cookiesinheaven

The Brander Vineyard in Los Olivos will host its popular Bouillabaisse Festival to benefit Hospice of Santa Barbara. Last held in 2006, the absence of this beloved event left “foodies” all over California sobbing into their Sauvignon Blanc yearning for the return of this incomparable afternoon of sunshine, wine, music and fabulous bouillabaisse. 

Bouillabaisse, a delectable seafood soup, is the French equivalent of cioppino. Variations on the recipe take center stage at this friendly competition featuring some of the Central Coast’s finest chefs. The event, long associated with Fred Brander and his beautiful winery and vineyard in the Santa Ynez Valley, is once again being revived as a fundraiser for Hospice of Santa Barbara. 

Date: Sunday, August 26, 2012 
Time: 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. 
Location: The Brander Vineyard, 2401 North Refugio Road, Los Olivos 
Cost: $90 All proceeds benefit Hospice of Santa Barbara. 

To purchase tickets for the Bouillabaisse Festival, click here or contact (805) 563-8820 or kcthompson@hospiceofsb.org.

---------------------------------------------------------

** Note to readers: I was contacted by an PR Firm to put up on this blog what they wanted me to convey to you about this terrific festival. I find it a bit ethically tenuous as they are getting paid for having ME distribute their press releases. I am NOT getting money to share this information. I am NOT getting free tickets to this event. 

I put up this information because Hospice is a wonderful organization...and this festival really is a wonderful event that more people should know about. Just wanted you to know.

Labels: Bouillabaisse, Brander, Festivals, Hospice, Los Olivos, Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez Valley

Under the canopies, a photo by santa barbarian on Flickr.

Yes...it's that time for the BEST of the local Wine Festivals. 

Saturday, June 30 - 2:00 - 5:00 p.m. 
alongside the tree lined banks of Mission Creek.

Buy your tickets HERE. Better hurry before they are sold out.

2012 PARTICIPATING WINERIES

Alexander & Wayne Alma Rosa Andrew Murray Vineyards Au Bon Climat Arthur Earl Winery Babcock Winery Beckmen Vineyards Bedford Winery Brander Vineyard Brewer-Clifton Byron Cambria Cargasacchi Carina Cellars Carr Vineyards and Winery Cold Heave CORE Wine Daniel Gehrs Wines Dierberg & Star Lane Estate Vineyard Epiphany Cellars Fiddlehead Cellars Firestone Vineyard Flying Goat Cellars Foley Family Wines Foxen Gioia Wine Guy Riedel Wines 2012 PARTICIPATING FOOD & EXPERT VENDORS Bridge Brands Chocolate Brix Chocolate for Wine Brophy Bros Ca Dario cecco ristorante Country Catering Company DRY Soda Co. FreezerMonkeys™- natural frozen treats Global Garden icebox Water in a Box Il Fustino Kitchen Table Bakers Linda's Gourmet Latkes Little I Mirror Mints Marmalade Café Pacific Pickle Works Pierre La Fond Wine Bistro Route 246 Santa Barbara Tamales To Go SP Candie Co. The Perfect Bite The Stonehouse at San Ysidro Ranch Travel Cruise Connections Via Maestra 42 Village Modern Foods Whole Foods Market, Santa Barbara Willows at Chumash Casino Restaurant

Huber Cellars Jaffurs Wine Cellars Kalyra Ken Brown Wines Kenneth Volk Vineyards Kinton Koehler Winery Kunin Lincourt Melville Mosby Winery & Vineyard Municipal Winemakers Oreana Palmina Qupé Rancho Sisquoc Winery RN Estates Sagebrush Annie's Sanford Winery Santa Barbara Winery Sunstone Winery Sweeney Canyon Vineyard Toucan Wines Tablas Creek Transcendence Wines Vogelzang Wine Hound Whitcraft Winery Zaca Mesa

Labels: Festivals, Flickr, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, Santa Barbara Wine Festival, Wine

00000029, a photo by santa barbarian on Flickr.

Merci!

