Amelia Island Farmers Market Luncheon #authenticamelia Omni Amelia Island Plantation

On day two of my weekend at Omni Amelia Island Plantation, we were woken up with a "Georgia Florida Line" Breakfast from the kitchen. This was our first of two breakfasts and I was very happy to see it wasn't a heavy meal. I grabbed my red bull, the orange and had a few bites of the yogurt before I headed out for my day out to discover Authentic Amelia Island.

With a Red Bull in hand, I headed off to meet the group to start our  morning off with a visit to Amelia Island Farmers Market. We were greeted by multiple local vendors, selling everything from homemade bread, produce and black garlic balsamic. We were each handed a $20 bill and instructed to shop for Chef Daven Wardynski and his talented team. Our purchases would be used for our lunch. This was one of the hardest shopping assignments I have ever been given.

I shopped as I would do so at home with a side of trying to impress the teacher. I ended up purchasing the following items, with $1 left over.
Tomato, Spinach, Apple, Squid Ink Pasta, Pink Peppercorn, French Baguette

After our shopping excursion, we visited the Champagne Bubble Bar and Biscuit Bar. Upon receiving our itinerary, I was overly intrigued on the Champagne Bubble Bar - and boy did it meet my curious expectations. I didn't want this moment to ever end.

Glasses of bubbles with frozen melon balls were quickly handed to us. From there, the result of our mimosas was left to our experimenting. Everything from ginger to berries to basil, we were able to infuse our cocktails. I chose peach ginger and it was out of this world. With a very pretty glass of bubbles in hand, I headed over to the Biscuit bar, where I chose a sausage egg and cheese concoction that was out of this world.

After we finished up, I met back up with my Mom and her friend, only to head back over to the Farmers Market. We spent the morning shopping and learning about everything Amelia Island has to offer. It was the perfect day and my only complaint is that I didn't have more time on the property. It was magical.

It was time for me to head back for lunch, which was hard to imagine being I was already full. To my surprise, we were greeted with menus, showcasing our names by the meal our products purchased earlier in the day helped make.

My name was on every single entree. Go Megan!

Our menu consisted of:
Amelia’s Market Minestrone: tomato, peanut, bell pepper (Megan, Mike, Kim, Andy). This dish was made using boiled peanuts instead of beans. When I saw that one of the other visitors purchased boiled peanutes, my eyes got large. What on earth would one do with those? Well, my friends, this was simply amazing. My contribution to this meal was the tomato and baguette.

Up next was a Spinach & Kale Salad: chia, popcorn, blue sky vin (Kim, Megan, Tracy). The blue sky vin was made using blue creme soda. Another purchase I was bug eyed over, along with the kettle corn. Amazingly, this was one of the best Kale salads I have ever had. I provided the spinach on this entree.

For the main course, we were presented a Cocoa & Coffee Braised Short Rib: with sweet potato, squid ink pasta, black garlic balsamic, arugula (Kim, Tracy, Hayley, Andy, Mike, Megan). This meal was amazing. I ate nearly every bite and wanted more. My contribution on this meal was the Squid Ink Pasta.

 Finally, dessert - Carrot Cake: apple, cream cheese, pink peppercorn (Andy, Megan). I don't have a sweet tooth yet this dessert was incredible. I was still full from the night before, leading into the morning and afternoon where all I did was eat eat eat. I don't have a huge appetite, so by the time I came to this, I was done. But I couldn't put my fork down. My contribution was the pink peppercorn and the apple.

This was such an awesome opportunity, to be able to see Chef Daven Wardynski's (and team) true creativity in action. He had less than 3 hours to create this masterpiece and was handed some interesting curve balls.

Our lunch was served in the Chef's Kitchen, an area you can rent out for private parties. It has a full working kitchen and you get to see them working their magic. Pretty cool right!? Check out Omni Amelia Island Plantation for more information.