffee pie chocolate. Banoffee pie is one of my favorite desserts, and in a chocolate bar form, it is fun and decadent.

Banoffee Pie chocolate

Hotel Chocolat’s Cocoa Bar is a elegant space full of beautiful chocolates and chocolate themed products, including savory products, like a cocoa pesto we received in our gift bags.  The prices are reasonable, making a little chocolate treat possible every now and then.

Below is a full description of the Cocoa Bar’s menu segments. A trip to Hotel Chocolat is ideal for these cold days. Just imagine relaxing with a warm chocolate plate

  • Light + Detoxing (Cacao and Tea) – Raw cacao beans have more antioxidants by weight than almost any other food. Even after roasting they have 150% more antioxidants than pure pomegranate juice. Light and detoxing drinks are designed to leave guests feeling really refreshed. The Cocoa Royale (crushed nibs and shells, steeped in a cafetiere) is midway between tea and coffee in intensity. Tea selections are: Cacao Shell, English breakfast + Cacao Shell, Peppermint + Cacao Shell, Green, Oolong, Silver Tip and Earl Grey. Aromatic hot chocolate drinks are Rosemary + Mint and Jasmine + White Chocolate. ($2.50 – $4.50)
  • Good for the Soul (Drinking Chocolate) – Cacao contains Theobromine, a natural stimulant that makes us feel energized, focused and calm. It’s gentle, long lasting and non-addictive. These are offered in variations of: classic, chili, milky, mint, salted caramel, St. Lucia 70% (complex), Vietnam 80% (fruity), Ecuador 90% (mellow). They also offer Chocolate + Fresh Banana, Praline Luxe (classic chocolate and double praline) and The Bombe (classic chocolate, vanilla ice cream, cacao whipped cream). Short chocolate drinks are the Boss-La (short and strong, 70% cacao) and 100% Cacao (a pure cacao hit, served short). Finishing touches such as Cacao Whipped Cream, Praline Dippers, and Salted Caramel Dippers can also be added to any drink for extra luxury. ($3.50 – $5.00)
  • Energizing + Stimulating – These unique Whole Bean Cacao Drinks are made from 100% roasted cacao beans. Just pure cacao, with no sugar, no gluten – and that keeps the benefits locked into their drinks: all the rich antioxidents and minerals, natural feel-good compounds and lots of healthy energy. Whole Bean drinks use roasted cacao or coffee. Barista coffee uses George Howell locally-roasted beans in Espresso, Macchiato, Cortado, Latte, Cappuccino, Americano, Mocha (70% chocolate and espresso) and Macho Mocha (shorter and stronger than a mocha). Barista cacao is all of the classics made with cacao beans not coffee beans and is full of healthy stimulants in Macchiato-style, Americano-style or Cappuccino-style. Organic milk is always used and soy is available upon request. ($2.50 – $4.00)
  • Savory Open Sandwiches – Served on a toasted English muffin with nib butter as well as a green salad dressed in cocoa balsamic. Selections are: Local cheddar with Organic Tomatoes, Smoked Salmon with House Horseradish, Vermont Goat’s cheese with Walnuts and House Chutney, Prosciutto Crudo Ham, Crumbled Berkshire Blue Cheese and Walnuts, Organic Cherry Tomatoes and House Chutney ($8.50)
  • Warm Chocolate Plates – Served on a toasted English muffin with whipped cacao cream on the side. Selections are: Chocolate Hazelnut Spread with Roasted Hazelnuts, melted Mississippi Mud Pie slab, sliced Banana with Chocolate Peanut Spread, Vanilla Ice Cream with 70% Chocolate, Farmer’s Market Raspberry Jam with Chocolate Hazelnut Spread. ($7.50)

Tags: Boston, candy, chocolate, dessert, events, Hotel Chocolat, sweets

A couple of weeks ago, the folks from Chateau Ste. Michelle came to town to host their #MyChateau event at the Innovation District’s (Fort Point?) Space with a Soul.

Chateau Ste. Michelle My Chateau

The event’s intention, in addition to letting Bostonians enjoy Chateau Ste. Michelle’s delicious wines with food pairings from local chefs, was to celebrate Boston, our love of food and wine, and our unique, awesome culture. You can’t beat that! Here’s a little more about the event and Chateau Ste. Michelle:

The people of Boston have spoken and identified their Chateau as innovative food paired with wine and music. Chateau Ste. Michelle is excited to bring Boston’s Chateau to life. The winery will be featuring a local celebrity chef and live music from a Boston-based band.

Chateau Ste. Michelle also shares a passion for food and music. The winery’s own culinary team, based in Woodinville, WA, pairs Chateau Ste. Michelle wines with Pacific Northwest ingredients, hosts dinner events and shares seasonal recipes. The culinary team also prepares food for every show of Chateau Ste. Michelle’s Summer Concert series, one of the winery’s favorite traditions.

Chateau Ste. Michelle wine

Tables with Chateau Ste. Michelle wines were posted around the space, making it easy to browse the wines and tasting notes as well as to taste. While I already knew I liked Chateau Ste. Michelle Riesling, I discovered I loved their Columbia Valley Chardonnay and Merlot. One of the things I love most about all of the wines we tried is that they were all complex, really delicious, and very affordable, all under $20 per bottle.

Chateau Ste. Michelle wine

Chefs like Louis DiBiccari and Rebecca Arnold were serving up small bites to go with the wine, and guests were treated to live music that really set a festive mood.

Chef Louis

Space with a Soul was, overall, a great location for an event. The fact that we had to get there by elevator was the only snafu; it made for a bottleneck as people were waiting in the lobby and making it difficult to get inside.

Space with a Soul

But the views, vibe and lighting made up for it! The event planners did a great job in setting the mood, and the crowd was definitely enjoying themselves. As with any free event, there were definitely some pushy free wine vultures as we call them, but  I think that’s unfortunately to be expected whenever free food and drinks are involved!

Space with a Soul

As a wine lover and a winery lover, I thought it was great that Chateau Ste. Michelle made their way out to Boston with an event just for us! Hopefully they enjoyed themselves just as much, and they will come to visit again.

In the meantime, I REALLY need to plan a Washington and Oregon wine tasting trip!

Tags: Boston, Chateau Ste. Michelle, events, food and wine pairing, wine, wine tasting

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