We are happy to announce that the French Festival will now be in the capable hands of two fine Santa Barbara non-profit organizations: Speaking of Stories and Center Stage Theater. They've got show biz in their blood, and have been part of the Festival for many years (vending the beer, wine and Perrier). French Festival founder Steve Hoegerman will continue to play an active role in the Festival as advisor and consultant. And will still be the emcee on the Moulin Rouge Stage and at the Poodle Parade. So if you've missed his jokes, you'll have a chance to hear them again!

The transfer of the Festival to this new group will allow the Festival to grow into the future. Our goal is for the Festival to continue for years and years. We do NOT want to make any major changes: we want the same joyous Festival you have known and loved to be here forever. It will be the same great Festival, and now all the proceeds will benefit these two great community organizations helping keep the arts alive in Santa Barbara throughout the year.

This summer's Festival will be a triumphant return and we are excited to celebrate Bastille Day with all of Santa Barbara in beautiful Oak Park on July 14 & 15! 

Labels: California, Festivals, French, French Festival, Oak Park, Santa Barbara

O Street Food Truck, a photo by santa barbarian on Flickr.

Sun, July 3, 12:00 noon –5:00 p.m.

110 State Street, Santa Barbara
@ Old Bebop Burger Lot.
OStreetTruck
LicketySplits
BurgerBus
and MORE!

Watch for a new food truck - Thai on a Truck to be there, too! The Chef for this new rolling culinary adventure was the former head chef for La Cumbre Country Club, so I think the food will be a "hole in one" for taste.

Labels: Festivals, Food Trucks

Limoneira Ranch will host the Ventura County Food Truck & Bocce Ball Festival on June 12, July 24 and Aug. 21. A portion of proceeds will benefit FOOD Share, Ventura County’s regional food bank. 

Participating gourmet food trucks, include:

Del’s Lemonade, Dogtown Dogs, It’s In The Sauce Texas BBQ, Louks ToGo, Spencer Makenzie’s Fish Company, The Sweets, Temaki Sushi, Tino’s Pizza and the Yummy One.

Live music will be provided by The Blue Barron Band, Orlando Napier, The Shoemaker Brothers and Michael John & The Bottom Line.

Professional bocce ball courts will host 12 teams of four members each for the Limoneira Bocce Ball Tournament. First place will win a $500 prize. The single elimination tournament is open to beginners and professionals with a $100 entry fee, which includes entry to the festival.

Festival tickets are on sale now.

Food Truck & Bocce Ball Festival

June 12, July 24, Aug. 21

12:00 noon to 6 p.m.

Limoneira Ranch, 1141 Cummings Road, Santa Paula

Cost: $20 adults; $10 children up to 12; free to age 5 and below. 

Labels: Bocce Ball, Festivals, Food Trucks, Santa Paula, Ventura

Labels: Festivals, Food, UCSB

Labels: Festivals, Paso Robles, Wine Country, YouTube, Zinfandel

Santa Barbara rolls out the red carpet for film-lovers and food fans during the star-studded Santa Barbara International Film Festival January 27-February 6, 2011. The eleven-day celebration of cinema coincides with Film Feast, a new prix fixe restaurant program available at dozens of downtown eateries throughout the duration of the festival. Film goers and foodies can choose from "Shorts" (two-course), "Features" (three-course) and "Epic" (four-course) length seasonal menus at participating restaurants. Film Feast provides a time-saving and tasty way to sample the region's best takes on the table before and after catching the action on the big screen. - Santa Barbara Visitors and Conference Bureau

Labels: Festivals, Film, Prix Fixe, restaurants, Santa Barbara

Labels: Animals, EdHat, Festivals

A food truck frenzy is currently sweeping the nation, and Valencia is about to take part in it! On Saturday, October 16 come be a part of the festivities when Awesometown becomes the epicenter of rolling culinary greatness as it hosts Valencia’s Gourmet Food Truck Festival in the Santa Clarita Valley. This event will take place at the Bridgeport Marketplace, located at McBean Parkway and Newhall Ranch Road, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. There will be an assortment of delicious food and great company, so bring your friends, family and a hearty appetite! - Valencia.com

Labels: Festivals, Food, Food Network, Food Trucks, tyler florence, Valencia, YouTube

Labels: Epicure.SB, Festivals, October, Santa Barbara

Labels: Festivals, Santa Barbara, tequila

Upcoming Events

Labels: Carpinteria, farmers, farming, Festivals, Gaviota, Sustainable

Labels: Festivals, Foodies, Santa Barbara

in the National Brew-ha-ha Summit this evening?

and...speaking of brews....The California Beer Festival is looking for people to work the event down in Ventura this September.

