Us Insiders have been preparing for this event for roughly a month now by doing special stretches and challenging one another to competitive eating contests. The event causing this amount excitement is the fourth annual Taste of Concord, to be held on Oct. 15, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., at the Grappone Conference Center, 70 Constitution Ave. You can thank the Citizens Bank Foundation and New Hampshire Distributors for putting this tasty affair together.
For $30 you get to sample food from 30 area restaurants, mingle with other foodies, partake in raffles and a silent auction and so much more. There will also be the second annual Granite State Throwdown brought to you by Viking Kitchens and Baron’s Major Brand Appliances. The throwdown will have two chefs competing – Brian Shea, head chef at the Barley House and Matt Lee, owner and chef at the Granite Restaurant and Bar – making their signature dishes.
However, there’s a catch. The chefs must include beer and a New Hampshire ingredient in their dish. Upon completion, the chefs will fork over their dishes (ha! get it? Fork over?) and leave it up to a panel of “culinary experts” to judge.
We know you’re already quivering with excitement, but it gets even better – all the moola made from ticket sales will go directly to the Concord Boys and Girls Club. Additionally, participating Taste of Concord restaurants and businesses will be selling gift certificates, and 20 percent of those proceeds will go to the Boys and Girls Club. Think of all the Christmas shopping you could get out of the way by picking up a few certificates.
To help you better prepare for this scrumptious night out, we asked Chris Brown, president and COO of New Hampshire Distributors for the inside scoop.
What can we look forward to this year?
The Granite State Throwdown! Matt Lee from the Granite Restaurant and Bar and Brian Shea from The Barley House will be doing their version of a pork, scallops and pumpkin dish. They need to use ingredients from New Hampshire and use a beer that New Hampshire Distributors sells (the choices are Tuckerman’s Pale Ale from North Conway, Bud Light Golden Wheat from Merrimack and Kona Pipeline Porter from Portsmouth and Kona, Hawaii) in the ingredients as well.
People can also look forward to the silent auction. There will be great gems like weekend getaway packages and autographed sports items.
Last year it was pretty packed. What is your advice for dealing with the crowd?
Purchase your tickets in advance by calling the Boys and Girls Club at 224-1061 and carpool because parking is limited. Four hundred tickets have been sold already and we can only sell 600 max. (Ed. — what he’s saying is, get your tickets now!)
We worked on the flow of the event this year. There will be a tent on the patio to allow people to sit and we doubled the amount of high-top tables. Also, several of the restaurants will be in the pre-function area, so people will have plenty to space to enjoy the great food and beverage!
What is the dress code?
Casual. Jeans are okay – loose jeans that is. You’ll need room to expand!
If we wear a fake mustache, do you think they will let us through the lines twice?
I would bring several disguises! I know none of the restaurants want to bring anything home!
This is the most important question of all: What do you do with your plastic fork? Are you supposed to save it or get a new fork at each station?
In the spirit of being green, I would hang on to it.
Tickets are $30 or $250 for 10. Call 224-1061 to buy yours. For more information or to see a full list of participating restaurants, visit tasteofconcord.com.
