An Update About My Entry in Whole Foods' "Foodie Fantasy Vacation" Contest ....

As followers of this blog may know, Whole Foods has a "Foodie Fantasy Vacation" contest, giving food bloggers (such as myself) until 11:59 p.m. Central Daylight Time on April 3, 2011 to submit a 30 to 60 second video entry explaining why he or she should win a Berlin to Paris vacation.  I submitted my entry last Wednesday and you can see it here:

You can view my entry on the contest page by (1) going to the Whole Foods' Facebook fan page; (2) click on "The First Yum & Foodie Fantasy" (which is on the left hand side of the Fan Page below "Notes"), (3) click "View Entries," and (4) go to page 2.  My entry is the first one in the third row.  You can access Whole Foods' fan page with this link.

I focused my entry on the fact that Whole Foods is providing two producer visits where the winner will have the opportunity to learn firsthand how farmers, producers, brewers or vintners make the ingredients or foods that are part of the country's cuisine.  None of the other bloggers' entries made mention of these visits, which I think are just as important as eating one's way through Western Europe.  After all, the producers are the people who contribute to the food traditions of their respective countries. 

Now, that the entry period is closed, we move to the judging phases of the contest.  The judging phases are two-fold: (1) selection of ten finalists by a committee of Whole Foods employees; and (2) voting by the general public.   The Whole Foods committee will select the finalists between April 4 and April 6, announcing the finalists on April 6.  At that time, the public will have an opportunity to vote for the finalist that they would like to win the contest.  (This is somewhat different than what is said in the official rules, which states that voting by the general public will begin on April 5, rather than April 6.)

So, for now at least, I need to have everybody keep their fingers crossed and hope that my entry gets selected as a finalist.  If it is selected, then I will need everyone to vote for my entry beginning on Wednesday, April 6. 

Of course, if and when I get selected as a finalist, I will send out additional details on how to vote.  Until then, I want to express my gratitude for all of the support and kind words that you have given to me about my blog and my entry.   It is great to know that so many of you enjoy reading my blog as much as I enjoy cooking and writing for it.

THANK YOU!