From local favorites to unlikely eats, Flavors of Florida highlighted tastes across the state.
UF/IFAS’s tasting showcase returned for its 11th year Thursday evening, this time supporting the UF Therapeutic Horticulture Program. The event highlighted products from local restaurants, like Germain’s and Curia on the Drag, using ingredients grown from UF/IFAS research facilities and Florida farmers.
As about 400 attendees entered the Champions Club at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, they were handed trays to carry food from 25 stations. This year’s event featured surf and turf, with seafood to the left and “land food” to the right. A live jazz band played as Albert and Alberta made their rounds.
At the bar, mixologists stirred up seven signature cocktails, including the sweet-and-spicy strawberry jalapeno margarita, along with the aptly named orange & blue-berry punch.
Amanda Vernabil, the 31-year-old assistant director of constituent relations for UF/IFAS advancement, has only been on the job for six months but said she had to fully immerse herself in planning the event.
Luckily, it gave her the opportunity to put her event management degree from the University of Central Florida to use.
“This is the event that completely embodies what IFAS is,” Vernabil said. “... to be able to come here and be fully immersed and learn about all the different providers, the different commodities, the different produce and meats, and what's in season, what's not in season, this has been the best lesson possible.”
Each year, Flavors of Florida supports a different organization, which is chosen without that organization’s knowledge. Leah Diehl, the director of the UF Therapeutic Horticulture Program, said she was surprised and amazed to learn they would benefit from a percentage of the ticket sales, and possibly receive donations from attendees.
The UF Therapeutic Horticulture Program provides gardening and plant-based programming to help participants reduce stress and mental fatigue. Groups served include UF students, Florida Recovery Center and UF Psychiatric Hospital patients, and adults with developmental disabilities. The program relies on grants and donations to operate, according to Diehl.
“Just to be able to kind of get ourselves in front of a lot of people and let them know we exist and what we do is really exciting,” Diehl said.
Flavors of Florida also offered attendees the chance to see new research taking place under IFAS.
As many Florida farmers face challenges with citrus crops, researchers hope coffee could offer a new avenue. The beans, which are typically grown in Central and South America, Africa and Asia, are now also being grown in Florida.
At Flavors of Florida, attendees got the first taste of Florida-grown coffee. In a blind taste test, many preferred it against a coffee grown somewhere else, said Felipe Ferrao, a UF researcher with the Coffee Lab.
“For the first year, for the first harvest, we had a very good coffee,” Ferrao said. “It's a very good aftertaste, you know, good balance in terms of acidity. So I'm very happy with the reviews.”
Throughout the event, attendees voted using tokens on their favorite dish, drink and experience. After tallying up the votes, a winner was announced for each.
Heather Tietig came to the event with her husband Erik, who is on the IFAS Advancement Council. Her favorite item came from Germain’s station: griot and pikliz, a Haitian dish featuring fried pork shoulder and cabbage relish.
Using both her and her husband’s tokens, she cast multiple votes for Germain’s.
“The slaw on top is a spicy, crunchy, almost vinegary topping,” she said. “The pork has been sauteed and braised a couple of times, so it like falls apart”
To her delight, Germain’s won best dish and received a special plaque. The best drink award went to Blue Gill, a Butler Plaza seafood restaurant, and best experience went to UF Therapeutic Horticulture.
Another Germain’s fan, David Tyler, came to the event with his wife. The 31-year-old Florida Department of Transportation civil engineer forgot his wife bought the tickets until he got home from work.
He enjoyed eating the griot and pikliz, along with beer from Cypress & Grove and dessert from Curia on the Drag.
“It's really nice to eat locally grown food and produce, as well as just enjoy some of the local eateries around Gainesville,” Tyler said.
Contact Corey Fiske at cfiske@alligator.org. Follow him on X @coreyfiske7.
