What a wild ride this last week/weekend was. Whew! The weekend before Thanksgiving is the Mountain Mandarin Festival in Auburn every year, and as you all know, we all participate. This year we all had way more to do than just making a recipe for the recipe contest.
The Cooking Channel's show Carnival Eats came to town to highlight the festival and the fun food we have. Dave was asked to be a production assistant as we are local and he knows his way around town. He worked show biz hours all day Friday and Saturday and he is positive that all he shared with them for the production will make our festival and town shine. All three of us also filmed bits as "Streaters" - the people they stop on the street eating the food they want to talk about. The show should air in May of next year so I'll be sure to let you all know in case you want to tune in.
I was asked this year to run and manage the cooking stage. Mason and I have done cooking demo's but to be in charge was a whole different experience. I loved it! I did a couple of demos while Mason did one each day. We had Good Day Sacramento do a spot with Mason and Chef Rachel from Polkadot Dinners early Saturday morning where Mason launched his new business Mason Made Products. He has a line of sauces and marinades (and a caramel sauce) that he is selling at fairs and festivals when he does his live cooking demos. He has created some delicious recipes with these sauces and they will be available next week to ship for Christmas gifts. If you decide to order 3 bottles and are willing to pay for a flat rate shipping box (medium box), we will include a jar of our homemade mandarin marmalade or apple butter and some fresh Placer Grown mandarins. I'll share more about flavors and prices for those of you who are interested. The money Mason raises from the initial sales of his new business will go toward his 8th grade field trip to Washington D.C., after that, he will be a for profit business. I have to tell you how proud of him I am. He worked that booth like a seasoned sales professional. He set his intention to sell out of 17 cases of product and on Sunday he had 59 bottles left to sell - he sold his last bottle 45 minutes before the show closed. I also want to note that in 2015, Mason did 23 live cooking demos. Pretty cool, huh?
With all of this said, I didn't enter the recipe contest as the person who runs it approached me and noted that I typically win, and if I win and I appear to be part of the team that runs it (I'm not), it could appear to be a conflict of interest. I was flattered that they noted I usually win and agreed to not participate. Dave and Mason did and sadly, we did not win anything this year. I would say we just can't do all we were doing and really give our best work. Although, Mason's mandarin milkshake with cranberry whipped cream and Dave mandarin ribs were delicious!
Now we are headed into Thanksgiving and this year we are hosting two dinners. Dave's family is coming for Thursday dinner and our friends are coming for Saturday Thanksgiving. Can you say, "Still very busy"? Laughing! I see it as making great things happen and how can we be stressed when we have so many wonderful people around us? It's not stressed, it's blessed. Happy Thanksgiving!
On another note - Mason's episode of Chopped Junior got moved from the 12/15 air date to a not yet determined air date in January or February. It's a bummer but that is how showbiz goes. I'll keep you posted once we know a new air date.
No comments:
Post a Comment