The 11th Annual Crab Cake Cook Off & Wine Tasting Competition

Last Saturday, CC & I attended the The 11th Annual Crab Cake Cook Off & Wine Tasting Competition to benefit Mendocino Coast Clinics. It was held on the corner of Main & Spruce Streets in Fort Bragg, CA under a big white tent.



The competition was judged by both professionals and patrons of the event. There was also a silent auction and a raffle held.



We were given a tasting plate, wine glass, and two tokens. The tokens were given to us to vote for our favorite crab cake and our favorite wine of the day.

During the tasting, CC and I only took one sample of each competitor's cake, and split it in half, then most of those I only tasted one bite. I really did not want to be biased by the end as a result of being overly full.


Even though I paced myself, I found my favorite (shown above) very early on in the tasting. It was made by a restaurant called Patrona. They are located in Ukiah and owned by Craig Strattman & Bridget Harrington. Here's a peek at one of their sample menus (it changes daily).



The crab cakes above (topped with a tomatillo sauce) were made by a Fort Bragg caterer named Karina. She is originally from Düsseldorf, Germany and has over 25 years experience in restaurants and bed & breakfasts. Now she specializes in local, organic, and even raw food. I took one of her menus from her vendor table and the offerings look tempting, but good for you at the same time. She can travel to your home or party and can cook for dinner parties from 2 to 20. She also offers Indian, Middle Eastern, Latin, Mediteranean, and raw food cooking classes. If you are interested in any of her services, you can contact her by following this link.

Also competing and actually winning the competition this year was Silver's at the Wharf. I will tell you all about them in my next Mendocino post because we got to eat there that evening!

Additionally, if you are anywhere near Mendocino tomorrow you can join Silver's for their winemaker dinner. They have paired up with Barra Vineyards (which the Chardonnay from Barra Vineyards was actually CC's & my favorite wine of the day at the cookoff)!! Here is their menu for the evening.


Here is one of the first wines I tried. A Sauvignon Blanc from Chance Creek.


And, our favorite was from Barra Vineyards. Their 2007 Chardonnay. I don't normally dig Chardonnay, but it is awesome with seafood, especially crab cakes.




Other wines to try we loved that get along great with crab: Roederer Estates, Scharffenberger Cellars. CC took a liking to the beer they offered, Scrimshaw.

The cook-off was an event to benefit Mendocino Coast Clinics. Here is a quick link to all the sponsors of the event who made it a success.