{"id":22018,"date":"2014-05-13T10:47:16","date_gmt":"2014-05-13T14:47:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=22018"},"modified":"2014-05-13T09:55:34","modified_gmt":"2014-05-13T13:55:34","slug":"inside-the-tailgating-competition-at-willowdale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=22018","title":{"rendered":"Inside the tailgating competition at Willowdale"},"content":{"rendered":"

English Country Afternoon theme offers stunning displays<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

By Cathy Branciaroli<\/strong>,\u00a0Special\u00a0To The Times<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Willowdale-1st-place-winners\"<\/a>

First place winners Jennifer and Jonathan Bordelon’s display featured hearty food and a place to lounge at the end of the hunt, during Sunday’s Willowdale Steeplechase tailgating competition.<\/p><\/div>\n

EAST MARLBOROUGH \u2014 Tailgating has been a part of the Willowdale Steeplechase tradition since its inception and the 22nd<\/sup> running on Mothers Day , May 11th<\/sup>,\u00a0 was true to form.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0Tailgate spreads ranging from elaborate displays to simple picnics graced the parking areas and many hosts urged those passing by join in their fun by dropping in for a bite or a beverage.<\/p>\n

According to associate race director Lisa Hatcher, the tailgates add excitement to the always festive Willowdale atmosphere.\u00a0 \u201cThe roots of the Steeplechase are with families and while the real stars of race day are the horses, jockeys, trainers and owners, we try to provide something fun for all family members, from terrier races, to the shopping tent to the antique cars.\u00a0\u00a0 Families are already celebrating Mothers Day and the tailgates bring another dimension to that celebration,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

In addition to the family parties and spreads, an annual tailgate competition ups the ante considerably.\u00a0\u00a0 This year a select group of contestants vied for the competition\u2019s top prize of a dinner party at The Whip restaurant.\u00a0 They hoped to catch the judges\u2019 eyes with gourmet food and stunning displays to illustrate this year\u2019s theme of \u201cAn English Country Afternoon\u201d.\u00a0 According to Hatcher, the theme was inspired by the popularity of the PBS program Downton Abbey and the ongoing exhibition of its costumes at nearby Winterthur Museum.<\/p>\n

I accompanied the judges, Diana McCulloch, Katie and Chad Groves of Studio 882 and the mother-son team of Sally and Adrian Reed as they sampled each contestant\u2019s dishes.\u00a0 Chief judge McCulloch advised, \u201cWe want this to be fun and relaxing for the participants.\u00a0 They all went to great lengths to organize their display and prepare the dishes being presented today.\u00a0 Now they should be able to bask in well-deserved attention for their efforts.\u201d<\/p>\n

After each stop the judges considered how well the entrants met four criteria \u2013 their interpretation of the theme, their use of local Chester County or British ingredients, their creativity and their presentation.\u00a0 \u201cTaste is critical of course so sometimes it takes a number of tastings to make sure we get it right,\u201d said McCulloch with a smile.\u00a0 The team\u2019s champion taste tester was Adrian Reed, a young man totally committed to his work.\u00a0 He captured the spirit of the competition by proclaiming at the end that he was stuffed.<\/p>\n

\"Willowdale-2nd-place-winner\"<\/a>

Second place winner Francine Covelli used local ingredients to best advantage according to competition judges.<\/p><\/div>\n

Ultimately, the tailgate competition\u2019s top winners were Jennifer and Jonathan Bordelon of Mechanicsburg.\u00a0 Their choice of menu featured hearty hot fare suitable for refueling after a long afternoon of hunting at an English estate.\u00a0 The spread included shepherd pie, ground meat and sausage turnovers and a cheese tray featuring port wine cheese.\u00a0 The centerpiece of their d\u00e9cor was a suede chaise lounge, exactly the spot the judges agreed where one would want to relax after a long hunt.<\/p>\n

The second place award of a design consultation with Studio 882 went to Francine Covelli of Organic Life Farms.\u00a0 \u00a0The judges viewed her entry to be tops for local food.\u00a0 Her lavender and herb themed presentation was decorated by English flowers including wisteria and featured a whole poached salmon with wild capers and cucumbers placed on a bed of locally grown baby kale.\u00a0 Her refreshing infused lemonade made from the juice of 20 lemons and 20 limes relied on rosemary and basil for its distinctive flavors and was sweetened with agave rather than sugar for its smooth taste.<\/p>\n

\"Willowdale-3rd-place-winner\"<\/a>

Third place winner Mary Ann Yost brought authentic British decor and creative dishes to her tailgate display<\/p><\/div>\n

Third prize of an additional Studio 822 design consultation went to Mary Ann Yost of Easton, MD, who decorated her space with period English antiques from her late husband\u2019s family including Willoware plates and a Trout plaque recognizing a heroic catch from 1944.\u00a0 A creative cook, she made her own Devon Cream using cr\u00e8me fraiche, sour cream, sugar and vanilla.\u00a0 Her mushroom pie was made with Stilton cheese, Stropshire cheese and saut\u00e9ed local mushrooms.\u00a0 A true horse lover, she was excited to be dividing her time between her tailgate and working in the paddock area.<\/p>\n

When I signed on to be a tailgate judge wannabe, Diana McCulloch promised a laid back, fun afternoon.\u00a0 It certainly was that.\u00a0 And at the judging conclusion I had to agree with Adrian Reed.\u00a0 I was stuffed.\u00a0 Oh yes, and there was the horse racing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

English Country Afternoon theme offers stunning displays By Cathy Branciaroli,\u00a0Special\u00a0To The Times EAST MARLBOROUGH \u2014 Tailgating has been a part of the Willowdale Steeplechase tradition since its inception and the 22nd running on Mothers Day , May 11th,\u00a0 was true to form.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0Tailgate spreads ranging from elaborate displays to simple picnics graced the parking areas […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22015,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[245,7],"tags":[5555,590,1221,5554,1250],"class_list":["post-22018","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","category-featured","tag-food","tag-fun","tag-mothers-day","tag-tailgating-competition","tag-willowdale-steeplechase"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22018","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=22018"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22018\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/22015"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=22018"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=22018"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=22018"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}