Taste – Annual event gives chefs a chance to meet their diners – and vice versa

LACONIA — The businesses that serve their products at the Taste of the Lakes Region annual food and beverage event sign up for a significant commitment. They have to provide  enough samples for about 300 people, they have to get the product to the venue, and they have to provide staff to serve all of the ticketholders. And they don’t get anything in return – at least not directly.

That hasn’t stopped many restaurants and other food-related businesses from returning year after year. This year’s Taste of the Lakes Region, the 29th Annual, will be held on Sunday, March 31, from 4-6:30 p.m. at Church Landing in Meredith. Many of the 20 businesses serving this year will be familiar to previous Taste attendees.

One familiar face will be that of Annie Bridgeman, owner of Annie’s Cafe and Catering, located on Gilford Avenue in Laconia. She will celebrate a decade in business later this year, and this will be her ninth Taste of the Lakes Region.

The Taste, which highlights the creativity of local food and beverage businesses, also serves as the primary revenue source for Altrusa International of Laconia, a service club. Nine years ago, the event was a great way for Bridgeman to introduce her food to the Lakes Region. Now that her business is established, she doesn’t gain professionally from the event, but she still makes space for it on her calendar every year.

“First of all, I really believe in Altrusa – I believe it’s a wonderful organization,” Bridgeman said. Altrusa uses the proceeds to provide scholarships for local students and to promote literacy in the region. “And it’s fun to be out in the community, and to see other restaurants,” she added.

Bridgeman isn’t sure, exactly, what she will bring to the event this year. “We typically wait until the last minute,” she said, laughing. But she has a general idea. She will be rolling out a new catering menu soon, and will probably bring something to highlight one of those recipes. She also likes to bring a salad that features springtime flavors, and she will also send guests off with a taste of her homemade desserts.

At the Taste, Bridgeman thinks too many of the other businesses take the name of the event too literally. She likes to provide something substantial. In that past, that has been chicken pot pie, or butternut pesto lasagna. “When they come to my table, I want them to be satiated,” she said.

As a veteran of the event, she has some advice to people who are coming to the event for the first time. Don’t just dive in to the first table – walk around the hall first, see what’s offered, then plan a sequence of tastings. “People definitely eat in courses,” she observed.

And, when picking up samples, don’t be shy, she said. One thing that keeps her coming back is the chance to engage with the public, face-to-face.

“It breaks down the barrier between the kitchen door and the restaurant,” she said. People often ask questions, and she said restaurateurs are happy to answer them.

“It gives you the opportunity to reinforce your businesses, your brand, tell people why you do what you do.”

Does she earn any catering business from people she meets at the event? Bridgeman shrugs.

"We get a few tire-kickers," she said. "Not everything you do is to get you business. Sometimes it can just be about being part of the community and helping out."

Tickets for the 29th Annual Taste of the Lakes Region cost $30 per person and are available in Laconia at Hector’s Fine Food and Spirits, Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage and Northway Bank; in Meredith at Hart’s Turkey Farm Restaurant; or online at www.altrusalaconia.org.