ShopRite and the New York City Wine & Food Festival 2010

I haven't been M.I.A. on purpose, oh no - I realize my last post was cut short, but there really is a wonderful reason and I'm going to share it with you: ShopRite and the New York City Wine & Food Festival are responsible, in part, for my absence. No sooner had I decided to blog our food for a week then I realized I had so much to do before heading off to NYC for 2 days. I do have photos and I promise to share, but until then you need to hear about the fun time I had!

I have been chosen as one of a select group of bloggers to be a ShopRite Blogger Panelist. What does that mean for me? Well, I get to sample ShopRite products, develop recipes and share with my readers here and on the ShopRite blog. Having been a ShopRite shopper since my own mother bought our groceries there, I am more than equal to the task and really look forward to this.

The most important part about the NYCW&FF are the hosts and beneficiaries of this. While it may seem pricey to some, the festival benefits Share our Strength and the Food Bank for New York City, two organizations I am behind 110%!

ShopRite kicked off the Blogger Panel by sending us all off to the NYCW&FF 2010 where we saw the ShopRite brand in action, sampled until we glutted ourselves and were fortunate enough to meet food executives, fellow bloggers and even a celebrity or two (Fabio Viviani and Tyler Florence)!

Chef Fabio Viviani - Yes, I was taking covert photos of him, but not because I'm a stalker! I honestly wasn't sure it was him. I approached him after Chef Faith's presentation and told him how much our family loves him. He sent kisses to the kids and when I told him we stopped watching Top Chef after his season (our hearts were broken!) he reminded me to watch Season 8 as he will be back! Don't miss it!

We started at Pier 54 Hudson River Park, where we were able to sample wines from just about everywhere (which I passed on as a teetotaler) and food from the ShopRite stores. We also watched ShopRite's Executive Chef Faith Alahverdian cook up a feast of beef and share her infectious passion about food.

Chef Faith Alahverdian

The ShopRite Culinary Workshop Chefs doing their thing.

The food! This is just part of what all those wonderful chefs were cooking up at the tasting.

After that Val of From Val's Kitchen and I traipsed off to Chelsea Market as Val had never had the chance to see it and it's one of my favorite stomping grounds in NYC. Once we shuffled out of there (feet a little sore at this point) we sat with Bob Clare, one of the owners of the Oakland, NJ ShopRite and his friend Janice. We chatted for a bit before heading to Abe & Arthur's for Tyler Florence's signing of his newest book, Family Meal. How cool is that? Full review up & coming for this book, by the way.

We stayed at A & A for dinner (impeccable service and wonderful food - highly recommended) and had the best time laughing and eating together. After that I trucked back to my room at the Tribeca Grand Hotel and Skyped with the kids for a little as they were all so excited about mommy going to NYC.

The ShopRite team, the gals from Coyne PR and the other bloggers were the highlight of the weekend, though and I look forward to getting to know them all better throughout the year. I came away with so many great products, food ideas and memories and I can't wait to blog about them all!

There are more photos of the Festival here: New York City Wine & Food Festival