In my last post, I told you about how one of my former clients, Ande Scheinker, went from being an event planner to a culinary explorer, and how she was entering her chocolate chip cookies in SF Food Wars’ Chocolate Cookie Situation, a bake-off of sorts.

Well, that bakeoff was last weekend at a local San Francisco bar, Mighty, and it was a delicious situation, if a bit overkill on the sugar! The event even had a Jersey Shore theme. Wild! Some people really got into it. Others, not so much.  Mostly, it meant a lot of gold chains, big hair, and cookies named after Snooki.

Each attendee received a plate and one vote for the ballot box, and a chance to taste something from each of the 20 participants. Just a few bites, and I was in chocolate overload.

Ande baked her famous cookies, and displayed them in high style, and dressed in a cute apron. To me, hers were the most “traditional” chocolate chip cookies, even if they had gourmet chocolate, yummy secret ingredients, and a divine texture. There were cookies topped with frosting, cookies filled with lavender ganache, something that looked like a disco Oreo, and even cookies shaped like the state of New Jersey. Crazy!

Ultimately, the winning cookies were Deez Nutz Are Hot!’s, chewy oatmeal cookies with chile, chocolate chips, and spiced pecans. And, alas, while I thought that prize should have gone to Ande, her big win was putting herself out there and sharing her work from within, the cookie baking she loves to do so much. And hey, she was included in a spread by Chow Magazine! That’s a huge win for a first time putting yourself in a public venue with your talent.

So, if you’ve got a talent you’re itching to share, find your venue. Get it out there. Have fun! Yum!

Thanks for inspiring others, Ande!

Mmmm,

Susan