Over 1,200 people attend Sample the Sierra in South Lake Tahoe

With blue skies and warm temperatures, many people were out enjoying everything there is to do in South Lake Tahoe this holiday weekend. Many events from a carnival to fireworks were held, giving people plenty to choose from.

One of these events was the 5th Annual Sample the Sierra Farm to Fork Festival. The main event was held at Bijou Community park on Sunday, with over 1,200 people enjoying food and drink from the region. There were 16 booths of local food, wine, beer and spirits as well as an artisan marketplace, live music and a cooking contest with a mystery box of ingredients.

The location wasn’t the only thing new this year; for the first ever, festival attendees voted for their favorite collaboration to be awarded the Best Tasting Experience of Sample the Sierra. Zephyr Cove Resort, Great Basin Brewing Co. and Nancy’s Green Barn Farm were deemed the winning trifecta by popular vote. Zephyr Cove Resort came out on top with a collaboration that included gourmet grilled cheese with tomato basil soup served cold and brews from Reno-based Great Basin Brewing Co.

The 3rd Annual Sierra Chefs Challenge also ramped up the competition with four competing chefs this year as opposed to last year’s three. Last year’s winner Chef Peter Brinckerhoff, the Executive Chef for the Tahoe Restaurant Collective, returned to cook against past participant Chef Jeremy “Boomer” Acuña of Zephyr Cove Resort and challenged newcomers Chef Stephen Moise of The Ridge Tahoe and Chef Jimi Nakamatsu of Kalani’s. After the secret ingredients were revealed, the four competing chefs went to work. For 45 minutes each chef wowed the crowd with their culinary skills, as well as their personal flair. The judging panel consisted of three experts of the food world; Executive Chef Sal Delgado of Lake Tahoe Resort Hotel, Chef Sean Conry of Longboards Bar & Grill and Robert Teddy, Foodservice Manager for Acosta Foodservice and donator of the pork and salmon products used during the competition. After much deliberation over the taste, presentation, creativity and use of secret ingredients, defending champion Chef Peter Brinckerhoff took home the title for a second time as he was named the winner of the 3rd Annual Chefs Challenge.

The following growers and producers donated local products cultivated in the Sierra Nevada for use in restaurants’ samples: Beals’ Orchard, Coloma Gold Honey, Harris Tree Farm, Heart Rock Herb & Spice Co., Honey Hills Farm, Hooverville Orchards, Mountain Bounty Farm, Nancy’s Green Barn Farm, Patrick’s Mountain Grown, Perez Red Shack, Rainbow Orchards, Renwood Winery, Rio De Parras Organics, Sierra Meat & Seafood, Sierra Valley Farms and Truckee Sourdough Company.

Those participating in the event included Beach House BBQ, Beach Hut Deli, Crystal Basin Bistro, Echo Lounge Restaurant, Foodies Bystro, Fox & Hound, Hungry Bear Restaurant, Kalani’s, Longboards Bar & Grill, MacDuff’s Pub, Primo’s Italian Bistro, Riva Grill on the Lake, Stateline Brewery, Sugar Pine Donuts, The Boathouse and Zephyr Cove Resort, Auriga Wine Cellars, BellaGrace Vineyards, Bumgarner Winery, Crystal Basin Cellars, Deaver Vineyards, Grace Patriot Wines, Grant-Eddie Winery, Great Basin Brewing Co., Lava Cap Winery, Madroña Vineyards, Renwood Winery, The Brewery, Tahoe Blue Vodka, Tahoe Moonshine Distillery, Vino Noceto, Aprons by Pam, Bona Fide Books, Chamberlain Creations, Charmed by Victoria, Design Divas, Erin Crow, FATFACE Skincare, Focus on Interiors, Harris Tree Farm, Heart Rock Herb & Spice Co., Honey Hills Farm, Jan Solminski, Liston Studios, Lovin Lake Tahoe, Mountain Maid Face Painting & Henna Tattoo, Mountain Maid Tie Dye, Pacific Crest Gallery, Qian Fang Art Jewelry, Retiredice Alpacas, RISE Designs, Salsa Girl Creations, Sir Richard’s, Stonecrop Silverworks, Tahoe Bath and Candle Works, Tahoe Mountain Soap Co., Takin It Squeasy, Tamacino and Truck Show.