Recently I received an email from FoodBuzz, notifying me that I had been selected to receive a press ticket to the Taste of the Nation event, which was held a couple of weeks ago at the Georgia Aquarium. It’s flattering to be called press when all I do is eat, drink, cook and post the occasional typo-ridden post about the experience. Expert food writer I am not; my thesaurus is torn and tattered from trying to find new adjectives for “tasty” and “delicious”.
Regardless, it was cool to get a ticket to such a class act event, which is put on by Share our Strength, whose primary goal is to raise money and coordinate community groups and food programs to combat domestic childhood hunger.
The Georgia Aquarium is the perfect place to have such an event – there are not many event environments that can compete with this locale. Where else can you enjoy good music and food, while taking in sharks and whales?
You’ll have to forgive my blurry/dark photos, but I wanted to at least give you some idea of what it looked like inside.
The Taste of the Nation event had an impressive array of Atlanta restaurants and chefs who donated their time and services to this event. Over 50 restaurants were represented, offering small tastes chosen especially for this event. In addition to the tasting, many restaurants participated by offering items in a silent auction, and there were even a few live auction items involving Atlanta restaurants.
Laurent Tourondel was the Honorary Chef of the evening, and he had a live auction item for a private dinner in the new Atlanta location of BLT Steak. He got up on stage to assist in the auction, and it went for a great price, but my choice (if I had $7-8k lying around) would have been the BBQ for 50 people, including everything you would need for a great party, which was offered by Muss & Turner and Jay Swift.
I spent most of my time wandering around, trying just about every small-bite, and reviewing the silent auction items. I ended up winning a dinner for four with a bottle of wine at Holeman & Finch, so that’s cool. I mean, I go there all the time anyways, so I might as well stuff my arteries and support a great cause at the same time.
The crowd was larger than I thought it might be, so I was glad to see that despite the hefty price tag of admission, there were plenty of Atlantans ready to raise their glass and open up their pocketbooks for Share our Strength.
The event was well done, a lot of fun, and it was executed perfectly. The interior was stylish, the dizzying array of restaurants and their wares was impressive, and even the auctioneer was entertaining (check out the sound byte below). If you love food, fantastic charities, the aquarium, and a fun evening, be sure to keep this on your calendar for next year.
Audio: Auctioneer Fast-Speak
