Foodportunity, a Giveaway and an Announcement.

I just recently announced that Foodportunity is coming up and that there is an awesome line up. What I didn’t mention yet is that we will have a surprise guest flying in for the event.

We have featured authors and chefs at Foodportunity. This idea came out of my own personal need to connect with these people. When I started blogging, I wanted to meet chefs and cookbook authors but I was always intimidated. The first time I had to interview a chef, I was sick to my stomach, like literally so nervous I couldn’t sleep the night before (including sweaty palms and everything).

Fast forward five years later and I don’t get nervous anymore, I have met so many of the people I admire. Yes, practice makes perfect with everything in life. Even meeting new people.

Every Foodportunity we have featured authors and chefs. They hang out in the front room (a.k.a the lounge) between 6:30 and 7:30. And they are there just to talk to you. You can ask questions, beg for recipes if you want, get books signed (bring your books) or just say hi. On October 22, be there. You can meet Brian McCracken and Dana Tough (Spur, Tavern Law, The Coterie Room), Jill Lightner (Edible Seattle: The Cookbook), Leora Bloom (Washington Food Artisans, Cookbook) and Judith Dern (A Taste of Scandinavia, Cookbook).

And now for the surprise. Aran Goyoaga of Cannelle et Vanille is coming to visit. Her photography is gorgeous, like heart pitter-pattering beautiful. Her recipes are delicious and inspiring. Little tarts, cakes and just so many desserts and dishes that are all gluten-free. You might have seen her on Oprah, Martha Stewart or when she was mentioned in Times Magazine, as one of their favorite bloggers. Just look at her blog and you will understand, her photography will make you swoon. She is coming out with her new cookbook the week of Foodportunity.

You get to meet her, talk to her and even win a book here.

The giveaway. Win the book. I have 2 copies!: Just leave a comment to enter the contest, share on Facebook (5 entries) or twitter for an extra entry. Just remember to comment and let me know. The contest is open to anyone in the U.S. but if you can make it to Foodportunity, you can get it signed. Winner will be chosen on Sept 20.
Update: The winners are Tamiko and Helen Anne.

Food Lovers’ Guide to Seattle Book Signing at Barnes and Noble and Sunset Magazine

Is it summer? Sometimes I feel like it is. Sometimes I feel like it isn’t/
That is Seattle summer for you. This year is flying by for me and I am loving the ride.

One of the most amazing things that happened this year was that I was featured in Sunset Magazine. Yes, three whole pages talking about where I like to eat including a full page photo.. This was a dream come true. The article was written by Rebekah Denn, one of my most favorite writers in Seattle.

I am hoping to see you all soon.
I will be doing a book signing at Barnes and Noble at Northgate this Saturday with three other lovely authors, Alice Currah of Savory Sweet Life, Jill Lightner of Edible Seattle Cookbook: The Cookbook and Leora Bloom of Washington Food Artisans. Come out and chat with us. It will be fun. Details are here.

Hope I get to see you!

Foodportunity 5 Day Giveaway and Networking Tips

photo credit: Jackie Donnely Baisa

Mondays are tough, for all of us. So we at Foodportunity want to make that easier for you.
We are starting this week off with a $25 Fonte Coffee Gift Card. And we are having 5 days of giveaways. Yes, 5 days. Every day, check in and you can win. For more on how to win, scroll down.

Networking Challenge: Every day, check in for a networking tip, task or inspiration.

Day 1: Get your business cards ready. Do you have cards? Now is the time to print some out. People want to know how to contact you. Don’t have a job yet? That is ok, just have your name and information on the card. And when exchanging cards at the event, remember to look at the card. Pay attention. It will help you remember the person.

Here is the link to the event details, just in case you don’t have your ticket yet.

How do you win? We choose the winner in the morning so you have until tomorrow to enter. And check back tomorrow for another prize.

1) Comment on this post for one entry
2) Tweet about this for one entry and tag @foodportunityse (the more tweets, the more entries!)
3) Facebook share information about our event http://franticfoodie.wordpress.com/2012/05/02/foodportunity-june-25-you-are-invited/ (5 entries)
4) Like Fonte Cafe and Wine Bar on Facebook for 1 entry (let us know in the comments)
5) Pinterest: Repin 2 things from our Foodportunity board for an entry
6) Like Foodportunityse on Facebook for 1 entry (or just let us know that you already like us)

A Pinterest Giveaway- A Pinportunity

We are having a Pinterest Giveaway. Win a $25 Fonte Gift Card. All you have to do is repin 5 pins from our Foodportunity June 25 2012 board and follow us:).

Deadline is Friday, May 4, 2012.

