News  //  Gilroy Garlic Festival

Garlic Festival Visitors Dined, Danced & Smiled

Kip Moore was the real deal, Stacked Steak Napoleon on Garlic Paper won the Great Garlic Cook-Off and Scope sent 109,067 guests home with bright smiles and fresh breath from the July 29-31 Gilroy Garlic Festival. The 33rd annual food and entertainment extravaganza, presented by Raley’s, Bel Air and Nob Hill Foods, entertained visitors with three days of live music, nationally prominent cooking competitions and renowned cuisine enhanced with more than two tons of fresh Christopher Ranch California garlic.

Established in 1979 with an innovative charity equity program, the Festival is operated by a work force of 4,000 volunteers whose efforts will raise the 33-year total of funding for local nonprofit organizations to more than $9 million.

"We had large crowds that lasted all day long," said Hugh Davis, incoming President of the 2012 Garlic Festival Association. "People arrived early each day to have their first taste of garlic, and then enjoyed the various concerts, cooking competitions and vendor exhibits before having dinner and heading home."

Musical entertainment was headlined by MCA Nashville recording artist Kip Moore, whose set included the chart-climbing “Mary Was the Marrying Kind” on Saturday. Napa, Calif., resident Jamie Brown-Miller was crowned champion of the Great Garlic Cook-Off for her "Stacked Steak Napoleon on Garlic Paper with Asparagus, Radicchio, Shiitakes and Stilton." The winning recipe is available on the Festival website, [gilroygarlicfestival.com] in addition to the runner-up and third-place creations. Chef Dean Dupuis of Oakland’s Pican Restaurant won the $5,000 top prize in the professional Garlic Showdown. Applying the secret ingredients of Romanesco broccoli and Silva sausage, Dupuis prepared Biscuits with Garlic Pepper Jelly and Southern Summer Panzanella Salad with Sausage Chicharones.

The Great Garlic Cook-Off was sponsored by Scope, which selected the venue to introduce its new Dual-Blast mouthwash. In addition to offering attendees a first taste of Dual-Blast at an exhibit adjacent to the Cook-Off Theater, Scope representatives distributed trial-size bottles for visitors to take home.

"Scope was put to the ultimate torture test – handing out 50,000 samples – at this year's Gilroy Garlic Festival, where festival-goers visited the Scope Dual-Blast booth to freshen up and sample our newest collection," said external relations representative Laura Dressman of Procter & Gamble North America Oral Care. "Designed for people who want simple and effective products, the new offering, which includes Scope Dual-Blast mouthwash and Crest Complete Multi-Benefit Extra White + Scope Dual-Blast toothpaste, features the unique dual-action technology that not only kills 98 percent of bad breath germs, but the rinse blasts away strong food odors and the toothpaste helps to eliminate strong aftertastes, giving people the confidence to enjoy all of their favorite, flavorful foods – especially garlic and onions – and move on with their day."

The 34th annual Gilroy Garlic Festival is slated for July 27-29, 2012.