Festival Recap 2: It Must Be Fate

Did you miss Part 1?  Go here to read it!

Do I believe in fate?  Yes and no.

I believe that the Universe presents us with countless golden opportunities, or choices that eventually may lead us to golden opportunities.  I believe that we aren't even conscious of many of these chances, and in the end it's up to us to recognize them and take the leap.

Take meeting my Sous Chef for example; we met randomly on a boat in Annapolis, each of us the guest of friends who knew a guy who owned said boat.  I definitely felt a twinge of something special (a.k.a The Universe talking), but just as easily as I chose to strike up a conversation with the man who I would eventually marry, I could have gone in the other direction, and my life would be completely different.

I think it was fate that made me notice the Sous Chef, but getting up the courage to talk to him (which is something I didn't normally do) was all me.

That being said, I think fate played a part in my weekend at the FoodBuzz Festival in San Francisco.  The obvious connection: me winning the trip there, courtesy of Sabra Hummus.  Go here to see my documentation of all the perks that came with that!

But there were other things that happened that have led me to the conclusion that I was simply meant to be at this festival.  Exhibit A:

Do you see that white and blue-specked blob sitting on the plate?  That is bleu cheese.  I'm sure many of you are now saying, "Mmm, bleu cheese!"  But when I even think about bleu cheese, it makes me nauseated.  I utterly hate it.  So when the waiters began passing these out at the banquet on Saturday, I was a bit let down.

Then, a miracle occurred.  Right in front of the Sous Chef (who happens to love those disgusting moldy lumps), the waiter placed a salad without a bleu cheese ball.  Hooray!  One quick swap, and I got to enjoy my salad without even a hint of smelly feet wafting from my plate.

On to Exhibit B:

Ah, American Honey.  What else can I say?  My cousin introduced me to it a few summers ago, and since then, it has been my go-to spirit when my own spirit needs spiriting.  I went from mixing it with orange juice, to mixing it with apple juice, to drinking it neat with a splash of water.  Mmm.  It's rare that I can find this particular liquor at a bar, and some liquor stores still don't carry it.  But it was at the FoodBuzz Tasting Pavilion.  For free.  Fate.

Getting whiskey-ed away on a cloud of American Honey goodness

And finally, Exhibit C:

I ran into my friends Morgan and Tiffany from Strudel and Streusel again!

My friends, you may not believe any of this is fate - you might just see this as a few strokes of good luck and some clever marketing strategies on the part of Skyy Spirits.

Luck.  Fate.  Whatever it is, I'll take it.

Eat (and travel) well.