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Presenting the first annual 2005 Independent Food Festival Awards. The amount of energy and expertise dedicated to creating wonderful food experiences across this planet is incredible. However, more often than not, very few people really know about these experiences, people, and products. Today's traditional food media is mostly geared to expose those experiences who have hired the best public relations firm. This is not to say that traditional media don't talk about great food. They do. But there is a new and independent voice when it comes to what makes for a wonderful food experience - the food writers and bloggers of the internet. These people dedicate their free time to tirelessly telling the world about their personal food experiences. And today, they honor a small sampling of the best of what the food world has to offer.

2005 Categories

◊ Best Dish Still Moving On The Plate When Fully Cooked ◊	◊ Tastiest Cheese with the Hippest Logo ◊
◊ Best Flavored Water Not Flavored with Fruit ◊	◊ Beer to Enjoy While Impressing Your Beer Snob Friends ◊
◊ Best Noodle Soup in Saigon ◊	◊ Best Ficelle This Side Of Paris ◊
◊ Best Use of a Tortilla ◊	◊ Most Soul Satisfying Bowl of Pasta to Eat After Buying A Backpack in the... ◊
◊ Better-than-in-France Croissants aux Amandes You Can Get in Tokyo ◊	◊ Baking Sugar with the Most Personality ◊
◊ Best Reinvention of a Culinary Cliché ◊	◊ The Reason I Can't Be A Vegetarian ◊
◊ Jammy Vodka - Most Brilliant Capture of the True Essence of Fruit in a Spirit ◊	◊ The Maple Syrup Confection Worth its Weight in Gold ◊
◊ Richest Chicken Soup Ever ◊	◊ Best Use of Tabasco by an Establishment That Serves Dollar Beer ◊
◊ Best BLT Under $4 ◊	◊ Best Bittersweet Bite for your Bittersweet Life ◊
◊ Best School Lunch ◊	◊ Best Sunflower Honey in Paris ◊
◊ Best Fish Taco North of the Border ◊	◊ Most Sublime Use of a Potato ◊
◊ Food Worth the Risk Of Injury ◊	◊ Best Surreptitious Use of Turkey Meat ◊
◊ Best Thing to Happen to Rice Since Sake ◊	◊ Best Use of Unripe, American-Grown Grapes by a German-Born Winemaker ◊
◊ Most Perfect Raspberry Found in a Jar ◊	◊ Best Under-the-Radar Dessert Wine, Starting to Gain Popularity ◊
◊ World’s Best Mustard to Eat and Cook With ◊	Best Eatery Serving All-Filipino Food in Metro Manila

2005 Winners


Best Dish Still Moving On The Plate When Fully Cooked Renkon Butter, Kiyoharu Kuroda, Maekawa Restaurant Seattle, Washington, United States awarded by: Amuse Bouche

	Best Flavored Water Not Flavored with Fruit Peppermint Water, Metromint San Francisco, California, United States awarded by: Accidental Hedonist

Best Noodle Soup in Saigon Bun Mam, from Bau Sa, #36 Saigon, Vietnam awarded by: Noodle Pie

	Best Use of a Tortilla Karen Taylor, Cocina Primavera San Francisco Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market, California, United States awarded by: World on a Plate

Better-than-in-France Croissants aux Amandes You Can Get in Tokyo Croissants aux Amandes, Boulangerie Aux Bacchanales Akasaka, Tokyo, Japan awarded by: she who eats

	Best Reinvention of a Culinary Cliché Surf and Turf, Chef David Kinch, Manresa Restaurant Los Gatos, California, United States awarded by: Vinography

Jammy Vodka - Most Brilliant Capture of the True Essence of Fruit in a Spirit Limited Edition Hangar One Raspberry Vodka St. George Spirits, Alameda, California, United States awarded by: Becks & Posh

	Richest Chicken Soup Ever Kotosoupa Avgolemono, Greek Corner Restaurant Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States awarded by: Purple Sunshine

Best BLT Under $4 BLT, Jack and Margaret Chang, KK Café San Francisco, California, United States awarded by: Simply Recipes

