Festival of Foods

We spent the day at the Oleson Center of Northwestern Michigan College for the annual Festival of Foods.  This event was a Christmas present for me from Laurie, and what a great day we had.

The first group was Country Breakfast - the highlights were quiche and granola.

Stephanie from Black Star Farms.  She's making a quiche for us.  She was Miss Personality :)

The second class was all about bread, presented by the owner of Bay Bread.  We sampled crostini, bruschetta, and a spinach dip with pumpernickel - scrumptious!

  This picture shows bread as a centerpiece!  It was very attractive.  When the diners want a roll, they can just tear off a piece!

Stacy, the owner of Bay Bread.  She knows everything about bread making - she answered every question from the group.  I was very impressed.

Stacy and some of her beautiful breads.

She brought each of us a cinnamon roll !

One happy hubby :)

The third group was Vegetarian Tarts.  It was just like watching a show on the food network - Chef Cheryl made one from scratch while we watched and sampled.  People asked a lot of questions, and she answered them with good humor and enthusiasm.

Chef Cheryl Janz - she teaches at the college.  She really knows her stuff.

Chef Cheryl going over her recipe.  She had a very warm personality, and a great knowledge of cooking.  She made a yummy, spicy vegetable tart with a great poppy seed crust.

Our last group was like a class - very educational - and for me, a little disappointing.  We sampled chocolate made from beans grown all around the world.  Some chocolate was good, others only so-so, and at least one not very good. Our favorite was made from Tanzanian beans.