The indoor picture was taken before the event started. I swear people actually came.
This was my first year on the committee that planned the Taste of Ocala, so the whole event was very new to me.
Throughout the past few years, the Taste of Ocala apparently had more of a casual picnic or barbeque feel. The purpose of the Taste of Ocala is to raise money for scholarships for students at the College of Central Florida and when the event stopped bringing in as much money as it previously did when it first began and was a formal affair, the decision was made to return it to its original roots and make it formal again this year.
Leading up to tonight, the event received some negative press and push-back from people in the community who were upset by the change since it meant higher ticket prices, though it seemed that many thought the event was simply a community event put on by the city and didn’t realize its purpose was to raise money for scholarships.
Anyway, we were all a little nervous about how the turn out would be, so when we saw ticket sales pick up this week and a bustling event this evening, I think everyone relaxed a bit and felt good about the change. It was a really fun night filled with great food and everyone seemed to be enjoying the cuisine and drinks.
Taste of Ocala
Ryan and I arrived at the event nice and early!
(Don’t worry, I flipped his jacket collar down as we walked inside when I noticed it after this picture.)
I helped set up for the event until around 4 p.m. today and then rushed home and changed before heading back out with Ryan to be there to assist with last minute things.
Do you like Ryan’s half-face?
We took that picture using the Instagram app which is new to me since I have an android phone and the app just became available for android users. I’m still getting the hang of it and obviously Ryan and I struggle with taking phone photos. He half-faced himself so please enjoy a little too much Julie-face.
The Food
The Taste of Ocala took place at the College of Central Florida inside a big conference/banquet room and outside in the courtyard.
Fourteen restaurants participated in the event and made the most incredible food. I left feeling absolutely stuffed.
Ryan and I sampled dishes from every restaurant and went in with a strategy. We started with all savory food and then tackled the sweets.
I tend to want to make a beeline for the desserts at these kind of events and end up missing out on a lot of the entrée-style dishes because I feel sick after experiencing a sugar overload.
I tried my best to pace myself and it worked for the most part even though I still ended up ridiculously full. But I wasn’t nauseous-full, so that’s progress, right?
There wasn’t much I didn’t like, but there were certain dishes that absolutely blew me away.
That little baby is shrimp and grits from The Braised Onion. Both Ryan and I gave it five stars. It was both of our top pick for the best savory dish of the night.
My runner-up for best savory dish came from the culinary students at CTAE.
Underneath that piece of perfectly-cooked filet mignon was a pillow of lobster mashed potatoes that were unreal. They were incredible and I went back for two more portions.
Aside from eating, the Taste of Ocala had a few other forms of entertainment ranging from live music to photo ops and raffles.
One thing I had never heard of before was a diamond raffle!
Ocala’s Lady Jeweler donated a one-carat diamond to the event and people could pay $60 to try to win it.
The catch?
They had to select it from the choices below…
There were a bunch of cubic zirconia’s and only one diamond. There was no way of telling which one was the diamond. Believe me, I tried!
Each little box was labeled with a number on the bottom and at the end of the night, the winning number was revealed and you found out whether or not you had the real diamond. Neat, huh?
Back to the food…
That dish was a decadent bread pudding made by The Braised Onion. Apparently the chef made it using a recipe he learned from Princess Diana’s chef who said it was her absolute favorite. It was very good!
My favorite desserts of the night were a chocolate crème brulle from Mesa de Notte and a chocolate mousse from La Cuisine.
I didn’t expect any of the restaurants to provide drinks (beer and wine were served for free from the bar), so when I saw Great American Coffee Roasters passing out iced caramel macchiatos, I immediately got in line!
The drink was perfectly sweet and I practically gulped it down.
I spoke with the people behind the booth and they told me that they are a relatively new coffee shop in Ocala. When I said I work from home and sometimes like to use coffee shops to get out of the house to get some work done, they said that they have free wi-fi and encouraged me to bring my computer and come on by sometime. Apparently a lot of people use their little shop as a pseudo-office.
I can’t wait to pay them a visit and get myself one of those macchiatos!
And now I my eyes are closing and it’s time for me to put this full belly to bed.
Sleep well, my friends!
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Sooo awesome! I remember going to taste of d.c and having to pace myself as I grabbed samples!
I love your dress! Where is it from?
