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Reflections on Napa Valley

March 10, 2010 by Jennifer Che 7 Comments

Opus one
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. 🙂
Opus One
Wine country – beauty beyond words.
cooks in the kitchen
We saw an amazing amount of talent.
Mystery Basket
Competitors had two hours to create and execute a dish containing the three mystery ingredients: chicken, mushrooms, and eggs.
Mystery Basket winner
It was incredible to see how well these chefs managed to execute dishes under so much pressure.
_MG_2914-1
Chefs also had four hours to create their signature dish for two hundred people.
Del Dotto Wines
S. Pellegrino hosted several unique events, such as this dinner at the Del Dotto Vineyard.
IMG_2470-6
We also visited Antica Vineyard high up in the mountains, and learned a lot about water, wine, grapes, and food pairings.
Wine caves
We visited several wine caves, taste testing straight from the barrel!
French Laundry
And finally, Bryan and I stayed an extra day and went on our own food excursion.
IMG_2502-7
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!

©2009-2014 Tiny Urban Kitchen
All Rights Reserved

Filed Under: California, California Trip Report, Napa Valley, Trip Report, World Travel Tagged With: Napa, Napa/Sonoma

« Leaving On a Jet Plane . . .
S. Pellegrino Welcome Reception »

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Comments

  1. lindsaymeyer says

    March 10, 2010 at 3:08 am

    Excited to see wine country from your perspective! Congratulations on being selected for this awesome opportunity.

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  2. high low says

    March 10, 2010 at 10:34 am

    Welcome back! Can’t wait to read all about the competition (and of course, your take on The French Laundry!)

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  3. Fresh Local and Best says

    March 10, 2010 at 12:08 pm

    These photos are stunning! I can’t wait to see more!

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  4. Winnie says

    March 10, 2010 at 12:49 pm

    Gorgeous photos! Was fun to get snippets about your experience along the way (through facebook); looking forward to hearing more about it here on your blog!

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  5. Chubby Chinese Girl says

    March 10, 2010 at 1:22 pm

    wow welcome back… i bet it’ll be one amazing post after the other =)

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  6. Anonymous says

    March 12, 2010 at 1:45 am

    Hi, Tiny Urban Kitchen Reporter:

    Your pictures are awesome!

    Old Car

    Log in to Reply
  7. Cheap Flights to Johannesburg says

    May 19, 2012 at 8:51 am

     One thing that I love about traveling is feeling disoriented and removed from my comfort zone.”

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Welcome to Tiny Urban Kitchen!

JenChe

Hi, my name's Jen and welcome to my cooking, eating, and travel site! I am a Boston to Hong Kong transplant, born and raised in Ohio with parents from Taiwan. Feel free to head on over to the About page if you want to learn more about me, or just explore away, maybe starting with the Recipe Index or one of the travel pages! I hope you enjoy this site!
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