Four Days on the Fresh Coast

My time of four days on the fresh coast can be described in one word – FANTASTIC!

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After months and months of planning, a food blogger retreat I was a cohost of (along with with Liz and Dara) took place on the shores of Lake Michigan. And since the Great Lakes are the worlds’ largest body of freshwater, the shores are fondly known as ‘the Fresh Coast’ so the hashtag of our retreat was #FreshCoastRetreat, as you may have picked up on if you follow me on Instagram!

The retreat was truly such a great experience, when sitting down to write this overview, I had trouble knowing where to start because I was feeling all the emotions – #ALLTHEEMOTIONS after such an amazing experience, so I guess I’ll start at the beginning? That’s usually the best place, right? Even before the retreat started, there was an introduction & welcome to the state of Michigan (where the retreat was held) via a pre-retreat experience hosted by Experience Grand Rapids.

I drove, since Grand Rapids is only a 5 hour drive from where I live in Milwaukee (almost directly across Lake Michigan) and when I posted a snap of my driving directions, I got more than one person asking if there was a bridge I could take across. I grew up in Chicago, so I’m used to the expanse of Lake Michigan, but no, no there is no bridge lol – I don’t even think that would be possible – Lake Michigan is ginormous. There is a ferry, but it only starts up in May (and it was April when I went). My first stop in Michigan for the pre-retreat with #ExperienceGR was at the gorgeous Amway Grand Plaza Hotel. The hotel was beautiful. Both quaint and modern at the same time.

I loved the beds (they were SO comfy), and something I’ve never seen in a hotel that I immediately fell in love with was that in the bathroom there was a shelf above the sink – totally genius because one could put toiletries on it.

The hotel was smack dab in the middle of Grand Rapids, and walking distance to many restaurants and cafes. The evening the pre-retreat started, there was a 15 course dinner at The Kitchen by Wolfgang Puck. That’s right – 15 courses! That was a first for me, and the best way for me to show you what a 15 course meal looks like is via pictures:

Want me to walk you through the courses? Of course you do, so buckle in, here goes (hopefully I’m getting it right, it was a total blur of deliciousness) 1. artisanal cheese & salume board truffle honey mustards and crostini 2. potato soup with crispy potato skins 3. chinois chicken napa cabbage salad with cashews, wontons, and a spicy ginger dressing 4. a plate with 3 little bites one of which was a mini crab cake 5. potstickers 6. roasted mushroom truffled creme fraiche taleggio arugula pizza 7. chorizo pizza topped with an egg 8. homemade pea ravioli pasta 9. pork schnitzel with Austrian potato salad, arugula, and grain mustard sauce 10. short rib over polenta 11. spicy sesame chicken and snow peas 12. steamed salmon “Hong Kong style” with bok choy carrots mushrooms and jasmine rice 13. pork belly over lentils 14 .chocolate souffle with salted caramel ice cream 15. crème brûlée with a shortbread cookie and fresh fruit. OMG seriously insanely delicious – AND, let’s not forget the cocktail – I had a delicious passion fruit cosmopolitan which was delish! I hope I didn’t forget any dishes, it was A LOT to experience. My faves were the chicken salad, the homemade pea pasta (totally loving pea dishes lately – remember that pea toast I had in Minneapolis?) and the salmon course. But really, every bite was incredible!

As a cohost, we had a bunch of errands to run the next day (like picking up groceries, etc.) so I didn’t get a chance to explore too much more of downtown Grand Rapids. I loved the whole ‘vibe’ of the city and definitely cannot wait to go back to see more of it!! I did get to have a pastry and latte at the Wealthy Street Bakery the day I arrived, and let me tell you – deeelish! I had something called a ‘townie’ and it was like a croissant that had a hard cinnamon sugar outer layer, all around amazing!

From Grand Rapids, after we picked up the groceries we drove up to Muskegon, MI where the gorgeous mansion was that the retreat took place in. We also had custom snapchat geo filters made for the retreat – super cool, right (above was one of them)? The house couldn’t have been a better location – directly on the lake, and with a kitchen that was fitting of a queen. Just look at this giant refrigerator we packed with food for the retreat:

So much food – throughout the retreat we cooked in groups, and had food from our amazing sponsors to use and snack on:  DeLallo Foods, Bob’s Red Mill, Stonefire Authentic Flatbreads, Sabra, Stonyfield, Lindt Chocolate, and The Little Potato Company.

The goal of the retreat was to bring together food bloggers for a weekend of learning, networking collaborating and sharing of ideas. While a few people knew each other previously (I’m sure you may have heard about my bestie Lynn a time or two – I just visited her in Charlotte the weekend prior to the retreat, and this was my second retreat I cohosted with Liz, and a few of the participants are partners Jennifer & Trevor and Denise & Lenny) this was the first time everyone in this particular group was together in the same place at once, and many first time meetings took place. The group was comprised of 16 amazing bloggers:

photo by Alejandro Photography

From left

1. Lee from Fit Foodie Finds {Instagram + Snapchat}
2. Trevor from The Blog Village {Instagram + Snapchat}
3. Jennifer from Show Me The Yummy {Instagram + Snapchat}
4. Amy from Amy’s Healthy Baking {Instagram + Snapchat}
5. Gina from Skinnytaste {Instagram + Snapchat}
6. Lenny from Chez Us {Instagram + Snapchat}
7. Denise from Chez Us {Instagram + Snapchat}
8. Heidi from Foodie Crush {Instagram + Snapchat}
9. Lynn from Order in the Kitchen {Instagram + Snapchat}
10. Andie from Andie Mitchell {Instagram + Snapchat}
11. Yours truly {Instagram + Snapchat}
12. Dara from Cookin’ Canuck {Instagram + Snapchat}
13. Liz from The Lemon Bowl {Instagram + Snapchat}
14. Alexis from Hummusapien {Instagram + Snapchat}
15. Alejandra from Always Order Dessert {Instagram + Snapchat}
16. Raul from Alejandro Photography {Instagram + Snapchat} (he’s behind the camera) – here are a few more photos from Alejandro Photography:

With the age of the intewebs where everything is done through screens, it was SO nice to put a face/name/personality together and spend some time face-to-face time these inspiring people. You never really know what people will be like in person, but everyone at the retreat completely blew me away with their knowledge and kindness.

From top – Trevor Alexis Lynn Heidi and I, The boys of the retreat – Lenny Trevor and Raul, a group making dips during a dip contents, Gina and I, Andie myself and Lynn, Lynn and I, The Cohosts – Dara Liz and myself, and then a photo of Andie and Heidi cooking.

The shores of Muskegon Michigan were beautiful – and the sunsets, they get me every time.

I’ve been to many different types of blogging events, and I have to say I absolutely loved this small group retreat format, and left feeling positive and recharged, (and I feel like I made 15 new friends, like friends for real, after 4 short days). I’m all about connecting and getting to know people on a more intimate level, and I know that sounds super cheesy, but I really feel like that is what happened during my four days on the Fresh Coast.

Other posts you might enjoy:

• Northern Michigan Family Vacation Travel Guide + Video
• The Best Milwaukee Restaurants Guide
• Girls Getaway Guide to Charlotte

A very big thank you  to the sponsors who made the #FreshCoastRetreat possible: Experience Grand Rapids, Bob’s Red Mill, Sabra, Stonyfield, Lindt Chocolate, The Little Potato Company, DeLallo Foods, and Stonefire Authentic Flatbreads. As always, thank you for supporting the brands that make the SweetPhi blog possible, all thoughts and opinions are mine alone.