The Hosts With the Most

Just swimming in a sea of Philadelphia gift bags

As you may have heard by now, the hosts of Kraft’s Real Women of Philadelphia Canada have been announced, and I am one of the lucky four. Along with appetizer host, Angela Amati, entrée host, Lyndsay Wells, and dessert host, Laurie Pearson, I will be leading Real Women’s Canadian online community as side dish host. There is a bitter-sweetness to this transition as we leave behind our time in Toronto, but I’m looking forward to what’s in store. The four of us will be introducing the community’s next contest on July 25th, so keep your eye on www.realwomenofphiladelphia.ca.

I can’t express how honoured I feel to have participated in the cook-off with such an incredible and diverse group of women. Each of you inspires me to be a better person and a better cook. Candice, Miriam, Sue, Elisa, Mandy, Danielle, Lisa, Kristen, JoHanna, Andrea, Leanne, and Althea, getting to know you has been a privilege.

Here are a few snap shots of the gala. The evening was absolutely spectacular, and everyone was dressed to impress. The winning dishes were announced as they were served to guests in the ballroom of the Thompson hotel. It was incredible to see 180 portions of my winning dish come out of the kitchen. Needless to say, the dessert finalists didn’t have much appetite, as they had to wait until the end of the meal to find out who had won.

I wish I had documented the experience more thoroughly, but my euphoria kept me from my camera. The lovely people at Eqal have uploaded photos here http://www.realwomenofphiladelphia.ca/post/awards-dinner-snapshots so you can get a better picture of the evening.

After getting the news on Wednesday night, we were in store for an early morning. We headed off to the Kraft kitchens at 6:30am on Thursday for a long day of filming. Luckily, there were plenty of snacks on hand to keep us going. I have no idea how everyone at Kraft stays so slim with all of those tempting treats calling to them.

The entire filming process was unbelievable. Everyone on set was incredibly talented and made me feel so special. I learned so much from the experience, and it was amazing to see the amount of thought and planning that went into creating our cooking videos. I can’t wait for all of you to see them. Thanks so much to everyone involved!