Southwest Florida Ag Expo to offer favorite fair fare and a whole lot more
Food vendors at the Southwest Florida Ag Expo will once again compete for the Blue Ribbon Bites award during this year’s event to be held from Thursday, Feb. 26, through Sunday, March 8, at Mike Greenwell Regional Park.
The two categories last year were for Best of Sweet and Best of Savory. This year, the People’s Choice Award for the Blue Ribbon Bites will be added.
John Rios and Saryan Velez of Cocoa Berries entered the sweet category with their Dubai Viral Strawberry Chocolate.
“We are trying to do something new and creative to surprise the judges and the customers,” Rios said.
He said it is not just a cup of strawberries, but rather a beautiful experience that attendees can appreciate when tasting the treat.
The dessert uses fresh strawberries with Dubai chocolate, kataifi, crumbs, and chocolate of their choice – hazelnut chocolate, white chocolate, dark chocolate, milk chocolate, pistachios chocolate or Ferrero rocher.
Last year was the first year the couple became a vendor at the expo.
“Someone mentioned the fair, and it was amazing,” Rios said, adding that the whole team was amazing and gave them the opportunity. “We were part of the family.”
The couple has been in the chocolate business for about a decade. His wife Velez is the chef.
“We put our knowledge together to try to expand and then we traveled to Naples Collier County Fair, Fort Myers, Georgia and private events,” Rios said.
They live in Lehigh Acres and do such events as art galleries.
“Every event that is available, that is where we go. We don’t have a store front. We do events. Our goal is only to do fairs. That is where we can be ourselves and expand to everybody,” Rios said.
The Blue Ribbon Bites Winner for Best of Savory went to Gillette’s Pizza and Lemonade for their The Pickled Pig — pickle, bacon and ranch pizza.
Brian and Sue Gillette have been a vendor at the county complex for 34 years with their business, Gillette’s Pizza and Lemonade. Brian said the fair was the first event they booked while still in college after starting the business.
“I believe we are the oldest vendor there,” he said. “We absolutely love the area. We love the people, 4H, the Expo, and the administration is great to work with. They are just wonderful. They care a great deal.”
Brian said before the Expo opened last year, they made their product for the panel of judges. They brought in samples and a full-size pickle, bacon and ranch pizza.
“It absolutely helped,” Brian said of having the ribbon displayed.
The couple’s idea of a pickle pizza came from seeing something online six years ago when pickles started becoming trendy in the cooking world. Brian said the Southwest Florida Ag Expo was their first introduction of the pizza.
“Some of the people from 4H tried it and talked to some other people,” he said.
The word got out and others started visiting their trailer asking for “some kind of pickle pizza.”
The first day, they made two pies, the second three pies and then they began running out of pickles it became so popular.
“We have fairs where it makes up half of our pizza sales,” he said.
He said being a vendor at a fair is a very unique business, as half the people come to ride rides and 100% eat something or drink something while there.
“We are trying to fill that category with something unique and high quality. We take a tremendous amount of pride in what we do,” Brian said.
That pride comes in buying the most expensive cheese and ingredients every day, or few days.
“We support local and buy local. We make it fresh to order, inspected by the Health Department. It’s a legitimate business,” Brian said.
Gillette’s Pizza and Lemonade also offers other entrees as calzones, baked pasta, and stromboli.
He said this year they are adding a new item for the contest – buffalo chicken and Philly cheesesteak pinwheels. Brian said they are rolled up like a cinnamon roll and baked.
“I think it is going to be a big hit,” he said, adding that the attendees of the Ag Expo will be the guinea pigs.
The family-owned business travels from February through November to fairs from across the country from New York to Florida. Their first event is the Southwest Florida Ag Expo.
“Once Memorial Day hits, we are busy until Nov. 1,” he said.
Brian started in the business as a 7-year-old working for his grandparents, who owned a barbecue restaurant in upstate New York. He would pour drinks and work at the fair. He said he and his wife bought their first concessionaire trailer and began a pizza business more than 30 years ago.
Mike Greenwell Regional Park, formerly the Lee County Civic center complex, is at 11831 Bayshore Road, at the intersection of Babcock Ranch Road in North Fort Myers.