The $1,000 Party

Remember when Brita won the $1,000 Grand Prize in our 8 weeks of summer fun with Whole Foods? Ever wonder what she did with her winnings? Much to our delight, she recently wrote us the following letter and shared the video below, and we got all verklempt:

"This summer I was so overjoyed to win the mozzarella contest at Food52. When I received the gift certificate for $1,000 from Whole Foods, it was clear to me that I had to celebrate it in the most extravagant way possible. It only seemed appropriate that I should throw a dinner party and share my winnings with my friends, as an homage to what Food52 is all about: cooking at home. Plus I was curious how far 1,000 bucks would go at Whole Foods.

Turns out pretty far. I came up with an indulgent menu including lobster, truffles, oysters, filet mignon, not to mention tons of exotic cheese, and was able to feed 30 of my closest friends. It was a home cook's dream come true. I want to thank you for an opportunity to fund such an affair, as well as creating an website that embraces this kind of cooking and empowers me as a home cook." - Brita

Read all about Brita's $1,000 shindig over at her blog Things I like to look at, with more photos (including one of the hulking 4-foot-long receipt!), the incredible menu, and all the fun party planning details (Brita, we're totally stealing that menu-handwritten-on-candles idea for our next dinner party). And see the winning recipe that made it all possible here.