Orlando’s best chefs were at Taste of the Nation.

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Taste of the Nation was held at Orlando World Center Marriott on August 8th. Money raised at the 26th annual gala went to Share our Strength, Coalition for the Homeless and Second Harvest Food Bank. Taste of the Nation is the nation’s premier culinary benefit dedicated to making sure no kids go hungry. Each spring and summer, the nations hottest chefs and mixologists donate their time, talent and passion at nearly 40 Taste of the Nation events across the United States and Canada with one goal in mind, to raise critical funds.needed to end childhood hunger.

I have sketched and reported on this gala for the past few years. In the past, Disney’s Artist Point was lavishly decorated but this year there was no decoration, it was strictly about the food. Orlando World Marriott Center however never fails to amaze with the way they present their food. This year’s display was almost circus like with changing lights and tall  lighting supports acting as towers. It was a quick and easy decision to sketch this display. The deserts being offered were even more impressive in their artistry and taste.

Several times I was offered food and drink, but I always resist the temptation until the sketch is complete. By the time I get to try some of the samples, there are no longer any lines at the tables. My first bite was a light mac and cheese from Old Hickory Steakhouse at Gaylord Palms. I washed it down with a tiny bottle of “Smoked Bourbon Blackberry Tea” from Orlando Airport Marriott Lakesite, which had a flavorful kick.  The Tea which included smoked Bulleit Rye Whiskey, Darjeeling tea,
hibiscus, lemon peel and strawberry.The tiny bottle was genius because I could tuck it away in my suit pocket and leave my hands for the plate and utensils. I heard that some patrons were hoarding the brew in every imaginable pocket. When I went back to try a second bottle, they were gone.

My second taste was at Yak and Yeti from Disney’s Wild Kingdom. They served a pork cheek spicy taco. The tasty taco danced on the edge of my spicy hot tolerance levels. I ate it but wasn’t tempted to try another. Cassa Bella served Sausage Capella which was quite delicious. I then ended my tasting spree back at the Orlando World Center Marriott to try their creative deserts. These gorgeous deserts were the perfect taste to complete the night.

In the hall outside the Ballroom, a Japanese sugar artist, Sugimori “Candy” Miyukiwas, busy sculpting candy creations for patrons. The candy was hot with a consistency of taffy. She would sculpt a horse, dragonfly, or any creature imaginable in a matter of minutes. Her hands moved with nimble dexterity. The line for the free candy creations was long. Last year $301,317 was raised at the Orlando Taste of the Nation to fight hunger, I have no doubt that just as much, if not more, was raised this year.

Taste of the Nation has helped fight hunger for 25 years.

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On August 9, 2014 I went to the Orlando World Center Marriott (8701 World Center Drive Orlando FL) to sketch Taste of the Nation which is the nation’s premiere culinary benefit dedicated to making sure no kid grows up hungry. Each spring and summer, the nation’s top chefs and mixologists donate their time, talent and passion at nearly 40 Taste of the Nation events across the United States and Canada with the goal to raise critical funds needed to end childhood hunger. No Kid Hungry, Share our Strength, organizes the events. The beneficiary’s in Orlando are, Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida and Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida.

Second Harvest Food Bank secures and distributes food and grocery products to approximately 550 local nonprofit feeding programs throughout Central Florida. Last year with the help of donors, volunteers,  and a caring community, the food bank distributed nearly 64 million pounds of grocery products- the equivalent of more than 53 million meals. On average more than 55,000 people receive assistance provided by Second harvest every week. Second Harvest recently moved into a new 100,000 square foot hunger relief center. This puts the bank in a position to fill the gap of what our community really needs.

Coalition for the Homeless was founded in 1987 by concerned citizens who noticed the growing problem of homelessness in our community. It has grown into the largest provider of homeless services in Central Florida and the largest residential facility for children. Their mission is to transform lives of homeless men, women and children by providing critical services to end their crisis of homelessness. The Coalition has three residential facilities and an off site community housing program. Case managers develop individualized self sufficiency plans which include educational opportunities, job skill training, budget management, counseling and more. Services are provided to over 600 people each night including 150 children. They served over 300,000 meals and provided over 245,000 nights of shelter last year.

I decided to sketch the Captains Grille (Epcot, 1700 Epcot Resort Blvd., Orlando, FL) as they set up and served patrons. They served a plate that had cauliflower puree topped with pan seared scallops. Mixed greens were mixed with spiced rum raisins with hazelnut vinaigrette and placed on top. To say it was delicious is an understatement.  The chef shared the recipe but I can not share it for legal reasons. I plan to try and make it myself someday since this culinary army made it look so easy.  The scallop dish was ironically the only plate I got to taste. By the time my sketch was done all the food vendors were packing up. $301,317 was raised at the Orlando Taste of the Nation to fight hunger.

Taste of the Nation

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On Saturday August 10th, Terry and I went to the Orlando World Center Marriott to attend Taste of the Nation. 58 or so of Orlando’s best restaurants were there in the Cypress Ballroom to offer samples of their best dishes and wines. Proceeds from the event went to benefit Second Harvest Food Bank and Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida. Maria Diestro of Second Harvest asked me to document the event with a sketch. She walked us in a little early so I could get a jump on the sketch.

