*This post is a part of my work with Progresso, however all opinions are completely honest and my own. For more information please see the PR tab above. Thank you!
Believe it or not, this year was my first time ever attending the New York City Wine & Food Festival. The size of the festival is pretty decent, and I think if you commit yourself (and limit your wine intake) you could very well cover the whole floor in one day.
It was so great to be there as a Progresso Ambassador because I could actually see first hand what people thought of the soup and chat with the Progresso team. Apparently, more then a few people had a hard time believing that the soup was not prepared right there on the spot because it tasted “too fresh” and had too many “real vegetables”. If you don’t know, the Progresso Artisan line’s unique Tetra Pak packaging, which keeps the soup tasting the same as it did when it went in the box really gives the line an edge – keeping it out of the can and in the carton. So yes, if you’re reading this now and were one of those incredulous few, the soup you were tasting is the same exact soup you’ll find on shelves all over the East Coast! I promise!
The soups were incredibly popular, as were the numerous giveaways going on at the Progresso stage – I was so excited to see attendees walk away with kitchenware and even a few massive gift baskets!
After a few hours of wandering around, with stops at the Progresso stage, me, Mel (Food and New York City), and Serena (Big Apple Nosh)- also Progresso ambassadors and amazing bloggers, stayed our wandering feet at the Food Network stages. We watched a surprisingly low key Guy Fieri, and Robert Irvine, pull together a couple of dishes before we moved on.
I loved the pasta with fresh mozzarella and basil from Barilla – it was so good, and very simple, I’m definitely going to recreate it at home. I also tried a kombucha, butternut squash, and pecan dish that looked pretty and sounded exciting but wasn’t particularly thrilling.
It was pretty hectic, but of all the foods I tried my favorite (outside of Progresso Artisan Soups, obviously, lol!) was a pumpkin butternut squash soup with accompanying grilled cheese. The booth was actually for a cruise line, and they were exhibiting the kind of deliciousness that can be found while cruising with them. Having never been on a cruise, I suddenly comprehended why people went on them. The soup was creamy and flavorful and the grilled cheese was in all ways perfect.
Later on we caught Robert Irvine doing a demo, he was pretty crowded by adoring fans and media – but I managed to get a pretty decent shot 😉
I would be lying if I said I wasn’t beyond exhausted by the end of the day. Alas, my food exploration was not over – we did spend the evening dining at Del Posto which I will link my recap/review here when it goes live! And be sure to stick around for my recap of day 2!
Where you at the NYCWFF? have you had a chance to try Progresso’s Artisan Soup line? What’s your favorite soup? Let me know in the comments below!