NFCA Gluten-Free Cooking Spree Headed to San Fancisco

The NFCA is hosting another Gluten-Free Cooking Spree - this time in San Francisco, on October 30th. We had the event in Atlanta in 2007 and it was totally amazing! Whole Foods was said to be in charge of local advertising for the event here but didn’t seem to do much to get the word out about it. Still, those of us lucky enough to attend had the time of our lives!

We got to meet CNN anchor Heidi Collins, who herself has celiac disease and is the spokesperson for the NFCA. Also participating that night was CNN’s chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta and Dr. Cynthia Rudert who I recruited to be a judge.  But the real highlight of the evening was getting to eat ALL the food served! Between the pasta and Asian dishes, baked treats and the best flourless chocolate cake in Atlanta – we ate like gluten-free royalty all night long!

In case you’re not familiar with this popular event, teams compete to create interesting and tasty gluten-free dishes. Each team is comprised of a chef, doctor and member of the media. The chefs get educated about gluten-free food and safe food prep, doctors get an education about celiac disease and the media members spread the word about the event. How ingenious is that?

Judges vote on the best tasting dish and the winning chef wins bragging rights that they won the gluten-free cooking spree. This brings questions from other local chefs wanting to learn how to  offer gluten-free dishes.  It’s a win-win situation for all involved. But the best part of the event is that celiac awareness in the community continues long after the event team moves on to the next city!

In Atlanta, there were five teams competing to make the best gluten-free dish of the night. By far, the best thing I tried was Chef Robert Gerstenecker’s White Bean Lobster Chili with mini cornbread muffins. Though this dish didn’t win, the foodies there that night agreed that Chef Robert’s entry was the most outstanding creation dished up that night!

Two years later, we can still order Chef Robert’s amazing gluten-free creation at Park 75 (inside the Four Seasons Hotel). This is a direct result of him participating in the NFCA’s Gluten-Free Cooking Spree. In fact, I still get inquiries from local chefs about when the next event is. You know how competitive those chefs can be! 

San Francisco Gluten-Free Cooking  Spree Details:

Date: Friday, October 30, 2009
Time: 6:30 pm – 9:00 pm
Place: Treasure Island
          Building 1 (Administration Building)
          San Francisco, CA
‘middle’ of San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge

• Attendees will sample the food cooked by the chefs and enjoy a large assortment of other gluten-free food options. Come hungry!
• All attendees will take home a fabulous goodie bag filled with treats from a variety of gluten-free vendors.

For the San Francisco event, prices are as follows:

Early Bird Tickets – $50

General Admission – $75

Students (and children under 12) - $35

Children under 5 – FREE 

If you’re in the San Francisco area and have not signed up for the NFCA Gluten-Free Cooking Spree yet, there is still time to order tickets. Without question, it will be a night to remember in the “City by the Bay”!