I was selected as a judge for the Taste of Chesapeake happening during Homearama in the Edinburgh neighborhood of Chesapeake. Homearama is a showcase of new homes the builders want to highlight to get people excited about an a new area or neighborhood.
I was a little worried heading out to Chesapeake last night, thinking it would be chilly but the weather was perfect. Luckily, Shelby was able to come along and met up with the other judges, including Dedra Blount who is always fun to spend time with. Pam Hopkins, Special Events Coordinator of Coastal Virginia Magazine (formerly Hampton Roads Magazine) checked up on us to make sure we were good to go. Coastal Virginia Mag's publisher Randy Thompson was going to lead us through the judging, once he arrived we started.
Here is a breakdown of what we were judging:
The Original Sandwich - House-smoked pulled pork with Carolina-style sauce on potato roll with or without house made coleslaw
Brisket served with a variety of Malbon BBQ sauces
Loaded Ribbon Fries – Potatoes sliced chip-thin, fried until crispy, and topped with jack cheese and raw, chopped jalapenos
She-Crab Soup
Organic lentil soup topped with organic croutons
Gluten-free Chicken Biryani (chicken atop fragrant rice)
5 Spice Smoked Garlic Pork over rice noodles with coconut ginger sauce and an array of garnishes
Chesapeake Crab and Chicken Lasagna
Tiramisu
Banana pudding
Blueberry Pancake Maple Bacon cupcake – vanilla cupcake chocked full of blueberries topped with maple buttercream and crispy bacon with a fresh maple syrup drizzle
Red Velvet cupcake – classic red velvet cake tipped with cream cheese frosting
Apple Pie cupcake – spice cake topped with cinnamon cream cheese icing and spiced apple pie filling
Pumpkin Patch cupcake – pumpkin cupcakes topped with cream cheese frosting and sprinkled with cinnamon
Lucky us right? I won't announce the winner yet, not until they have been officially notified, but it was a hard decision. Everything was delicious and after talking to the restaurant owners, you feel bad picking only one. I would definitely have no problems recommending any of these establishments to anyone.
It was nice strolling from house to house, the new construction was great. Who doesn't like the idea of moving into a new house? Shelby found a stand-alone, deep bathtub she loved and it was funny because apparently other people did too because their footprints were in it.
Check out the photos:
