Gilroy Garlic Festival 2010

The Gilroy Garlic Festival is a big deal around here.  We had so much fun at the Festival last year that we made sure to go again. First up, some garlic fries (above). And then we made our way to Gourmet Alley and the battling flames.

Gourmet Alley is where the famous shrimp scampi and calamari are made, among other foods of the festival.  The frying pans are all lined up and see some serious heat.  These guys really draw the crowds as they create an amazing show.

The other big event that happens at the festival is a garlic cookoff.  Here teams that made it into the final round compete live in front of an audience.

Guest celebrity chef Fabio Viviani of Top Chef fame, did a cooking demo as well as hosted the Garlic Cookoff.

We waited in line after the cooking demo to get a copy of his cookbook and take a picture.  Little did I know back then that he would be the first Top Chef contestant that I would meet. (Check out my chef blog to read about the event I did with Richard Blais.)

Our favorite find of the festival was this artist who uses old grape vines as the base for tables.

We would love to have something like this in our house one day.  We didnt buy anything from him at the festival, but we will keep him in mind.