I was speechless. This is a huge multi-day event in New York City where many famous chefs and TV personalities appear. Several events go on throughout the festival that are focused on one chef or personality and you get to taste their food and watch them perform. The event my husband got me was the cream of the crop, The Grand Tasting with GEM access. This means we would have access to the entire tasting room filled with hundreds of top chefs, as well as entry to the GEM wine and liquor tent featuring premier and rare liquors from all around the world and last but not least, up close and personal live demos made by my idols, Food Network and Cooking Channel chefs. I couldn't believe a gift like this was being given to me. I am such a lucky girl!
The day came and I could barely contain myself. I was worried about my hair, my outfit, who would I meet, what will we try? We made our way into the city and my nerves grew stronger the closer we got to the venue. I wanted to make sure we took in absolutely everything. I even made a carefully timed out schedule so I didn't miss one chef's presentation that I wanted to see.
As soon as we got there we were given a first class gift bag filled with many food lovers goodies and a wine glass that you could hang on your neck. I knew we were in for a hell of a time.
Some of the swag we took home |
Following Tyler were many other of my favorite Food Network stars like Robert Irvine, Anne Burrell, and my favorite, Alex Guarnachelli. My husband even surprised me that day with a copy of her cookbook which I got a personal meet and greet and signing. She talked to me like we were friends forever. She even shared some personal information about her night on the town the night before. I really couldn't believe such welcoming people surrounded me. Later on, I got to meet Kelsey Nixon, a new star on The Cooking Channel and I also got to take a selfie with Morimoto.
The icing on the top was when we left the stages to enter the food section; standing right outside the live presentations was my second favorite chef, Sunny Anderson.
It was a complete surprise because she wasn't not even listed on the agenda for the day. She was doing an appearance for Extended Stay America and was casually hanging out waiting for guests to discover her.I ran right up and said hello, after that we talked for almost half an hour. We shared food stories, hugs and a lot of laughs. It is a huge moment I will never forget.
The different foods we tried were amazing. I had never had pork belly or escargot before, and they didn't let my expectations down. We had so many different treats; it's hard to name them all. The GEM wine and alcohol tent was outrageous. We tried some of the top-notch beverages from all over the world. I even saw one of the largest champagne bottles ever made. Needless to say, we left there feeling full, but pretty good!
This birthday gift was something I never would have expected, nor dreamed I would be gifted with. All of my wishes came true that day and I left with such fantastic memories.