Saturday was a delightfully gluttonous day full of food and wine at the Tulalip Resort & Casino. Having participated in the Tweet-up preview for the Taste of Tulalip last month, I was invited to attend the Saturday afternoon Grand Taste Pass. Why would I miss that? Of course I’ll attend.
Flights of Syrah
In addition to the Grand Taste Pass there were special seminars throughout the day. I attended the Syrah Superstars tasting led by Gwendolyn Wilson Osborn, the West Coast Educator for Wine Spectator. She selected a trio of Washington Syrahs as well as two international wines for us to experience. After a slightly chaotic start while a couple of corked wines were replaced, the workshop got underway. Experiencing the breadth of style of a particular varietal in a side-by-side tasting is fascinating. Learning her/Wine Spectator’s tasting methodology was also interesting to me, having never before participated in a guided tasting.
The Grand Taste Pass
With a bit of a Syrah blush to our cheeks, we joined the Grand Taste Pass already in full swing, and made a bee-line for the first food station we spotted. Entering the room, I was quite taken aback at how big the event was, whereas my friend was excited because it was so intimate compared to Taste Washington. I knew there would be 60 wineries, and lots of delectable bites of food, but I hadn’t quite thought about what that would look like. Envision isles of winemakers ready to pour tastes of their wines and free-standing islands of culinary action creating beautiful food for the taking. A fun way to spend an afternoon, wouldn’t you agree?
I will leave reviews and commentary of the various wines to others who are much more knowledgeable on the subject. Though I sampled just a sliver of what was offered, I will say that I was quite taken with Côte Bonneville’s wines.
I regret not taking more photos of the food to share. I was hap-hazardly snapping pictures, but I think you will get the idea that eating very well is a key part of this event. I sampled a number of the dishes at the pre-view event, but there was still a great deal of new food ground to cover.
Apple Lacquered Pacific Halibut over Savory Fennel-Butternut Squash Bread Pudding
The first bite we encountered after walking through the door was Apple-Lacquered Halibut sitting atop a pedestal of savory bread pudding; a fine way to start things off. The Korean short rib served on a pillow of kimchee rice made my heart race just a little and I would have circled back around for a second serving if there weren’t so many other things to sample.
Rolling out fresh pasta
Fresh pasta was being made at the station serving one of my favorite bites of the night, the Smoked Duck Chanterelle Lasagna Roll.
Smoked Duck Chanterelle Lasagna Roll
Desert was enjoyed early and often. After tasting Chef Nikol Nakamura creations at the preview, I knew better than to let dessert wait until the end of the evening.
Chocolate-Filled Beignet with Iced Coffee Shooter
The Chocolate-Filled Beignet with an Iced Coffee Shooter was as good as you can imagine it to be. Later in the evening people were hovering around this table snatching them up as quickly as they were being produced.
White Chocolate Pistachio Bon Bons
The White Chocolate Pistachio Bon Bons were so creamy in the center, and yes, the serving trays are slabs of chocolate.
Chocolate sculpture
It wasn’t until my keen-eyed friend commented on the chocolate sculpture that I even realized it was chocolate. I had noticed the work of art, but thought it was metal. Sculpted from chocolate makes it far more spectacular in my mind. The lower right corner of the base was particularly artistic revealing different layers of chocolate construction, but sadly the photo I took showing this detail is a blurry mess.
Cheese display
The cheese display was almost an event in and of itself. The generous offerings of fig jam that accented the length of the display required some personal restraint on my part. Grabbing an entire jar of sweet figgy goodness with a spoon and retreating to a quiet corner of the room for some “me-time” crossed my mind ever so briefly. Then I was distracted by the next alluring cheese.
Burmuda Triangle Cypress Grove Goat Cheese
Pulled Duck Sliders, Petite Seafood Cobb Salads, Oysters on the half-shell, Platters of smoked seafood, Butter Braised Scallops, Antelope Medallion on Crostini, and Seared Ahi Wonton Cups were all thoroughly enjoyed.
Antelope Crostini
The hustle of the staff putting out all this great food was nothing short of impressive. Creating individually plated dishes in the middle of a sea of people clearly boosts the intensity of the challenge of cooking for such a large event. The task of turning out delicious and beautiful plates while being peppered with questions from guests interested in what they are making seemed to be taken in stride. A nod to the great attention given to clearing dishes is in order as well. There was generally someone walking by collecting spent dishes within a moment or two of generating said dish. Their job had to have been made easier by the fact that all the dishes were nearly licked clean before being relinquished.
Next year the Taste of Tulalip will be held on November 11th & 12th. I already have the dates blocked out in my calendar.
Facebook
Twitter