Foodbuzz blogger festival - Day 2

Day 2, Saturday turned out to be a warm, sunny and beautiful day. I took the BART to Powell station and walked down to Sir Francis Drake where we had our morning breakout sessions.

My first session was the photography workshop presented by 'The Cooking Photographer' and 'No Recipes'. They spoke about lighting, composition, colors, props, angle etc. Then I took some pictures of food that was styled and indoor lighting set up. There were about 100+ bloggers for this session and in just 45 minutes, could not gain much.

Next was, a demo of the winning 'Fresh Express' recipe from 'Edible Perspective' by Chef Todd Fisher. The recipe featured Fresh Express spring mix, butternut squash, onion, pumpkin seeds and lavender goat cheese.

Next was a discussion on video blogging. It was quite informative... Planning to shoot my first video soon. Hope it comes out well.

After a whole morning of gyan, it was time to eat again!! Yes, the 'Tasting Pavilion' at Metreon. I walked down and got there a little early and enjoyed the city view in the warm sun until the pavilion opened.

Food!!! Here I come... Mission Cupcakes had a stall again. My experience with cupcakes in general has not been great until now... They had super moist out-of-the-world cupcakes, perfectly sized, deliciously flavored. I picked up 4 out of the 6 flavors they had and ate them quickly.

Variety of cheeses from Norseland Inc., heavenly pumpkin soup from 'Tyler's Ultimate' (from Food Network), Alexia's fries and onion rings, Olive's (The Olive oil experience) flavored olive oils were the next things I tried. Loved the lemon olive oil. Enjoyed the pumpkin soup and the bread that came with simply amazing!!

Nature's Pride had cooking demos all afternoon featuring their winning recipes from fellow bloggers. My 'Foodie gift exchange' blogger Lisa (Korean American Mommy) was featuring her chocolate ganache coated bread sticks.

 

'Madagascar' had chocolates that were made in Africa. They also had vanilla powder which is supposed to be better than vanilla extract. I loved their table scape the most, with vanilla bean, cocoa fruit, cocoa beans etc.

There was an assortment of jams to taste and the jalapeno jam from 'Inna Jam' was my fav. I also tasted raw honey, for the first time, from Big Island, Hawaii. Smoked sea salt from Mendocino compliments any food well. The owner gave me a sample of chocolate with some salt crystals on top and told me a pinch of salt tastes great in coffee too!!

479 popcorn is a must try. They have amazing flavors including 'Madras Curry' :-). (For those who are new here, I'm from Chennai, formally Madras).

The spicy pickles of Pick-A-Peck were amazing.

 

After spending three hours in the tasting pavilion, I walked around with a new blogger friend for another hour and got to the hotel lobby. We both relaxed in the lobby for a while, freshened up and walked to the 'Ferry Building' for the gala dinner.

New foodie friends: Coco from Opergirlcooks and Ngoc from San Jose Love

We sat down for my first ever sit down four-course dinner.
First course: Roasted Golden Beet Tart , Crimson beet, Feta and Currants, Wild Arugula and Basil Puree

Second course: Seared tofu (instead of scallops) with Braised Fennel, Orange Marmalade and garnished with Fried Fennel Fonds 

Cheers to new friendship

Third Course: Mushroom fiesta (as I named it, instead of Lamb Rack) - Portobella mushroom buns, Mushroom patty served on sauteed Wild Mushrooms, Pinot Noir Sauce and Butternut squash puree with parsley puree on the top

Fourth Course: Buttery Almond Cake with Oranges and Spanish Sherry Sauce

Overall, Foodbuzz spoilt me and let me indulge as much as I can. I enjoyed every bit of the delectable meal.

After the whole day out, walking and eating, I was tired and ready to hit the sack and did not go for the scavenger hunt after the dinner. My sweet Murali drove all the way to SF to pick me and we drove back home, while I chatted all along about my busy day.