The California Beer Festival LLC is looking to hirer (sic) part time team members for The California Beer Festival held in Ventura, Ca on September 26, 2009. We are looking for bright, enthusiastic team members with excellent people skills to join our team. This is a great opportunity for someone who is looking for a job in the promotions world with room to grow within the company. - Craigslist

Labels: beer, Craigslist, employment, Festivals

The fabulous French Festival is coming back to Oak Park.

Smiling families dine at sidewalk cafés with checkered tableclothes and umbrellas. Starry-eyed couples toast each other with wine. Artists wearing bérets paint at their easels. The air is filled with music, laughter, and the tempting aromas of French cuisine. Surely this must be France?

Actually, it's the 22nd Annual French Festival in Santa Barbara, Saturday and Sunday, July 11 & 12 (Bastille Day Weekend), from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. in Santa Barbara's Oak Park. Admission is free. Over 20,000 people are expected to attend.

While Parisians celebrate the French Revolution 8,000 miles away, Californians will revel in the sights, sounds, foods and joie de vivre of France at the largest French celebration in the Western United States.

Will this be the last one? The Festival is up for sale. Inquires - FestivalForSale@yahoo.com

Labels: Festivals, French, Santa Barbara

Labels: Festivals, Foodies, Santa Barbara

Labels: Festivals, san luis obispo, Wine

We here in Santa Barbara LOVE our Avocados in so many ways!

Carpinteria's AvoFest has been going deliciously strong for 22 years!

Well, Santa Barbara County is the third largest avocado producer in North America, with Carpinteria being a major contributor. It seemed like a natural food festival in the making. Why have the Festival the first weekend in October? Oddly enough, statistics show that October is one of the sunniest months of the year with the least amount of rainfall.

And there it began...the California Avocado Festival.

• Spanish conquistadors discovered that avocado seeds yield a milky fluid that turns red when exposed to air. They used this indelible natural ink in documents that are preserved to this day.
• Sailors in the early 18th century relied on avocados for "midshipman's butter," spreading the creamy flesh on their otherwise hard biscuits.
• Bill Maher starred in a movie called "Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death"

Labels: avocado, Carpinteria, Festivals

Carl's Jr. restaurants are expanding their offerings of Guacamole Bacon Burgers, as the burger has been named the official burger of the upcoming California Avocado Festival.

The Guacamole Bacon Six Dollar Burger was added as a permanent menu item in 2003, and now, customers may order the burger in single, double or Six Dollar sizes. - LABizJournal

After decades of sustainable farming, he’s seen the power in working with nature rather than against her. So his trees thrive in all-natural compost. His farm creates energy rather than consumes it. And his continued research ensures that the land will stay lush and fruitful for generations to come.

In another life, Duncan worked in the high stakes field of investment banking. But Duncan longed for more; he wanted to work with his hands in the soil in search of fulfillment. Leveraging his opportunities, he moved into real estate, starting with the purchase of his father’s ranch in Carpinteria, California. He traded his high profile lifestyle for the satisfaction of farming Hand Grown in California Avocados.

In a move that will affect crop production across much of the region, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California plans to end its discount program for agricultural irrigation water. The move, expected to be approved in October, will open the door to increased water costs for many Southland farmers.

If adopted by the MWD board of directors, the proposal could reduce food production, as farmers struggle to pay higher water costs on top of soaring costs for fuel, fertilizer and other supplies. - California Farm Bureau Federation

Labels: avocado, burgers, competitions, drought, Festivals, Recipes, Water