So How Was The Contest???

I feel like I just came back from a 40 hour marathon!!!

I arrived at the airport at 6:00AM and we took off right on time at 7:10.  I arrived in Philadelphia at 8:30 and the TD WOW van picked me up at 8:45.  There was never a doubt who I worked for as I saw the van pull up to the curb.  We went from the airport to downtown Philly to meet one of the other finalists, Scott.  The third finalist, Jayme was already in the van when I was picked up.  We were each given a goody bag and a gift bag.  The goodie bag had some snacks to bring along for the day.  The gift bag had one of those rubber cooking mitts, an apron, a camera and batteries.

We went to the Railway Market Station for a snack.  there were so many places to choose from.....fish stations, bakeries, cheese stops......you name it they had it.   

Next it was the Hop On Hop Off bus tour.  We stopped at several locations including Love park.....there is a statue of the word love......I was the only one mature enough (I hate to say old enough) to know the statue was the word love from Love Story.......we saw Betsy Ross's house......museums.....statue's....the Rocky steps and statue of Rocky.  I didn't climb the 70 plus steps since there was no railing and though going up might not have been a problem going down would have been scary.  We took a group photo by the Rocky statue (which is hollow and not really a statue but a movie prop).

Then it was a long lunch at Max Brenner's which is all about chocolate. Even the french fries have a dusting of chocolate powder on them.  OK I will admit I was very bad!!! I skipped lunch and went right for a Chocolate Malted......all I can say is YUM!!!!!

Next we were off to the catering hall.  We met the owners and the managers as well as the chef who assisted me.  For the life of me I can't remember his name so I just called him Chef.  The staff had already made their version of my cookies.  I made my batch.......I am not used to making a single batch so it didn't look like a lot to me but it ended up being enough.  When Chef asked me about using the mixer I told him I mixed by hand. He did say the idea of orange and chocolate was great.  He tatsted my cookies and said they were great....not too much orange. A few hours later we were done baking and it was on to dinner at a New Jersey diner.

By the time we got back to our hotel......I was exhausted.

On Friday, we started our day at 9:00.  We got to participate in a WOW visit with hats, boa's and confetti.  Next it was a meeting with the WOW team about ideas for how to handle WOW events. 

Finally, it was time for the competition.  There was a table in front of each of use with the dessert baked by the caterer and the one we made with a sign in front of ours that said for display only.  There was also a framed version of our story including the photo's we had sent in.  We were introduced one by one and had to get up and tell our story and answer some questions posed to us by the emcee.  My biggest concern besides shaking as I held a microphone and trying not to sound like I was terrified was carrying a tray with the cookies for the judge from my table to the judges table.  I kept thinking "don't trip, don't trip". I told my story and tried not to sound too nervous..  When the emcee asking why I had entered the competition I told him about stepping out of my comfort zone.  Then after a few minutes the winner was announced.  I came in third.  The person who won ............his cupcakes were amazing!!!!  We were interviewed for an article on the company website and also did a video interview for the company TV.  The biggest surprise for me was the President of TD Bank was at TD University for a meeting and he came to meet the contestants and try our desserts.  He took pictures with us and was very personable. 

We went out to dinner and then back to the airport.  Whew!!!! I was exhausted.  The flight home was smooth. Usually when I am on a plane I do not speak to anyone but the gentleman next to me struck up a conversation and before I knew it the wheels were down and we were back in Columbia.

The staff from the WOW Dept. said it was their goal to make us feel like VIP's for 2 days and that is actually how it  felt.

Well, the party is over and tomorrow it is back to reality.  Will I enter another TD contest?  Probably yes.....what are the chances that lightening will strike twice???

Way out of my comfort zone.....absolutely.........but I survived it and yes there were moments when I actually forgot to be scared and enjoyed myself.

And all due to a simple chocolate chip recipe........thanks Nana and thanks Mom!!!!!