	Best School Lunch Chef Tracy Bates, The Oxbow School Napa, California, United States awarded by: 101 cookbooks

Best Fish Taco North of the Border Fish Taco, Nick Fasanella, Nick's Crispy Tacos San Francisco, California, United States awarded by: Cooking with Amy

	Food Worth the Risk Of Injury Soup Dumpling, New Green Bo New York City, New York, United States awarded by: A Full Belly

Best Thing to Happen to Rice Since Sake Hitachino Nest Red Rice Ale, Kiuchi Brewery Ibaraki, Japan awarded by: The Food Section

	Most Perfect Raspberry Found in a Jar Raspberry Tart, Pacific Raspberry Jam, Mountain Fruit Company Chico, California, United States awarded by: tastingmenu

World’s Best Mustard to Eat and Cook With Anton Kozlik’s Canadian Mustard, Jeremy Kessler Toronto, Canada awarded by: The Domestic Goddess

	Tastiest Cheese with the Hippest Logo Lamb Chopper, Mary Keehn, Cypress Grove Chevre Arcata, California, United States awarded by: The Cheese Diaries

Beer to Enjoy While Impressing Your Beer Snob Friends Moinette, Olivier Dedeycker, Brasserie Dupont Tourpes, Belgium awarded by: An Obsession with Food

	Best Ficelle This Side Of Paris Dahlia Bakery Seattle, Washington, United States awarded by: Seattle Bon Vivant

Most Soul Satisfying Bowl of Pasta to Eat After Buying A Backpack in the East Village and Walking to the West Village in 8 Degree Weather When You Think Your Face is Going To Fall Off and Life is No Long Worth Living Penne A la Vodka with Pancetta, Pepe Rosso New York City, New York, United States awarded by: The Amateur Gourmet

	Baking Sugar with the Most Personality Brut de Canne Roux Clair, Destination Sucre, Centre de Caféologie Bordeaux, France awarded by: Chocolate & Zucchini

The Reason I Can't Be A Vegetarian Bambai Satay Stall Malayan Railway Tanjong Pagar Station, Singapore awarded by: AromaCookery

	The Maple Syrup Confection Worth its Weight in Gold Wild Squash Truffle, DC Duby Chocolatier Vancouver, Canada awarded by: à la cuisine!

Best Use of Tabasco by an Establishment That Serves Dollar Beer Oysters on the Half Shell with Tabasco Sorbet, Blue Plate Restaurant, Jeff Trenam San Francisco, California, United States awarded by: Gastronome

	Best Bittersweet Bite for your Bittersweet Life Candied Seville Peel, June Taylor San Francisco Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market, California, United States awarded by: Chez Pim

Best Sunflower Honey in Paris Guy Allart, les Ruchers du Bel Air of St. Maur des Fossées Paris, France awarded by: Too Many Chefs

	Most Sublime Use of a Potato Pommes de Terre Soufflés, Galatoire's New Orleans, Louisiana, United States awarded by: Appetites

Best Surreptitious Use of Turkey Meat Shawarma, Rami's Brookline, Massachusetts, United States awarded by: The Kosher Blog

	Best Use of Unripe, American-Grown Grapes by a German-Born Winemaker Verjus, Winemaker Roman Roth, Wolffer Estate Vineyards Sagaponack, New York, United States awarded by: Lenndevours

Best Under-the-Radar Dessert Wine, Starting to Gain Popularity Rosa Regale, Brachetto d'Acqui, Banfi Vintners Piedmont, Italy awarded by: Vittles Vamp

	Best Eatery Serving All-Filipino Food in Metro Manila Dampa Sa Libis Manila, Philippines awarded by: Pinoy Cook

2005 Jury

This year's jury was composed of many of the top food bloggers on the internet today. Jury members were chosen by tasteeverything.org for their quality and consistency. Each jury member created and designated their own award. Next year's jury and awards will be chosen in a similar manner.

Attention Winners

Congratulations to all the winners. If you are a winner, here are some guidelines on how to publicize your award.