Julies dress is by Yoana Baraschi and she bought it via RueLaLa.
thanks! just updated the info on the fashion page: https://www.pbfingers.com/2012/05/07/taste-of-ocala-dress/
That sounds like so much fun, and everything looks delicious. I would be overwhelmed with so many choices! And I’m sure I would have hit up the desserts first 🙂 It was really nice of you to volunteer your time to help plan the event – it seems like it was a big success. I’d never heard of a diamond raffle, either – what a neat idea!
You looked gorgeous, btw! I love your hair, makeup, and dress.
The event looks beautiful!!! You did a fantastic job. And your pink dress is so fun 🙂
You’re so cute Julie! I love your dress!
So glad to hear that your event turned out so well =D way to go you guys!
Sounds like it was such a fun event! You looks gorgeous. I don’t think I would risk the 60 dollars on the diamond thing, too risky! All the food sounds amazing
Congrats!!! It can be so stressful planning events .. I’m so happy everything worked out so well for your group! That food looks deeeeeeelish.
SOOOO who won the diamond?!
not me! i didn’t know the person who won, but they’re quite lucky!
Oh WOW! That sounds amazing! Nice work, Julie. And that food (especially some of those desserts) sounds incredible. YUMM.
Looks like you two new friends are enjoying the evening!
Congrats on putting on a successful event!! That looks like my kind of thing, I love being able to taste a little bit of a lot of things!
as someone who works in the fine jewelry business i’d have to break out my loop and try to identify the diamond in that pile! Too much of a challenge not to!!!
Congrats on what looks like a very successful event! All those samples look so delicious!
Did anyone win the diamond? Did they tell you afterwards how to tell the difference?
So much fun! It’s like going to Costco for samples, except a million times better (and fancier!)
How fun!!! I love events like that … I’m all about trying lots of new foods! 🙂
Yum the buffet looks awesome!
looks like a great time!!
It looks like the event turned out wonderfully! I’d love for my town to do something like this.
All of that foods looks sooo good, but I want to know where your dress is from! It’s so cute — I’m looking for something to wear to my rehearsal dinner this summer, and hot pink is one of my wedding colors!
Everything looks sooo good!
This sounds and looks like so much fun!
Oh my gosh that caramel macchiato is calling my name! You guys look fantastic; so glad the event was a success!
The event looked like it was amazing! Your dress is super cute too! All of the food pics are making me drool at 9am.
Omg all that food looks amazing! I wish State College had a taste of the nation! And I have that dress! It looks so good on you!
That dress looks so great on you! The event looks like it turned out well. Congrats on all the hard work you put into it!
Looks like a great event! Your dress is adorable! Congrats!
Those spreads look gorgeous! I can’t even imagine the food coma I would feel after this, how can you resist not trying everything! Looks like a wonderful day.
That’s exactly why I love cubic zirconia, barely anyone can tell the difference and it’s so much cheaper! My engagement ring was $20 and absolutely beautiful. 🙂
I am in love with that dress! Where’s it’s from!?! Gorgeous = )
thank you! i just added the info to the fashion page: https://www.pbfingers.com/2012/05/07/taste-of-ocala-dress/
Yay for finding a yummy local coffee shop to support! I love Starbucks but don’t always agree with their business practices.
Congrats on a successful event! Please let us know how much y’all raised when you get the total amount!
I LOVE your dress!!! Who makes it???
thank you! it’s Yoana Baraschi and i got it from ruelala.com.
Wait – why is that last picture your favorite of the night? It’s just two people eating.
That looks like such a fun time! Congratulations on planning such a great event. And your pink dress is adorable! Where is it from?
thanks! here’s the info: https://www.pbfingers.com/2012/05/07/taste-of-ocala-dress/
Wow, all the food looks SO amazing! Congrats on helping plan such a great event!
I hear ya on the whole instagram with android – I too have an android and just downloaded the app. I think the trick is to take photos with your regular camera on your phone and then just upload them to instagram to add the effects afterwords, if you so choose. But then again, I’m still learning ;p
That last photo of yours had me in stitches. I even had the kids asking me what I was laughing at – it’s the look on their faces especially the woman with a spoon in her mouth 🙂 I’m still laughing as I type this lol!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
When you said Ryan almost had to roll you home, I pictured Bianca from Willy Wonka when she turned into a blueberry! Haha. Looks like a fabulous event!