Napa Dreams

Foodbuzz and S.Pellegrino Sparkling Natural Mineral Water are providing the opportunity for two Featured Publishers to attend The S. Pellegrino Almost Famous Chef Competition. According to an email I received from Foodbuzz, “The Almost Famous Chef Competition gives top culinary students from around the world a chance to showcase their skills to top chefs, culinary experts and media and the opportunity to win cash and a paid apprenticeship with a top chef to jumpstart their career.”

One lucky featured publisher will be selected to attend the S. Pellegrino Almost Famous Chef Competition in Napa on March 7th, 2010.

I would love to attend this competition for many fabulous reasons – for the cuisine I’d get to taste, the thrill of the competition, the opportunity to see talent executed in person, the people I’d meet, the friends I’d make, and for all the wonderful memories I’d get to take home with me and share with my blog readers. I would help spread the word with my blog post, tweets (maybe some from the competition? that would be fun!), and some old-fashioned word of mouth. And here’s more…

Napa Dreams

The rolling hills of California Wine Country have been wooing me to return since I first visited last March 2009. In those hills, I found a connection unlike any other experienced by my foodie self before.

There, those hills offer a paradise of sorts. While some dream of glowing beaches and white sand or snow-capped peaks and shiny skis, I close my eyes and am taken somewhere else. My mind takes me back to the magical place called Wine Country where farm fresh foods and handmade wines beckon to satisfy my senses in a way no beach or mountain could ever fulfill.

In those hills, all senses are dazzled with breath-taking scenery, curious ingredients, quiet countrysides, clean air, and divine tastings. In that valley this crazy foodie girl discovered a place to belong if not forever, again soon.

A memento, a sticker from one of the wineries I toured sits at my desk at work. It is a talisman of sorts that I use on my worst days to remember one of my best – to mentally transport myself back and relive that sunny day meandering through the smiling, vine-ripened hills of WIne Country.

And what could possibly be better than Napa? Napa taken to a new level with a culinary competition. Could it be that a collection of foodies just like me would all meet for a fantastic food event? Yes, the fantasy is possible! A room full of food loving friends, each with their own talent: the chefs, the judges, and me – the one who will capture the moment, the beautiful foods, the magical people, and the butterflies of excitement, with her camera and words and memories. Me – the one who will share the experience to the world via a blog so that others can live vicariously through my storytelling. I can only hope such a dream could become reality.  

Please pick me Foodbuzz! 🙂