Gloria Ferrer Glorious Bites ~ The Challenge Begins In Washington, D.C.

September 22, 2016 ~ the day of the Gloria Ferrer Glorious Bites Challenge ~ I started the day with a mimosa at Jackson 20 restaurant, downtown Alexandria, Virginia, just to make sure I got plenty of vitamin C for energy.  The mimosa was made with Segura Viudas, Brut Reserva, nv, from Spain and was quite tasty with lots of fizz.
Next it was off down the street to brunch at la Madeleine, Country French Café…


We could not resist this breakfast crêpe…eggs scrambled with your choice of ingredients (we chose bacon, mushroom and Swiss cheese), open faced, house-made herb crêpe topped with Gruyère cheese sauce and fresh parsley. The Gruyère cheese sauce made this dish taste like a cross between crêpe and fondue…delicious! The café offered lots of delicate French pastries, Linzer tart cookies, Sachertort and lovely freshly baked quiche.

We finally stopped eating, at least for a minute, arriving at the location of the challenge ~ Union Kitchen in Washington, D.C.

I had a bit of a “deer in the headlights” look on my face as I picked up this magnum of Gloria Ferrer, but quickly relaxed as I met the folks from Gloria who made me feel right at home and my fellow contestants who were as fun and nice as could be.
We noshed on some delicious cheese provided by Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company.

Our judges for the evening were introduced to us at the beginning of the challenge (pictured below right to left)
Dee Dee Kennedy ~ Breakthru Beverage
Chef Jennifer Luttrell ~ Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company
Daniel Lobsenz ~ The Riggsby, DC

Nycci Nellis was our celebrity judge of the evening:

Nycci Nellis is a mother of five; a foodie born and bred; founder and publisher of www.TheListAreYouOnIt.com (The List), referred to by the Washington Post as “one of the DC area’s premier resources for information about all things food and wine in DC and beyond” for more than 36,000 subscribers. Nycci is also the co-host of Foodie and the Beast (along with her husband, David), DC’s only food and wine variety radio show featuring the who’s who of today’s culinary landscape. Additionally, you can hear Nycci regularly weekly on WTOP radio (103.5 FM), America’s top revenue grossing FM station, among many other regular, TV guest spot appearances during the year. Nycci previously spent more than a year as the local, “Fox 5 Foodie” and has appeared on the Gourmet’s Diary of a Foodie with James Beard Award-winning chef Michel Richard.
I’ll publish more details about this fabulous adventure soon… including the recipe for my Glorious Bites entry:  “Gloriafied Crab Appetizer”.

Pictured above: the photo of my “Gloriafied Crab Appetizer” that I submitted to the Glorious Bites Challenge.

Please visit my Facebook Page: Bubblybee