This is the confession of a self-declared foodie.  I am starting a Finger Lakes Food Revolution. 

My cause is to prove to the world that the Finger Lakes Food experience is one to rival any great wine and culinary destination. We have good chefs, interesting niche food events, great land and farmers, and more. 

I know that my foodie status is shared by many others in the Finger Lakes and whole-heartedly by my office mates who don’t go a day without having a long discussion about their food sources! 

Join my revolution. Pick up your forks, put on your expandable waistline clothes, stuff a few dollars in your pocket, and show your strength by requesting locally made wherever you go – and evaluating it once you’ve been there. Yes, you can be a judge. Power to the Palate!

September and October are hereby declared Finger Lakes Foodie Months. We’re looking for lots of nominations… actually they are already flowing in – and the ranks are closing around the Finger Lakes almighty grapes and apples as the favorite foods. You have a food you want to stand by? Stand up now and let it be counted – don’t let any renegade troops nominate some obscure, scantily wrapped wanna-be Finger Lakes food items. Don’t let them try to convince you that California wine is any better than ours, that Wisconsin cheese can’t be matched, that their chefs are better than our chefs just because they’re in some bigger city somewhere!  No.  It’s time we shouted out the best of what we have and then defend it.  The Finger Lakes Food Revolution is looking for the real Finger Lakes; there shall be truth and justice in our quest to declare the best of the food world in the Finger Lakes – the real Finger Lakes Cuisine. 

If you’re reading this blog – you’re enlisted. Go to FingerLakesFoodRevolution.com and see the events that you should not miss. Vote. Return with purple feet from the Purple Foot Festival. Vote some more! March yourself right in to a harvest festival and shout out, “WHERE is the LOCAL?!”. 

Think you know your stuff? Then sign up to be a General … and not one of the privates! Go for the top positions – enter to be a Food Judge.

Why vote? Because just like any great battle, there will be a winner declared. The Finger Lakes Foodie Awards will be held in the late winter (around March). There will be parades in the streets, banners will be flying, heroes of the food world will be named, and more!  Trust me… this revolution… while very serious about the quality of the food, is also about how much fun it is to be a Foodie in the Finger Lakes. 

P.S.  I’m kidding about the parades in the streets … but everything else is real. You can sit around in September and October or you can join us at fun events like the Cork ‘n’ Fork, Naples Grape Festival, Food Festival of Rochester, Finger Lakes Restaurant Week, the Deb Whiting Harvest Celebration, the Cheese Trail Open House, and so many more.  See you there … fork, spoon, knife and wine glass in hand! Slice Dice and Spice NY lives on through the Finger Lakes Food Revolution!