Reflections on Napa Valley

I am so tired!  But I had a fabulous time in Napa Valley at the S. Pellegrino Almost Famous Chef’s Finals Competition.  What an incredible weekend!  I am awed by the amount of talent in these young chefs, and I am amazed at their dedication and hard work.  Wow.

I just got off the plane a few hours ago.  I am soooo exhausted, but I felt compelled to write a post because I have been neglecting the blog all week!  I’ll give you a sneak peak at some photos.  Bryan and I took close to 800 pictures this weekend, so it might take a bit of time to process them all, but I’ll work my hardest to get these posts out soon!

I will be writing about this trip for the next several posts as part of a Napa Valley mini-series.  This will give you a small taste of what is to come. 🙂

Wine country – beauty beyond words.

We saw an amazing amount of talent.

Competitors had two hours to create and execute a dish containing the three mystery ingredients: chicken, mushrooms, and eggs.

It was incredible to see how well these chefs managed to execute dishes under so much pressure.

Chefs also had four hours to create their signature dish for two hundred people.

S. Pellegrino hosted several unique events, such as this dinner at the Del Dotto Vineyard.

We also visited Antica Vineyard high up in the mountains, and learned a lot about water, wine, grapes, and food pairings.

We visited several wine caves, taste testing straight from the barrel!

And finally, Bryan and I stayed an extra day and went on our own food excursion.

Congratulations again to all the competitors. In my mind, every single one of these chefs is a winner, as each did so much to even get here in the first place.  I am confident they will all be very successful wherever they go next.

Stay tuned for detailed descriptions and lots of photos from these individual events! Plus, I’ll be sharing about  my dining experiences in Napa Valley, seriously a food lover’s mecca!