The Orlando Marriott World Center desert station is what caught my eye. A weeping willow tree covered in red lights illuminated the center of the exhibit. One of those spinning racks from a dry cleaner was suspended and constantly rotating with plates of pastries and deserts. Yellow and red circles were also hung creating an ever changing Calderesque effect that was eye catching. Chef Ramon Ramos, who came over to see the drawing, came up with the idea for the rotating display, and Wizard Connection, a special events design company engineered the display. Wizard Connection had a hand in a few other displays notably backdrops that looked like working charcoal ovens.

On the left of my sketch, several volunteers were talking to the auctioneer for quite some time. They later looked over my shoulder to say, “Hey, that’s me!” At the beginning of the event, only VIPs were sampling the pastries, but as the sketch progressed the display became mobbed. I decided to keep the crowd down in my sketch to show off the deserts spinning. For two hours as I sketched, I didn’t taste any food. Terry wandered the event found some friends and sampled everything.

Jen Vargas stopped to say hello. She had on the new Google Glass that lets you stay digitally connected constantly. She is beta testing the devise. The display is just above the eye line so you can just glance up to look at a GPS map or check your social media. She let me try it on. She told me to say, “Take picture” and when I did, the device captured my view. I decided to say, “Sketch picture with loose ink and watercolor.” The glasses responded, “Sorry Dave, I can’t do that.” The biggest drawback is that the power only lasts for an hour and a half. I suggested to Jen that they should have a pocket battery backup. “They thought of that and I have one.” She said. When you use the battery, you truly look like a Borg since a wire sticks out of the side of your head.

When the sketch was done, I texted Terry and she took me to sample the dishes she liked most. Restaurant vendors were beginning to pack up. I got a small cup of sea food from Cala Bella Italian Bistro which was decent with calamari and I believe lobster. We tried a small bowl of soup from Cress up in Deland which was light and a bit spicy. Then we found a table and had a couple of Cokes. She suggested I walk around to see what else I could find. The only open vendor was Olive Garden Restaurant, so I had a small sample of pasta. All these amazing restaurants and I was stuck with a Darden Chain. I also returned to the desert turntable station and got Terry a grapefruit desert cup. I tried it and thought it was apricot. Alright, so taste isn’t my strongest sense. I’m thinking I should start a “Sketch What You Eat Diet”. By the time you sketch your food, the meal would be cold and therefor you would eat less. This could be bigger than the “South Beach Diet” and much easier. That is if you like to sketch of course.

Share Our Strength‘s “No Kid Hungry“ campaign was also a beneficiary of Taste of the Nation. One in five children struggle with hunger. Since 1988, Taste of the Nation has raised more than $80 million dollars to fight hunger.

22nd Annual Taste of the Nation

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Great food, great drink for an even greater cause. In America more than 17 million children struggle with hunger. That is close to one in four children. For 28 years Second Harvest Food Bank has helped feed the hungry in Central Florida. With the help of the food industry and the community, millions of pounds of wholesome food is distributed each year to 500 local feeding programs. Yet in today’s economy the need continues to grow.

Taste of the Nation was held at the Orlando World Center Marriott (8701 World Center Drive). Terry and I arrived a little early so I could get started on a sketch before the event got too crowded. More than 2000 people were expected to attend. We bumped into Paula Large who is an excellent artist. Paula’s husband was working the event as a chef on stilts. I saw Maria Diestro, who is the Second Harvest Communications Manager. She had invited me to sketch and report on the event. While Terry went to shop for reading glasses, Maria walked me into the ballroom. The room was immense. All the vendors had donated their time and food to the cause. Maria said I had to the Royal Plaza table to try Chef Jean Louis’s famous bananas foster. This was the first place I stopped. Jean Louis put butter in the frying pan and the banana halves sizzled. He then drizzled something in the pan which lit up causing a fire ball. Oddly Jean had no eyelashes. Sure enough the bananas foster was fabulous! I was content and fired up to start sketching.

Walking the room I was attracted to the orange African sunset behind Sanaa at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge. Chef Bob Getchell was preparing the spicy Durban Chicken. He demonstrated to everyone working the event how much food should be served. The dish had to look good as well as taste good. The spicy Durban chicken was served on a bed of Basmati rice with mint chutney and papadam. The dish was a little to hot for my taste. I wished I had a beer to cut the spices.

After I finished my sketch, I texted Terry and we found one another in the cavernous room. She had been sampling dishes while I sketched. She introduced me to the dishes she liked the most. A wild Boar soft taco was delicious as was a sweet pork belly. I was thirsty from the salty meat dishes so I searched for water or a soda. I couldn’t find either one so I settled on a white wine. Seating was only available in the VIP area which was roped off. After an hour of standing I was getting tired. I can’t imagine how the women standing in their high heals managed. When Terry wandered off in search of more food, I sat on my camping chair. A chef walked by and, pointing to his temple he said, “You were smart to bring your own chair.”

There was a chef throw-down competition on the main stage. The competition only lasted 10 minutes so I didn’t try and sketch. 150 Keys were being sold for $25. One of those keys would open a door to a wine cellar containing thousands of dollars worth of wine. At the end of the evening a long line of people gathered to try their luck at unlocking the door. It only took five attempts before a woman’s key worked. She shouted in delight. Taste of the Nation Orlando raised $167,500 to fight hunger in Central Florida that night.