Happy Pinning!

Day 7: Foodportunity Resolutions and Giveaway: Win a $25 Gift Card to Lot 3, Barrio or Purple

Day 7: Foodportunity Resolutions and Giveaway. Win a $25 Gift Card to Lot 3. Barrio or Purple Restaurants. Thanks Google Places!

Winner of Day 7: ECkids, Please contact me for your prize.

Day 7: Today’s giveaway is a $25 Gift Card to any restaurant from the Heavy Restaurant Group. Your choice of Lot No.3, Barrio or Purple. This gift card is brought to you by Google Places.

Resolution 7: Spend more time with your friends. Enjoy those moments. Life gets busy and it is easy to feel like you are connected with the people you love via Facebook. Make it your priority to go out with an old friend and have dinner. Moments like those are priceless.

For those new to Google places, Google Places is a local recommendation engine that connects people with the places they love. You can easily find, rate and review places you’re familiar with, share your opinions with friends, and as you and your friends rate and review more places, you’ll see recommendations based on your tastes and those of your friends in your local search results. Google Places is great for users, as it helps them find new places they might like, and it’s great for businesses and organizations to help them get discovered and increase awareness.

And before I continue. Foodportunity tickets are still on sale. Tickets sell out for this event so if you intend to go then don’t miss it. It is THE networking event for everyone food-related. Lots of food, chefs and networking for $25. Now go get your tickets. More information at Foodportunity.com . And Metropolitan Market is the main sponsor so that means that there will be lots of goodies.

Now for the contest! This one will run until 3:00 pm tomorrow. It is the last one this week so we wanted to make sure that you have time to enter.
Don’t forget to share information about the next Foodportunity event, tickets here.

The contest! We want to know your resolutions and help you get there. Every day for 7 days, we will be giving away something that will spoil you. The catch, baby steps. You need to have one goal each day and keep it. Then, it is your reward. The prizes will be gift cards, books, dinners and other fun rewards.

How do you enter?

Bonus Entry: Get 3 entries. Like our Foodportunity Facebook Page. Let us know.

Bonus Entry: Follow @GoogleSeattle and mention your favorite restaurant and why. Comment back and let me know.

Bonus Entry: Get 3 entries for every place you review on Google places. Comment here to let me know.

1) Leave a comment on the daily post for one entry.
2) Tweet the contest out and leave another comment letting us know for an additional entry. (Just say, I tweeted) Use Hashtag #foodprt
3) Facebook it and let us know (3 entries)
4) Tell a friend about the Foodportunity event. The more friends you tell, the more entries. (Email us at Foodprt8atgmail.com letting us know who you told , just a first name and why you think they would be interested)

The winner will be chosen by random number generator daily. Check the post the day after by 5pm and see if you won. If you won, email us your information and we will send the prize your way (foodprt8atgmail.com)

Day 5: Foodportunity Resolutions and Giveaway! $35 Fonte Gift Card

Day 5: Today’s giveaway is a $35 Gift Card to Fonte Cafe and Wine Bar And yesterday’s winner is Amanda S. Please contact me for your prize!

Resolution 5: Start your day with a positive attitude. Waking up isn’t easy but if a cup of Joe is what you need to get you smiling. Then so be it. Start your day with a smile and the world will smile back at you. Make it your goal to radiate your surroundings with positive energy.

Fonte Coffee is the place to get some work done with a smile on your face or just to open the newspaper and read the morning news. If you would rather your coffee at home, just order online. Besides, Fonte loves the community. They just donated $11,000 to Pike Market Child Care, the profits raised from sales of Fonté’s 2011 “Limited Edition Holiday Blend”. This significant donation will underwrite a year’s worth of school supplies for all four classrooms at PMCCP, and assist the organization in reaching its goal of making high quality childcare and preschool programs available to children in need.

And before I continue. Foodportunity tickets are still on sale. Tickets sell out for this event so if you intend to go then don’t miss it. It is THE networking event for everyone food-related. Lots of food, chefs and networking for $25. Now go get your tickets. More information at Foodportunity.com . And Metropolitan Market is the main sponsor so that means that there will be lots of goodies.

Now for the contest!
Winner will be chosen tomorrow afternoon. Don’t forget to share information about the next Foodportunity event, tickets here.

The contest! We want to know your resolutions and help you get there. Every day for 7 days, we will be giving away something that will spoil you. The catch, baby steps. You need to have one goal each day and keep it. Then, it is your reward. The prizes will be gift cards, books, dinners and other fun rewards.

How do you enter?

Bonus Entry: Go into Foodportunity.com and check out the partners and restaurants. Then comment here with the name of the food businesst that you want to try!

