As many of you may have been aware, this Saturday was the host of the annual New England Dessert Showcase. For one day only, the Sheraton hotel in the Back Bay was home to over 20 sweet exhibitors peddling their delicacies. This was my second time attending the event, and not only did the whole thing go down a treat, but I was amazed at how much smoother the whole operation was.
With my media pass, I got in a little ahead of the public - so I got to get some good pictures of the set up before the crowds arrived. The location at The Sheraton, which moved from last year's conference hall at The Marriott, was much better suited to display and disperse the various vendors...as well as the World's Largest Cannoli.
My friend and I got right to business, starting with the beautiful display by the team behind O'sugar Cakery. They were really on top of things and had trays of samples ranging from their delicious pecan pie tartlets, to their cake pops, fudge cake and chocolate sixlets.
Whereas last year they ran out of samples within the first 15 minutes, this year they made it through the entire day...Kudos ladies:)
One of our favorite desserts however came as a bit of a surprise. Kueh, a little bakery specializing in Southeast-Asian treats, had a fabulous array of pastries and the like. My favorite thing was their black bean pudding served with coconut milk. It made me feel like I was back in Singapore! I remember them well from the Hungry Tiger Festival held earlier this summer in Union Square.
Back for a second year in a row was the Chart House with their signature chocolate brownie, served warm and topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce and heath bar bites. Needless to say, this number's hot and cold contrast made it down in no time.
A bit of a break in the sugar consumption was welcomed with a presentation by Nicole Coady, executive chef of Finale Desserterie. She was demonstrating how to make these amazing Pad Thai truffles...which, somehow, managed to be sweet and savory simultaneously;)
Along the real candy, we had eye candy. Above we have a picture of the World's largest Cannoli. Unfortunately, due to the extreme drop in temperature (not ok!), the outer shell collapsed, so we could not partake in a filling ceremony...the mini samples they gave out were just as good though!
It is also worth giving a shout out to Batch Ice Cream for their delicious and all-natural ice cream, and The Cake Spot for the most delicious cupcakes I have ever tasted.
It was also great to see some familiar foodie faces, Elizabeth from Free, Food Boston had a great little food guessing game going and the ladies from Just Add Cheese are always a pleasure to chat with.
I somehow made it through all the desserts without going into too much of a sugar high...sure my head was pounding and my vision may have been slightly blurred by 12:30, but I figure that once a year...I can handle it:)
nice seeing you!
ReplyDelete