Gourmet Alley has been the heart of the Garlic Festival for 12 years. This is where the Pyro Chefs entertain the crowd with spectacular flame ups. The garlic cuisine they prepare includes Stuffed Mushrooms, Pasta con Pesto, Calamari, Scampi, Pepper Steak Sandwiches, Italian Sausages Sandwiches, Garlic Bread, Garlic Fries and Garlic Chicken Fry.
By Jerry Bernstein
The Gilroy Garlic Festival first opened its doors in 1979 to celebrate the end of the harvesting of the Gilroy garlic crop. Today it has grown with this year hosting 97,766 visitors compared to last year’s 108,000. However, revenues were up about seven percent from last year.
Festival President Greg Bozzo said. "I think this festival is bigger than garlic and it has to do with the people and their know how," he said in a short celebratory speech to festival organizers after the last visitor left the park Sunday night. "That's what's unique to our festival that's nowhere else in the world." The festival is basically organized and run by local volunteers. Money raised goes to local charities designated by the volunteers. Dollars raised by local charities since 1979 total $8,525,322.
This writer has been going to the Gilroy Garlic Festival for the last 12 years when my cousin insisted I go with her and son Bernard. My initial response was, “Who wants to go to a Garlic Festival? However, they talked me into going and have I returned each year since. Last year Bernard, my 16 year old granddaughter and myself drove to Gilroy in Bernard’s new Corolla. We saved on gasoline but this year we drove in my 1998 Oldsmobile, which got 28 mpg. I explained to him that his car was not designed for tall people. I’m 6 ft. 2 in. He reluctantly acceded to my request.
We left his residence in the Valley close to 8 a.m. and arrived in Gilroy five hours later, heading immediately to our favorite breakfast and lunch establishment, Ode’s, which is located in downtown Gilroy. If you request it, the cooks will add Garlic sprinkles to your food.
We had already purchased our tickets on line, which were raised from $10 per person to $15. Senior’s paid $6. After checking into our hotel, we drove to Cosco’s and replenished the gas tank.
The next morning we were up early and after a quick breakfast at Denny’s drove to the Festival. Over the years the festival parking lot has increased in size as the number of visitors has grown. The parking lot is now divided into sections. There is the handicapped area, yellow etc. Once you park your car, shuttles take you to the festival entrance.
The first thing we did was head to a stand that sold garlic braids. Over the years we learned the owners picked their garlic about two weeks before the festival opened whereas other pick them six to eight weeks before the opening date. The garlic bulbs stay fresh for a minimum of one year. After we bought our braids we walked around investigating the grounds to see what was new and along the way sample some of the
free food. One of the most popular is the miniature vanilla ice-cream cone made with Garlic.
Along the way we lost Bernard but I figured we would catch up with him at the Braiding Competition. Deanna and I browsed through the many stands that sell everything from hats to temporary tattoos. I broke down and purchased a glass elephant made with gold sprinkles to add to my collection. I also bought a print of a silhouette of a horse that my granddaughter liked and plan to give it to her on her 17th birthday in August.
Annual Cook-off
One of the most popular events at the festival is the annual cook-off. This year there were two large television screens hooked up at the back of the cook-off stage. This let people sitting in the bleaches located in front and both side of the stage see what the contestants were cooking. The cookout has become an international event with entries received from all over the world. Hundreds of recipes featuring the use of garlic are received. These in turn are narrowed down by the judges to eight.
The eight finalists are required to travel to Gilroy to cook and present their recipes on the Cook-off stage on Saturday morning [second day] of the festival. A select panel of judges tastes each finalist’s dish and selects the winner. The grand-prize winner is awarded $1,000 and is crowned with a wreath of garlic. Second and third place winners are awarded $750 and $500 respectively. The remaining finalists are awarded $100 each.
Last years winners included first place – Spicy Garlic Butter Cookies with Garlic Goat Cheese and Honey. Second place recipes included Coconut and Garlic Sopa, Short Ribs with Black Bean BBQ Sauce and Saffron/Garlic Infused Root Veggies. Recipe books are available for those interested in trying some of the recipes at home.
At the end of the day we took the shuttle back to the car.
We decided to investigate two of the discount centers near the hotel where we spent 45 minutes. We drove back to the hotel and walked to a strip discount center where we found a bookstore. I bought two books and my granddaughter picked out three. We then returned to the hotel where my cousin relaxed in the room we shared and my granddaughter disappeared into her room. I in turn changed into my bathing suit and went down to the hotel’s pool where I spent a few hours swimming and sitting in the sun. I might ad the pool water was ice cold. However, two youngsters, a brother and sister, were in and out of it like fish, which gave me heart to jump in, Very invigorating.
The next morning the car started up and we headed home.
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