A Gastronomic Experience

By Anya Kroupnik Windhoffer and Laszlo Windhoffer

Let me start off by saying, I love Strathmore! The hall has unbelievable acoustics with a rich wooden interior design, the mansion has a quaint feel with its glowing stained glass, and the grounds are spacious and supremely lush with bright greenery. When I first heard that a major food event was happening there, it didn’t make sense, but Strathmore has been innovative in their choices – in short, it turned out to be perfect.

Food Samples - Chorizo 

The weather was beautifully mild all weekend, so Strathmore’s grounds were perfect for strolling between food trucks, pausing to listen to music performances, sipping at wine tastings, or sampling food from various vendors. There was a lot to do, and aside from all the bubbly beverages, there were many highlights:

Small batch, hand-made cheeses from Stonyman Gourmet Farmer: my favorites were the pungent blue cheese with the perfect funk that lingers on your pallet and the refreshingly sharp cheddar.

Stonyman Gourmet Farmer Cheese

Whole Foods shared some deliciously fresh snacks: house-made spicy dip topped with a pecan all on top of a sweet potato chip; butter, radish, and sunflower sprouts tartines; and sausage medallions topped with creamy sauce.

Whole Foods Spicy Dip with Pecan

Ape Man Foods sampled their newly debuted line of raw vegan treats with mini walnut tacos and eggplant parmesan. I especially loved the fact their line of products is super healthy and nutrient packed, you can feel good eating their nutritious food.

Ape Man Foods Vegan Treats

The freshly prepared summery salad topped with succulent shrimp from Chef Billy Strynkowski was divine. The best part was that you learned how to make the dish from his entertaining tutorial out on the secluded lawn behind the Strathmore Mansion.

Chef Billy Strynkowski Shrimp Salad

The friendly staff from the Pike & Rose development kept our thirst away with multiple refills of rose wine and champagne, which were paired with ahi tuna poke on a crunchy corn tortilla chips.

Rose

And of course the main highlights were the performances. Friday night Giada De Laurentiis charmed the crowd with her playful humor, spontaneity, passionate food descriptions, and personal anecdotes. She demoed some delicious recipes that the audience gobbled up. Andrew Zimmern was the headliner on Saturday with his bizarre foods. Bizarre they were with duck balls, sautéed squirrel, and even the famous Nordic fermented herring. Note to self: don’t ever eat fermented herring unless you want to repel anyone that comes within 5 feet of you…. Overall his show was entertaining and highly recommended to all adventurous souls.

 Giada de Laurentiis Chef Demo

Andrew Zimmern Chef Demo