Yesterday evening I went to what I think is my first cooking class given by our very own Tea Spot Chef. Granted, I’ve tasted many of her tea-infused and inspired recipes over the past few years – and we’ve gone through some fantastic trials, and some dishes that will probably not be repeated again – but, I realized as I was videotaping her in her element last night, I am embarrassed to say I’ve never been to her classes. (In my and my other colleagues’ defense however, we’re not exactly sitting on the couch eating bon-bons while Karen’s off slaving at the grill with tea-hungry clients either!) But here we were, just the 2 of us representing our products and company, as it had been years ago… At the risk of sounding completely soppy, she made me oh, soooo proud. What an awesome class! I’m sure every person who attended this session at the Tamarac Whole Foods store on Hampden in Denver would agree – all 20 or so people were fully engaged in learning about how to integrate tea for a healthier lifestyle; and, in the 2nd half of the class, happily engaged in blending, glazing, grilling, composing a delicious Father’s Day menu of Cucumber-Avocado Green Tea Soup, Red-tea glazed Portobello Mushrooms and Steaks, marinated veggie-kabobs, and glazed fruit kabobs. During the 1st lecture part of the class, participants got to taste our teas and eat bread dipped in her Tea Spot tea-seasoned olive-oil… this I’d never tried before – delicious! An amazingly professional presentation and experience – thank you Amy, Marketing Director of the Tamarac WFMI store, and Karen – this is what our business is all about – helping fuel people’s passion for living a healthier lifestyle through great taste and gourmet tea experiences taken in community!
So to acknowledge Karen’s devotion and dedication to her role as the Tea Spot Chef, and as a kick-off celebration of her start of culinary school on top of her job responsibilities next week (4 nights a week, 7 hours each night!) we’re going to launch a “Tea-riffic” recipe contest, soliciting original tea recipes from all of you… and awarding a culinary tea gift of a set of all The Tea Spot teas and a Steeping Cup, so you can continue to develop your tea cooking skills much like Karen has. Please stay tuned for details forthcoming early next week…