Recently, I had the pleasure of connecting on Twitter and Facebook with Chef Zov Karamardian (@Zovs), an award-winning chef, restaurateur and bestselling cookbook author. Chef Zov jumped on the social media bandwagon a few months ago, learning and embracing as much as she can.
As part of her social media strategy, Chef Zov announced the “Make an Eggplant Proud Recipe Contest,” in which I became a finalist after submitting my favorite eggplant recipes.
The eggplant contest was only promoted through Zov’s blog, Facebook, and Twitter, resulting in over 30 recipe submissions. With the assistance of creative minds Marcie Taylor, Suz Broughton, and Frank Groff, Inc., Chef Zov turned the contest into an exciting offline affair. On May 12, several influential Orange County bloggers were invited for lunch at Zov’s Tustin location to taste and judge the recipes of the four finalists (See partial blogger list and finalists as well as my recipe below).
Chef Zov, Me (dressed like an eggplant, but unplanned), Jihan Assi (winner), Priscilla Willis, Yuko Graham
The winner (Jihan Assi) took home a plaque with a $100 gift certificate for Zov’s restaurant and will have her recipe featured as the “Special of the Day” at Zov’s Cafe in Tustin on Friday, May 28th. You can grab Jihan’s eggplant recipe on Zov’s blog. (more…)
