August 9th: 38th Annual Peach Festival – The Women’s Community Club of Cape May will put on their annual peach festival to raise funds for local charities. Come by the Our Lady Star of the Sea Auditorium from 9 AM – 2 PM next Friday to enjoy coffee and cake for breakfast, sandwiches at lunch, and peach themed cobblers, cakes, pies, ice cream, etc, for dessert!
August 10th: Old Fashioned Honey Harvest – Visit the Howell Living History Farm from 10 AM – 4 PM on August 10th to meet bees on their best behavior! Visitors are invited to help with the clover honey harvest, uncapping and extracting honey. Even children are welcome to help spin the honey.
August 10th – 11th: Laurita Gourmet Food Truck Invitational – Food lovers will join together next weekend at the Laurita Winery in New Egypt for the first annual Food Truck Invitational. Fourteen of Jersey’s finest food trucks will serve up global cuisine, alongside Laurita wines. Admission is just $7 per day and advance tickets may be purchased online.
August 17th: EARTH Center Garden Field Day – The Rutgers EARTH Center will host a Garden Field Day and Open House from 10 AM – 3 PM for anyone interested in the earth! The County Master Gardeners will be present to give advice on “horticulture and environmental stewardship”. In addition to hamburgers and hot dogs, stick around for the 3rd annual “Greatest of the Garden” contest where attendees can show off their biggest, smallest, and most oddly shaped home-grown fruits and vegetables for prizes!
August 17th & 18th: Monmouth Park’s Shore Chef Cook-Off. The promise of show-stopping crab cakes from the Garden State’s finest restaurants and caterers will woo food lovers to Monmouth Park Racetrack on August 17th and 18th for the 7th Annual Shore Chef Crab Cake Cook-Off, tempting guests with a wide array of crab cakes, from gourmet to classic, moist and buttery to saucy and spiced, along with other seafood favorites and specialty items.
August 24th: Buffalo’s Spicy Wing Challenge – Buffalo’s Chicken Shack in Woodridge, NJ is offering a $1000 prize to the winner of the 2013 Spicy Wing Challenge. Eat the greatest number of spicy wings in 7 minutes to be crowned “Buffalo King”. Come to watch, or register to compete yourself! For those not brave enough to bear the heat, bring along some of your own wing sauce to enter the home-style sauce judging.
August 31st: West Cape May Tomato Festival – Jersey tomatoes in every form! Tomato jewelry, tomato soup, tomato tacos. Located in Wilbraham Park from 9:00AM to 5:00PM
September 7th & 8th: Appetite: A Gastronomic Experience – Located at the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, NJ, this event is a must for food lovers. Each day will feature celebrity chefs, demonstrations and lessons, wine pairings, scotch and bourbon tastings, food trucks, and even kid-specific events. Tickets range in price and may be purchased online.
September 14th: Amateur Chili Cook-Off – The Grape Escape Winery in Dayton, NJ presents the second competition in their chili cook-off. The four amateur chef finalists will prepare chili, which you get to help taste and judge! A $40 ticket to the event will also get you Postino Restaurant food and tastings of wine and chocolate.
September 23rd: FBCC Culinary Classic – The Food Bank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties presents their 22nd Annual Culinary Classic at The Mill at Spring Lake Heights. The event will raise awareness and funds for hunger in the New Jersey community, especially with regard to the increased need post-Hurricane Sandy. Dozens of popular restaurants from the Jersey Shore will be present to offer samples of signature dishes, wine, cocktails and local craft brews. To purchase tickets and for more information, visit the event Facebook page.
October 5th & 6th: LBI Chowderfest – 2013 marks the 25th anniversary of the annual LBI Chowderfest. There will be unlimited chowder tasting, live music, a food court, a merchant market, and beautiful views of the bay! General admission tickets are $20 ($10 for kids) and may be purchased online.
