The annual Sonoma County Harvest Fair is ramping up, meaning that chefs, caterers, bakers and foodies of all kinds have submitted their most delicious dishes for judging. From more than 275 entries from the categories of Appetizers/Hors D’oeuvres; Breads; Cakes & Pastries; Dairy Products (ice cream, milk, butter and cheese; Individual Desserts; Delicatessen & Sauces; Olive Oil; Vinegar; and Coffee Roasting), the Sonoma County Harvest have announced the winners of the 2017 Professional Food Competition.
Here’s the breakdown. Scroll through the images above for many of the baking entrants, images from Peleton and others. (Don’t see your dish listed? Let us know).
– Oliver’s Market, BurtoNZ bakery as well as Peloton Culinary and Catering won the prestigious title of Sweepstakes Exhibitor.
-Oliver’s earned the award in both the Individual Desserts as well as the Cakes and Pastries divisions while BurtoNZ bakery took the award home for their Bread entries.
In a dead heat between Peloton Culinary and Catering and Out to Lunch Catering, Peloton earned the most golds (9) in the appetizer division earning them the sweepstakes title. Out to Lunch took the top honor of Best of Show Appetizer.
Here are some highlights of the blind tasting results from this year’s Professional Food Competition:
Bread
BurtoNZ bakery of Windsor became the new winner for Sweepstakes Exhibitor in the Bread category this year. They also cleaned house by taking Best of Show French Bread for their Our World Sourdough and Best of Show Specialty Bread for a delicious Kalamata Olive and Asiago Sourdough.
Cake & Pastry
Keeping their winning streak alive, Oliver’s Market of Santa Rosa blew judges away, claiming the Sweepstakes Cakes/Pastries Exhibitor award, Best of Show Cake/Pastry for its Naked Chocolate Mousse Cake and Best of Show Decorated Cake for its Red Velvet/Chai Mousse Cake.
Appetizers
Peloton Culinary and Catering of Healdsburg took the Sweepstakes Award for Appetizers, winning top awards including Best Use of Beef for their 48 hour Sous Vide Angus Beef Brisket Slider and Best Use of Sonoma County Wine for their Cremini Mushroom Bisque with Black Pepper Zinfandel Essence and Herb Oil.
Out to Lunch Catering of Petaluma won Best of Show Appetizer and Best Use of Pork for its Thistle Meats Prosciutto Cups with Goat Cheese Mousse and Sliced Figs in La Crema Pinot Sonoma Honey. They also won Best Use of Cheese for their Grilled Sonoma White Cheddar Cheese with Apricot Preserves and Candied Bacon over Creamy Soup; Best Use of Poultry for Grilled Chicken with Mexican Spiced Chimi Churri; and Best Use of Vegetable/Fruit for Locally Harvested Wild Mushroom and Laura Chenel Goat Cheese Empanadas with Spicy Aoli.
Coffee
Out of 32 entries in the Regular Coffee Division, Best of Show Coffee went to Retrograde Coffee Roasters for their Yirgacheffe Bedhatu Jibicho Ethiopia.
Dairy Products
Best of Show Cheese Product went to Redwood Hill Farm & Creamery of Sebastopol for their Redwood Hill Farm Goat Milk Cheddar. Dave’s Gourmet Ice Cream of Santa Rosa took Best of Show Other Dairy Product for Espresso Ice Cream.
Delicatessen & Sauces
Oliver’s Market earned another top award with Best of Show Delicatessen for their Alive & Healing Maple Glazed Tempeh Salad. Best of Show Sauce/Topping went to Emily’s Kitchen for a Raspberry Chipotle BBQ Sauce.
Individual Desserts
Sweepstakes Dessert Exhibitor went to Oliver’s Market who also earned Best of Show Dessert for a Peanut Butter Chocolate Tart. Best Use of Local Products went to Simply Strudels for its Meyer Lemon Cheese Strudel. BurtoNZ bakery snagged another top award for Best of Show Cookie for a Brown Butter Sugar Cookie. Rainy Day Chocolate earned Best of Show Candy for their Zebra Dark & White Chocolate Layered Truffle.
Vinegar
Best of Show Vinegar went to B.R. Cohn Olive Oil Company in Glen Ellen for its B.R. Cohn Pear Chardonnay Vinegar.
Olive Oil
B.R. Cohn Olive Oil also earned Best of Show Olive Oil for their BR Cohn California Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Arbosana, Arbequina, Koroneiki.
The Grand Tasting at the Sonoma County Harvest Fair offers guests a chance to savor this innovative cuisine from the Professional Food Competition and pair it with some of the area’s award-winning wines, as well as craft beers and ciders. Tickets for the Grand Tasting Pavilion are $65 each. Also available are 3-Day Tasting Passes for $140. Tickets are available online, at the Box Office located at 1350 Bennett Valley Road in Santa Rosa, or at the door the day of the event. The Harvest Fair is Friday, October 6, at 4:00 pm, with the Tasting Pavilion open from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Gates open Saturday, October 7 and Sunday, October 8 at 11:00 am with tasting from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm. For more information, visit HarvestFair.org.