Bertolli On the Menu at the Foodbuzz Blogger Festival

It was a crazy, whirlwind weekend at the Foodbuzz Blogger Festival but I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way! Being a guest of Bertolli Sauces, as The Duo Dishes put it, all I had to do was show up and have fun!

After the star treatment (town cars!) both to and from the airport, on Friday we met with the good folks from Bertolli and Ogilvy PR just before the happy hour to finalise details of the “On the Menu” live demonstrations. This is where I met the aforementioned Duo Dishes – Chrystal and Amir – and the lovely Lauren from Healthy Delicious, my co-chefs in the Bertolli Sauces kitchen. We all hit it off instantly and, along with Christine, Sarah and Craig (Unilever) and Lauren, Nyla and Kai (Ogilvy), made an awesome team if I do say so myself!

The next day, Lauren and I hit the Bertolli Sauces kitchen to prep for our demos.



Chrystal and Amir were already there, sporting cute little aprons:


And wielding knives!!!


We got down to some prep and chatter with Sarah, the Bertolli Sauces kitchen head chef:




I made some “magic of tv” pizzas (you know how they always say “Here’s one we made before”?):


Mise en place:



Then the Duo were on:


And then it was my turn – squeeeeeee!

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The awesome Nyla (Jill of all trades!) and Chef Scott helping me with the station setup.

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Chatting with Chef, going over the recipe.

And we’re on!


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OMG – a crowd!!!


Sooooo happy it went well!

Now time for some Healthy Delicious cioppino:


Lauren does her stuff with mussels and shrimp – you go girl!

All in all, a truly amazing experience. If you had told me 6 months ago that I would win a trip to San Francisco for a recipe I invented to attend a blogging conference, I would not have believed you. It just goes to show you what you can do when you put your mind to it!

Thanks Bertolli and Foodbuzz for this (hopefully not) once in a lifetime experience. Let me know if you want to launch those sauces in Canada… 🙂

PS: Thanks Kai for saving the day re: the “pine nut” incident – you rock!

31 thoughts on “Bertolli On the Menu at the Foodbuzz Blogger Festival”

  1. You rocked it out! There was no fear in your eyes as you demo'd those pizzas, which were awesome by the way. The freshly toasted pine nuts made all the difference!

    Reply
  2. Jen – thanks, it was so much fun!

    Best Family – thanks, you are too kind!

    Divina – coming soon, hopefully!

    Miriam – a little bit yes!

    Laura – it's the "pesto" part that was deconstructed – all the components separately…

    Duo – thanks – you guys are great!

    Reply
  3. Wish I could have been there to watch, but everyone says you did great so I'll just have to take their word for it 😀

    BTW you are a lot more brave than I am. I would have just about passed out up there (I get terrible stage fright :P)

    Reply
  4. Haha this experience looked so fun!! Congrats on winning btw, you made such a great recipe 🙂 And I agree with Divina, we want to see a video!

    Reply
  5. I've been waiting for this post. I'm smiling ear to ear because I'm so happy for you. Glad it went well and you had a good time!

    Reply
  6. Thanks guys for all your well wishes! I WAS nervous but moreso before the event, not actually during it! The big glass wall behind the audience made their faces simply silhouettes so I couldn't really see them and focused on Chef Sarah and the food, so it was all good!

    Re: the video – yes, yes, yes – will post when I receive it!

    You guys are the best!!

    Reply
  7. Yes! This is just what I wanted to know, except for the omission of just what constituted "the pine nut incident." (Wasn't that an Agatha Christie mystery?) And good for you that they sent cars and put you up — that's so cool, you celebrity, you. Meil's pizza's looked good too, but too bad he couldn't join you. Then again, you got to spend more time with bloggy friends. And talk about Mise en place. (Which I'da been, like, wha? If not for my beloved Top Chef, of course.)

    Reply
  8. Simply LIfe, Conor, Rachel, Kablooey, traveleatlove, penny and mum – thanks so much! I am still reeling a little at even making it to the top 8, never mind the top 3!! At least I have the pics to prove it wasn't a dream!!

    Reply

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