Do Good Date Night at Quantum Leap Winery

Posted on by Thor

Happy Valentines Day. 

Kristen Walmsley-Manieri, founder of Orlando Date Night Guide, has organized a wonderful series of “Do Good Date Nights“.  This sold out evening, right before Valentines Day had couples putting together sanitation. kits for Clean the World. The event was held at Quantum Leap Winery (1312 Wilfred Drive Orland FL).  A core value of Quantum Leap’s business
plan is to find an environmentally friendly solution for transporting
wine to markets and ultimately the consumer. They have reinvented the wine-to-market delivery process. They search for good quality, sustainable grown wine, wherever they are around the world but transport it in large vessels to the Orlando winery.
It is in this facility where wine is stored, finished, blended and
packaged. This process substantially reduces the
carbon footprint associated with traditional wine production.

Clean the World gathers soap, shampoo and other disguarded items from thousands of hotels world wide and recycles them to create clean hygiene kits for third world countries. Most hotel guests stay for just one night and all those bars of soap used to go to landfills. Now that soap saves lives. They recycle soap and create hope. Nearly one in 5 child deaths in third world countries is due to diarrhea, about 1.5 million lives lost every year. Diarrheal diseases also contribute to malnutrition, stunted growth, burden in healthcare costs and time lost at school or work. Research studies have demonstrated that the risk of diarrhea can be reduced 44-47% through hand washing interventions. Promotion of hand washing with soap has been shown to reduce the risk of acute respiratory infection in children below the age of 5 by half. Handwashing promotion campaigns are increasingly being implemented as part of an effort to improve child survival.

The couples gathered at long tables topped with hygiene products. The person standing at the wine barrels started the production line by grabbing a plastic bag and putting a bar of soap in. The bag was then passed down the line where other items were put in the bags. The stakes were heightened when it was announced that this was a race, with prizes. Laughter and competitive joking ensued as everyone raced to do good. The first full box of packaged goods brought a cheer from the leading team. Other teams rushed to catch up, while the foreground team seemed more concerned with pristine and neat kits. Full boxes were stacked on a skit beside me and before you knew it, that skit was full.

After the Clean the World packaging was complete, everyone was given a tour of the winery. I listened in as I continued to splash watercolors on the page. Several couples admired my sketch. One woman thought she was pictured in the sketch, although it wasn’t her, I placed black striped on her shirt in the sketch to match what she was wearing as she spoke to me. That delighted her and she called her husband over. One of the Clean the World marketing people came over and he said to me, “How does it feel to make people happy everyday.” I don’t actually think many people notice what I do daily, but his comment certainly warmed my heart.

After the tour, couples went in the front of the winery where tables were set up to create a perfect blend of wine. The winery’s best wine is named after a co-owners rescue dog named Kaley. This perfect blend of wines was developed over many months. The couples were given samples of the wines that were used to create this magical blend. The table that came closest to matching the blends taste would get a prize. There was another prize for the table that created their own delicious and unique blend. One person had to be the mixer and measurer and the most important member of the team had to be good at math to calculate the percentages used. Crackers and cheese were also on each table to cleans the palette. The excitement in the room bubbled up even as the rules were explained. The expert wine tasters would remix the blends based on the percentages couples gave them. The race was on to discover the perfect blend of tastes. Taste and smell are my weaker senses. On top of that I’m not exactly a math wiz. I left as the room buzzed with excitement. I know I’ll be back however to get a bottle of that magic blend.

Couples Cooking Challenge Championship

Posted on by Thor

On November 14th the Couples Cooking Competition Championship was held at Aggressive Appliances, (617 Mercy Dr, Orlando, FL). The hands-on cooking competition was designed to give couples the opportunity to test their skills for the chance to win fabulous prizes and the title of Orlando’s Top Culinary Couple. Presented by Edible Orlando and the Orlando Date Night Guide, the contest gave couples the chance to compete in one of the 3 qualifying rounds, with one winner from each semi-final cook-off advancing to the finals. I sketched one of the qualifying rounds and then returned for the Championship. Contests were judged by local food personalities and writers, Joseph Hayes (Orlando
Magazine), Katie Farmand (Edible Orlando), Pam Brandon (Edible Orlando),
Adrienne Iannone (Whole Foods) and Cinthia Sandoval (Wild Ocean
Seafood).

