Clearwater Uncorked Food & Wine Festival

As a BEEF industry representative and advocate, I love being able to go to events that not only give us a chance to reach out to consumers, but also to have a blast!

I was invited by Ashley Hughes, the director of promotions and marketing for the Florida Beef Council to attend the Clearwater Uncorked food and wine festival. The cattlemen who joined us cooked up some amazing flat-iron steak, and it was a crowd favorite. We had so many people tell us how tender and delicious it was, and everyone was given a recipe card so they could make it at home! Everyone said they wanted to make it, so I hope that there will be a huge amount of beef served this holiday season!

The recipe, along with many others, can be found online at Floridabeefcouncil.org, and I suggest you check it out!

Not only did I get to hang out with Ashley and some of our awesome cattlemen, I also got to spend some time with the new FCA Sweetheart, Kaitlyn Gill and her mom! I love fellow cattlewomen, because there is never a dull moment!

I wanted to blog about this event, and I wanted to share a story that cracked me up. I was handing out the recipe cards, and people were taking extra cards to share with their friends. One woman in particular came up to sample the steak and I said, "Here's a recipe card." She replied with a disapproving look and said, "My husbands a chef. I think he can figure this out." I told her to enjoy her day, and watched her walk away, eat the sample, and turn around, walk back to the booth, grab a recipe card, and say, "I think I will take this home to my husband. He needs this recipe."

I laughed for ten minutes after that happened, because it just goes to show how people can walk up with one idea, and leave with another. We were able to talk to so many people about Florida's BEEF industry, and it was such an informal setting that people are willing to stop and talk, and share stories.

These are positive lines of communication that need to be opened between producers and consumers. I love my life, and I love the people in it. A special shout-out to my parents, without whom I wouldn't be able to travel back and forth to these events. They are keeping my dreams alive, and I love them for it.

Here are some pictures of the event. Enjoy! Thanks for reading, Have a great holiday!!

The Beef Queen

Myself, Carl M, and Kaitlyn Gill outside of the event trying to avoid helping clean up. :)

There were some interesting characters at the event!

Fellow state Sweethearts - Kaitlyn Gill, FCA Sweetheart 2011 - 2012, Me, Sweetheart 2010 - 2011

Had a blast!!! Hopefully there will be a second annual Uncorked festival!