Close but no cigar.

Last week was a blur of activity. Getting ready for the New England Food Festival took up a majority of our time. Baking over 2000 Holiday cookies sure seemed to take forever but in actuality it didn't. We labeled 2000 bags on Monday, started baking on Tuesday and finished baking Thursday. Of course holding down our regular jobs meant we would bake about 5 to 6 hours a night after working all day. Bob did most of the baking since he has a good system. I did the packaging and together we filled up 4 large tubs of cookies. Friday we decorated our table with the main ingredients we used in the cookies and got much needed sleep before heading out early Saturday morning to do the final preparation.  We entered the festival with the sole purpose of getting our name out there. We think we have accomplished that goal. Guess only time will tell.  Like us, we met new business owners participating in the festival for the first time. We had a chance to talk to a lot of people and to talk to the judges. Though we didn't win a category, we still enjoyed the experience and are giving it serious thought for next year.

The festival was a great time. The crowd to enter the tent started lining up 15 minutes before the festival started. Of course with the Thanksgiving parade starting at 10:30, the whole area was bustling with activity. Once the doors open, the masses started pouring in. Last year the festival saw 1500 people so the coordinators told all vendors to plan for 2000. By 2:30 pm, all of the ballots were given away and people were still entering the tent. Around 3:10 pm, we ran out of our 2000 individually sealed packages and started opening up the displayed packages. Of course, the displayed cookies didn't last long and we were completely out by 3:30 pm. 

We did get a lot of feedback from the public and the judges. One judge stated that our cookie was the "Best darn cookie" he ever had. Another judge asked us for the recipe. Several paying participants came back to get cookies to go, tell us that our cookies were better than theirs, or to find our name on their ballot to vote for. One lady made it a point to say that our entry was the best thing she tasted at the festival. A few out-of-towners came back to stay that they wished we were in Alabama or California. We did mention to all who asked where we were, that we do local delivery and ship anywhere in the United States.  One competing vendor even attempted a 'cookie throw down' with us. Needless to say, they walked away admitting that our cookie was better than theirs.

So now that the festival is over with, we are gearing up for the holidays. Pies for Thanksgiving will be delivered on the 24th and orders for Christmas are already starting to pour in. So thank you to all that came out and supported us at the festival and who are currently supporting our local business this holiday season.