There were some impressive prizes on the line including, A two-night gourmet getaway to JW Marriott, Grande Lakes including dinner for two at PRIMO, breakfast each morning in Citron, An American Brasserie, and two spa passes to the Ritz-Carlton Spa. The grand prize was a Sub Zero wine cooler. Other prizes included a Tassimo coffee system, a Meile canister vacuum, and a KitchenAid stand mixer.

A table with all the mystery ingredients was covered with a sheet. Each of the five couples was assigned their own kitchen which was prepped and ready to go. When the mystery ingredients were unveiled the contestants muscled in and gathered ingredients as if in a Black Friday frenzy. In the qualifying round they were polite and shared ingredients. Now with big prizes on the line it was each couple for themselves. Another unexpected twist came when they were told that the usual 45 minute preparation time would be reduced to 20 minutes. Everyone scrambled back to their kitchens and the competition heated up.

The couple I sketched was in kitchen 2. I spoke with them briefly after the dishes were finished. The primary ingredient everyone had to work with was shrimp. The couple made a modified grits dish to accompany the shrimp. One of the judges was tasting their dish as I was speaking to the couple. They watched her every taste, looking for signs of expression on her face. There were appetizers on hand for the crowd who came to watch the competition. I had to consider the sketch was none when the computer battery died. As a result of the competition, $800 was donated to Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida. In the end, it was Arti Kalidas and Chirag Kabrawala who, won the coveted title of Orlando’s Top Culinary Couple.

Couples Cooking Competition gets agressive.

Posted on by Thor

 The Couples Cooking Competition is a fast-paced, hands-on cooking competition designed to give couples the opportunity to test their skills for the chance to win fabulous prizes and the title of Orlando’s Top Culinary Couple. It is held at Aggressive Appliances, (617 Mercy Drive, Orlando, FL) which is right down the street from.

Presented by Edible Orlando and the Orlando Date Night Guide, the contest will give couples the chance to compete in one of the 3 qualifying rounds, with one winner from each semi-final cook-off advancing to the finals. Contests will be judged by local food personalities and writers like Katie Farmand, editor of Edible Orlando, Joseph Hayes, the Orlando Magazine dining editor, and Chef Israel from Second Harvest Food Bank.

Aggressive Appliances looks like an industrial warehouse from the outside, but inside, there were gorgeous, fully appointed, state of the art kitchens where the couples could compete. Each dish this evening had to include chicken. A table was set up that held key ingredients like spices and oils and a second table was covered with a cloth to hide the secret ingredient table. I decided to sketch kitchen 2 which came with a TV which was playing the cooking channel. The couple I sketched prepared a roasted chicken with a sweet potato chili hash. An appliance staff person was on hand in each kitchen to explain how to use the equipment. There was only one hour for the competitiors to get their dishes ready.

Only five couples get the chance to compete in each semi-final round.  On this evening there was going to be one winning couple and two wild card couples that would move up in the rankings. That made the chances of winning, 3 in 5. Each winning couple receives complimentary admission to the finals. The couples crowded around the ingredient table taking the supplies they needed for their recipes. Everyone was polite checking to be sure they weren’t taking ingredients another couple might need. Two couples agreed to split the rice.

Prizes for the winning couple include, a two-night gourmet getaway to JW Marriott, Grande L There was no elbows or punches thrown. The contestants then returned to their kitchens to start slicing dicing and cooking. The showroom filled with sumptuous aromas. iPhones were allowed in this semi final round but in future competitions there would be no digital crutches. The couple I sketched did refer to their phones a few times. Dishes would be judged on presentation as well a flavor. One couple kisses when their dish was done.

The the overall winners will get dinner for two at PRIMO, breakfast each morning in Citron, An American Brasserie, and two spa passes to the Ritz-Carlton Spa. Other prizes include a Sub Zero wine cooler, Tassimo coffee, system, Meile canister vacuum, KitchenAid stand mixer.  Arti Kalidas and Chirag Kabrawala won on this evening with their twist on a Moroccan tagine.

Proceeds from the competition support Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida. Entry includes all food, sit-down dinner with wine after competition and a fabulous swag bag filled with surprises. In other words, everyone is a winner. I went home and popped a frozen lasagna in the microwave for 10 minutes.

Mark Your Calendars!

The next competition qualifying round is Friday, October 17, 2014 and it is sold out.

The big Final Round is Friday, November 14, 2014 (A limited number of tickets
will be made available to those wishing to attend the finals as an
observer. These tickets will go on sale Oct. 20)