1) Leave a comment on the daily post for one entry.
2) Tweet the contest out and leave another comment letting us know for an additional entry. (Just say, I tweeted) Use Hashtag #foodprt
3) Facebook it and let us know (3 entries)
4) Tell a friend about the Foodportunity event. The more friends you tell, the more entries. (Email us at Foodprt8atgmail.com letting us know who you told , just a first name and why you think they would be interested)

The winner will be chosen by random number generator daily. Check the post the day after by 5pm and see if you won. If you won, email us your information and we will send the prize your way (foodprt8atgmail.com)

Day 3: Foodportunity Resolutions Challenge and Giveaway, $25 Gift Card at Metropolitan Market

Today is the third day of the Foodportunity Resolutions Challenge. The winner from yesterday will be announced later today. Update: The winner of the Gilt gift card is Kristin Nielson Price. Email me your address to claim your prize!

Day 3: Today’s giveaway is a $25 gift certificate to Metropolitan Market.

Resolution 2: Try to cook something that you have never cooked before. Metropolitan Market is the place to get hard to find ingredients. Have you tried pomegrenate molasses? What about preserved lemons? What about trying a vinegar that you haven’t used before? Go ahead, choose an ingredient that is new to you and make something interesting.

And before I continue. Foodportunity tickets are still on sale. Tickets sell out for this event so if you intend to go then don’t miss it. It is THE networking event for everyone food-related. Lots of food, chefs and networking for $25. Now go get your tickets. More information at Foodportunity.com . And Metropolitan Market is the main sponsor so that means that there will be lots of goodies. For more fun food ideas from Metropolitan Market, check out this post.

Now for the contest!
Win a $25 gift card to Metropolitan Market. Winner will be chosen tomorrow afternoon. Don’t forget to share information about the next Foodportunity event, tickets here.

The contest! We want to know your resolutions and help you get there. Every day for 7 days, we will be giving away something that will spoil you. The catch, baby steps. You need to have one goal each day and keep it. Then, it is your reward. The prizes will be gift cards, books, dinners and other fun rewards.

How do you enter?

Bonus Entry: Go to the Foodportunity website and tell me in the comments here which restaurant you are most looking forward to trying at the event.

Bonus Entry #2: Go to the Metropolitan Market events page and check out the list of events. Comment here and tell me which event or book most appeals to your lifestyle.

1) Leave a comment on the daily post for one entry.
2) Tweet the contest out and leave another comment letting us know for an additional entry. (Just say, I tweeted) Use Hashtag #foodprt
3) Facebook it and let us know (3 entries)
4) Tell a friend about the Foodportunity event. The more friends you tell, the more entries. (Email us at Foodprt8atgmail.com letting us know who you told , just a first name and why you think they would be interested)

The winner will be chosen by random number generator daily. Check the post the day after by 5pm and see if you won. If you won, email us your information and we will send the prize your way (foodprt8atgmail.com)

Day 2: Foodportunity Resolutions Challenge and Giveaway! Win a $50 Gift Card to Gilt City

Today is the second day of the Foodportunity Resolutions Challenge. The winner of yesterday’s contest will be announced later today. Update: The winner is Aubrey Bach!

Day 2: The second giveaway is a $50 gift card to Gilt City!

Resolution 2: Find time to dine local and support the food scene. If you don’t know Gilt, then this is your chance to find out about exclusive events and parties as well as clothes and everything else for women, men, children and the home. Currently my obsession! This gift card is for Gilt City and here is an exclusive invitation.

And before I continue. Foodportunity tickets are still on sale. Tickets sell out for this event so if you intend to go then don’t miss it. It is THE networking event for everyone food-related. Lots of food, chefs and networking for $25. Now go get your tickets. More information at Foodportunity.com . And Metropolitan Market is the main sponsor so that means that there will be lots of goodies and another Metropolitan Market gift card giveaway coming up in a few days.

Now for this contest!
Win a $50 gift card to Gilt City. Winner will be chosen tomorrow afternoon. Don’t forget to share information about the next Foodportunity event, tickets here.

The contest! We want to know your resolutions and help you get there. Every day for 7 days, we will be giving away something that will spoil you. The catch, baby steps. You need to have one goal each day and keep it. Then, it is your reward. The prizes will be gift cards, books, dinners and other fun rewards.

photo credit:Jackie Donnely Baisa

How do you enter?

