Some of you already know that I’ve been doing volunteer work for the amazing nonprofit group Girls Inc. It’s kept me quite busy over the last two months, but it was totally worth it!

My local Girls Inc. organization hosts a food and wine tasting fundraiser every September called Women of Taste. Last night in the gardens of the Oakland Museum of California I had a chance to see all of their hard work come together and to meet all of the wonderful restaurants, chefs, and wineries who donated their time and tastings to support Girls Inc. education outreach programs.

As you can see from the above photo of Lemon Verbena Blackberry Baked Alaska (from San Francisco’s Boulevard restaurant) we were treated to quite a feast.

This year was the 15th anniversary of the Girls Inc. of Alameda County fundraiser and they’ve built up quite a following; providing tastings to over one thousand guests. It takes hundreds of volunteers, many sponsors, tons of donations, and dedicated team to pull off such an event…and the Girls Inc. staff did it with grace and style.

Ann Lauer, owner of Rick & Ann’s restaurant in Berkeley serves up some refreshing carrot and herbed cream cheese aram wraps.

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I have to admit I skipped the wine and headed straight for the raspberry infused vodka from Hangar One!

Lalime’s served a wonderful pairing of mussle’s in spicy gazpacho mignonette along side gorgonzola spread on baby figs with walnuts.

Blue Heron Catering put up a tasty salad display…

More deliciousness from Boulevard with their basil and fleur del sal seasoned truffles which went perfectly with the sparkling wine from Barefoot.

Heavenly goat cheese from Redwood Hill Farms.

Vegetable frittata with pepper sauce from Paulding & Company.

My friend Rosa Mendicino from California Rose Catering also participated, and served up their signature cilantro chimi churri sauce on lamb kabobs.

I encourage Bay Area readers to visit these generous establishments and thank them for supporting kids in our community. I wasn’t able to list all of the great companies who participated…but you can view the entire list on the Women of Taste website.

Be sure to put this event on your calendar for next year!

This entry was posted Sunday, October 1st, 2006 at 9:39 pm and is filed under Bay Area Best, Daily Specials, Hungry Blogger .