Patchwork Edible Media Preview at SOCO
3303 Hyland Avenue
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
To be honest, when I was walking into this event, I had no idea what to expect. I had never heard of Patchwork before. I am not someone that is into crafts, I don't really care for shopping, and if you have ever seen me out, you know I am probably one of the least fashionable person in any room. From what I could gather about Patchwork from their web site, they were kind of a cross between Sawdust Festival, farmers market, and craft store. Not really any of my favorite places.
This was going to be different though. This Patchwork event was going to be all about food. An edible festival, if you will. I could definitely get excited about something like that. Looking deeper into it though, this is more of a food lovers summit. They are bringing food authors, chefs, bloggers, vendors, and food producers all together for this two day event at SOCO in Costa Mesa. SOCO itself is becoming a culinary destination for food lovers from all over Southern California. We have made several trips to this center this summer, and we have many more to make as we try to cross some restaurants off of our list.
Anyways back to the Patchwork Edible Show. Patchwork Shows started seven years ago, and this is going to be their first food related show. Sure they have a Marketplace, which will feature over 50 regional small food business's along with food-centric items and beverages; including beer, wine and other innovative drinks. Patchwork Edible Edition will also feature food related panels, cooking demos, hands on workshops, and for those looking to get into the cottage food industry, they will be providing resources and programs to educate the next wave of food entrepreneurs. This is going to be a lot of stuff packed into these two days. Now that I had more of an idea of what this show was all about, I was even more excited for it to get here. Lucky for me, this event was was showcasing some of the great exhibitors that will be part of Patchwork Edible Edition on October 5th and 6th. Let's see what we got here.
It's not only going to be craft food vendors at Patchwork, there will be some pop-up restaurants as well. Greenleaf Gourmet Chopshop was on hand giving out samples of their Grilled Peach with Burrata Cheese and their Truffled Mushroom Flatbread. The grilled peach was better than I expected it would be, but the flatbread was where it's at. Very tasty. We have not been to Greenleaf yet, but we will make it to their new SOCO location soon.
Ontoria is a restaurant in Costa Mesa that I have never heard of. They are located on Bristol, right under the 73 Freeway. On this night they were making their Fresh Burrata. This was topped with fruit, and was very creamy and delicious. Now that I know who they are, we may have to make a visit to their restaurant soon.
Since we always eat out, I am always on the lookout for healthy snacks when I am at home. I may have found one with The Yes Bar. This snack is grain free, and Paleo friendly. The bars are made up of nuts, chocolate, dried fruit, and other things. For being good for you, these sure did not taste like it, they actually tasted good. I was fond of the macadamia nut chocolate chip that I tried. I took a few extra samples to work the next day.
Even before we came to this event, I had heard great things about Front Porch Pops. I was a little disappointed that they did not have any of their popsicles out for samples, but they did have other treats, including fresh baked pretzels, and one of the more unusual treats of the night, Brie Ice Cream. Yes, you heard that right, brie ice cream. It was very smooth and creamy, and left me wanting more. I will have to make a trip up to their storefront up in Orange, or maybe catch them at the SOCO Farmers Market on Saturday mornings.
Proving that things run in cycles, the Preservation Society is bringing back canning. This is not your grandmothers canning though. They had some interesting offerings here. Lemon Passionfruit Marmalade, Jalapeno Lime Jelly, Curry Pumpkin Pickles, and Herbed Beets with Orange and Shallots. Can't wait to try some of their stuff at the Patchwork Edible Show.
What goes good with preserves? Yes, bread of course. Anytime we see Bread Artisan Bakery at an event, we know we will be lingering around, and stuffing ourselves with samples for awhile. This family owned and operated bakery is quickly becoming one of our favorite bread providers. Their stuff is very good. Glad they will be at the Patchwork Event.
The always innovative guys from Portola Coffee were doing something a little outside the box at this event. They made ice cream using liquid nitrogen, brewed espresso, then turned both into an affogato. I did not get a chance to try this, but from what I heard, it was amazing. These guys always have something going on here.
You can revoke my food blogger card if you would like, but I had no idea what Kombucha was all about until I tried Kombucha Dog. Kombucha is fermented tea loaded with antioxidants, detoxifying acids, and probiotics. Kombucha was good, and I guess it is good for you, but I really liked that the folks over at Kombucha Dog place canines on their labels. These are dogs that are in need of rescue, and you can find ways to help them on their website. It's always nice when a company doesn't just care about making money, but gives things back to the community.
I'm not much of a soda drinker, unless you count the rum and cokes I have when I am watching my horrible football team play. This Joia All Natural Soda was pretty solid though. I really enjoyed the unusual flavors, Pineapple-Coconut-Nutmeg, Lime-Hibiscus-Clove, and the one that I tried, the Ginger-Apricot-Allspice. They do not use high fructose corn syrup or anything artificial. A very well made beverage.
These were just some of the vendors that will be at the Patchwork Edible Edition. If this sneak peek is any indication, this is going to be a great event. All these food vendors, panels, cooking demos, and hands on workshops are all being offered free of charge. Yes, you heard that right, there is no admission fee to get into this great event. I am really glad that I came to this event, and learned about the great things that will be going on here. There is no doubt that we will be at SOCO October 5th and 6th. Hope to see you there as well.
For information about the Patchwork Edible Edition, go to the Patchwork website here: http://patchworkshow.com/
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