1) Leave a comment on the daily post for one entry.
2) Tweet the contest out and leave another comment letting us know for an additional entry. (Just say, I tweeted) Use Hashtag #foodprt
3) Facebook it and let us know (3 entries)
4) Tell a friend about the Foodportunity event. The more friends you tell, the more entries. (Email us at Foodprt8atgmail.com letting us know who you told , just a first name and why you think they would be interested)

The winner will be chosen by random number generator daily. Check the post the day after by 5pm and see if you won. If you won, email us your information and we will send the prize your way (foodprt8atgmail.com)

photo credit: Jackie Donnely Baisa

photo by Nate Naismith

Food Lovers’ Guide Book Launch Party and Fundraiser for Farestart

One of the things that people always ask me is why I chose to have a fundraiser for a book launch party. When I was a kid, I had a friend Izzy, she had such a big heart and we did everything together. What I loved about Izzy is that she would go up to the homeless people on the street and buy them lunch, then sit with them and listen to their stories. I always admired her for that, I was too scared to start up conversations with people I didn’t know but I would live vicariously through her conversations. Over 4 years ago, when I started blogging, I had this brilliant idea, it was called “brunch a bunch” or something along those lines. I was going to choose a day and make sure on that day that everyone I knew would buy someone homeless lunch. The only problem was that I didn’t know many people so it ended up being just a few of my friends who actually did it. Fast forward four years later and I know more people and have a book coming out, so Farestart was exactly the non-profit that I wanted to work with. They take disadvantaged individuals and teach them culinary skills. I wanted to make this a fundraiser that nobody had to think twice about. So $5 was a way that everyone could give a bit and together we raised
$1,241.
Now that is a great way to make a difference. The event was sponsored by Fonte. They made it possible to do this and gave out coffee, prizes and more. All the photos are by the fabulous Jackie Donnely Baisa of Baisaphoto.com. The location is the beautiful Shilshole Bay Beach Club in Ballard. Thank you to everyone who participated, all the restaurants, all the companies and thanks to everyone for supporting my book. Thank you to Tiffany Ran for her editing skills. Thanks to Micaela Surdi, Yale Gadin, Meg Landies and Felice Lam for helping me so much on this journey. Special thanks to Fonte Coffee and Shilshole Bay Beach Club.

Did you see this write up in the Puget Sound Business Journal or this one in the Seattle Times?

Everyone was buzzing around the wheel of Fonte. Wouldn’t you want to win a year’s worth of coffee?

And a giant twister game. What kind of party is it without games?

Did you miss this? Come meet me at some of the other signings.

Art Institute of Seattle, Book Signing

One of the questions that I get asked a lot is “Why did you choose to do what you do?” And though I would like to say that it is what I always wanted to do, this is not true. What I do now has evolved from many different experiences, I dipped my toes in many waters before I got to a place that I love.

I know that every experience has had some kind of impact on my career and every thing that I tried was a stepping stone just leading me to where I am now. In some cases, things came back full circle and when it comes to the Art Institute of Seattle, this place has been an important place in my heart and career.

For one, if you intend to write about food it really helps to learn how to cook and taking cooking classes at this school was such an important learning tool for me. They used to have these intensive beginner classes that you could take. If they still offered them, I would take the whole series again.

Another important experience at the Art Institute was when I got to sneak into a reading by author Michael Rulhman when his book, The Elements of Cooking came out. This was back in 2007 when I was trying to figure out what I really wanted to do. I left there motivated and ready to write or cook but wasn’t sure what I wanted next. Here is the post.. Now, I get to come to the Art Institute for my own book signing. This culinary school has been a significant part of my journey and I am thrilled that I get to come back for this reason.
The Art Institute is a hidden gem where you can get three course dinners for $23 dollars. (see listing in the book) or just come to my book signing.

Here is the information.

“Food Lovers’ Guide to Seattle” Book Signing (and Dinner) at Portfolio Restaurant.

Portfolio Restaurant at The International Culinary School at The Art Institute of Seattle invites the public to a book signing and dinner. Enjoy the breathtaking view of Elliott Bay from the fifth-floor restaurant. Choose from several three-course Northwest prix fixe dinners prepared by upper-level culinary students. Perhaps order a bottle of Washington wine from Restaurant Manager/Sommelier Dieter Schafer. And mingle with food lovers.

Note: You may come for the book signing only, and not stay for dinner.

Thursday, August 18, 2011.
Book signing 4:30-7:00 pm.
Seatings for dinner at 5:30, 6:00 and 6:30 pm.
The Art Institute’s Portfolio Restaurant.
2600 Alaskan Way, Seattle WA 98121.
Book $15, cash only.
Dinner $23, cash or credit card.
Reservations for dinner required by phone 206-239-2363.
Info WineDieter@cs.com or http://www.ais.edu .