10th Annual Midsummer Herbfest
July 24, 2005
This year we decided to attend the Herbfest at the Herb Garden close to Almonte. When we got there we were surprised at how many people there were there and annoyed at the 2$ parking fee (it wasn't mentioned on the web and there's really no way to get there other than by car so we figured it should have been included in the 5$ entrance fee).
There were a lot of vendors selling stuff like jams, preserves, etc and herbal hygiene products (surprisingly enough, not many people selling just herbs!). We looked around a bit and took advantage of some free samples and then headed for one of the tents for the 2005 Cook Off.
Three local chefs were competing and thanks to Samantha we had moved back one row in order to accomodate her stroller, thereby landing us in a chair specially marked to be one of the 6 audience judges. Each contestant prepared their meal in front of the audience and as Rubby went to the judging table, he was quite excited to find that each judge got their own plate. So poor Rubby had to eat 3 entire entrees! (Suddenly the admission price seemed pretty cheap!)
The three meals were:
- beef & shrimp brochettes with grilled vegetable strata
- venison tenderloin with rosemary wheatbeer reduction & fresh vegetables
- turmeric salmon in asian herb coconut broth (Rubby's favourite)
We also attended a workshop on indigenous cooking and got to sample some elk meat with fiddleheads, cattail shoots and dandelion greens served on a bed of wild rice.
It was a beautiful day to enjoy the Herb Garden and some good eats!
the welcome booth
vendors...
...and more vendors
settling in for the cook-off
the first contestant... Julian Smith from 'the Ironworks Pub' in Almonte
beef & shrimp brochettes with grilled vegetable strata
samantha watches and daddy eats all the yummy food!
the second contestant... Joseph thompson from 'the swan at carp'
plating the dishes
venison tenderloin with rosemary wheatbeer reduction & fresh vegetables
this is all too much for samantha!
the third contestant... Judy dempsey from 'the hungry planet' in Perth
voila!
turmeric salmon in asian herb coconut broth
and the winner is...
Judy dempsey (turmeric salmon in asian herb coconut broth)
'the herb garden love wagon'
wooden mushroom from an artist
the herb garden
braised elk sirloin tips with wild rice and nature bounty (which included fiddleheads, dandelion greens, and cattail shoots)
that's all from the midsummer herbfest!