After listening to the speakers from Taste Trekkers Tens that I blogged about here, all the attendees were led out of the Providence Biltmore’s Ballroom, so we can all go to the different Edible Sessions we signed up for.
The first session we went to was “Beyond the Falls: Wine and Food Adventure in Niagara” conducted by Kimberly Gunning and Steven Lovelace of Niagara Culinary Tours. They offer three walking tours – Niagara on the Lake, St. Catherine’s and Niagara Falls. Who knew Niagara’s local food scene was so fresh, eclectic and seasonal? They also talked about Icewine, one of my favorite wines. We actually have two bottles of Icewine in our wine bar. I also learned that Niagara Peninsula has the largest viticultural area in Canada that spans 13,600 acres! Who knew?
I tasted two glasses of wine. The first wine I tasted was my favorite (of course), a glass of Riesling.
The second wine I had was a glass of Cabernet Franc.
Both wines were delicious! Before we left the session hall, I took a picture of Kimberley and Steven. These two were so nice. Kimberley even extended an invitation to visit Niagara. Hubby and I went to Niagara years ago, but our focus was to see Niagara Falls. Maybe we should schedule another trip; this time, we can try the culinary delights of the area.
While waiting for the second session to begin, we caught the tail-end of the session “Family, Prosciutto and Community: The Ballad of a Third Generation Ham Salesman” with Davide Dukcevich, Co-Owner of Daniele, Inc. We didn’t taste the prosciutto, just took pictures of it.
By the way, these are the contents of the goodie bag given out.
Anyway, the second session we signed up for was “The Geography of Greek Food: Culinary Traditions of Cyclades Islands” with Ms. Thei Zervaki, food writer and journalist.
We tried Loukoumi (Greek Delight) made of water, starch and sugar and best eaten with a butter cookie.
I sampled a little bit of sweet capers, and the sharp San Mixali cheese.
This session made me want to try wines like Assyrtiko (Greek white wine), Kitro (liqueur made from leaves of the citron tree), Vinsanto Wine and Mandilaria (red wine); cheeses like Kopanisti, Graviera, Xinomizithra, Xinotiro, Manoura and Ladotyri; and sweets like Amygdalota fournou (oven-baked marzipan), Pasteli (roast caramel with sesame seeds) and Melitinia (sweet cheese pastry).
When we got to the third session, Chef Cesin Curi of Los Andes Restaurant was still there and we sampled his Causa Limena.
Our last Edible Session of the day was “The Flavors of Miami” conducted by Miami Culinary Tours. They gave us goodie bags.
Each bag had a small bottle of Merlot. They encouraged us to drink the wine during the talk.
They included a bag of canchitas. It was my first time to eat these, which seems like unpopped popcorn to me.
There was even a small piece of chocolate.
They differentiated the empanadas – Cuban, Colombian, Venezuelan and Argentinian. Mentioned guasacaca sauce. Talked about ceviche, tidarito and drinking Leche de Tigre (liquid of ceviche). They talked about the Cuban sandwich, the Cuban frita and the Guava pastelito burger.
They brought some fruits that I’ve never seen before like the tropical fruit mamey, monstera deliciosa (which supposedly tastes like a cross between a pineapple and a banana), canastra/egg fruit, passion fruit and a gargantuan plantain.
Choosing the sessions was quite a daunting task because I wanted to go to all of them. But no complaints, I learned so much from the three Edible Sessions we attended.
TO BE CONTINUED. . .
Check out the posts about Taste Trekkers Tens and the Hope & Main Tasting Pavilion!
Looks and sounds like such interesting sessions .. and of course, delicious too.
No regrets driving that far!
Looks like a fun time — and I’m so glad to have found another Riesling lover!!!! My FAVORITE!!!!
The Miami Culinary Tour looks great! Next time I’m in South Beach I’ll have to try it!
Riesling rocks! 😀