Pathfinder Spotlight: Margie and Rodelio

In planning the Inca Trail contest we had pretty high hopes for our winners. Gregarious and adventurous, charismatic and substantive, we envisioned a Chef/Pathfinder duo equally comfortable scaling a mountain as posting to a blog. How fortunate for us, then, to have wound up with two such individuals possessing that rare combination of style and substance. Here's a quick look at Margie and Rodelio in action at the cookoff.

Chef Rodelio Aglibot 
It became clear early on that Chef Rodelio is quite comfortable holding forth on the subject of food. When a question is posed, he doesn't merely answer it. He delivers an insightful soliloquy in which he expounds such Zen-like tenets as, "Just cook," or "Just sit back and say, 'You know what? I'm gonna do a stewed chicken.'" He advises, when all else fails, to just call your mother for advice. But all this style and charisma belies a virtuosic command of his true art. And in fact, when the judges at the cookoff, faced with a masterful performance from all three chefs, decided amongst themselves to base their difficult decision solely on the food, ignoring any factors beyond the scope of the plate, one might have thought this disadvantageous for the style-heavy chef in the bright red coat, camera crew following his every move. Fortunately, as magnetic a personality as he is, Rodelio's gifts as a chef indeed outshine his skills as an orator. We couldn't have hoped for a better combination in our Peru-bound Chef, and we eager await discovering what culinary wonders the Food Buddha has in store for his fellow Inca Trail trekkers.

Margie Tosch
By the time Margie Tosch strolled into the lobby of Solvang's Hadsten House Inn to meet the gathering crowd of Pathfinder finalists and Firestone employees, many in the room already suspected that, considering her ubiquitous posts on our Facebook fan page detailing her every foggy morning hike and exquisite meal, she was the one to beat. After all, social networking is what she does. As the manager of the Wine and Hospitality Network, Margie clearly has the online thing down. But, as she amply proved at the cookoff, her skills are hardly limited to the digital realm. Whether chatting about her top-flight doggie boarding kennel (the guests have the option of a late-night snack), discussing her passion for the acrobatic arts (trapeze is more spiritual than physical), or bird-dogging the chefs, camera-phone at the ready, for a choice photo-op or insight into their intended dish, Margie was constantly engaged. When it came time to start cooking, she didn't let up a bit, making it clear that her front of the house hospitality is matched equally by her back of the house chops. Let's just say you don't want to be a bell pepper or hunk of bread when Margie's around. We're so excited to have the remarkable Ms. Tosch as our first ever Discoveries Pathfinder and can't wait to watch as the adventure unfolds further.

A Day In The Life: Trekking The Inca Trail

We caught up with Allan Wright, owner of Zephyr Adventures, and official Inca Trail guide for our Firestone Pathfinder trek in April. Allan is a Seattle native who has traveled to over 50 countries and has lived on 3 continents, so he knows a thing or two about adventure travel. As the Pathfinder announcement nears (just days away!), we wanted to give you a little glimpse of what it will be like on the trail for the lucky winners!

FV: What time does everyone wake up in the morning?

AW: A typical day starts around 7:00 AM when our staff comes by with a wake-up call and hot drinks brought to our bedside. We all then take our time to get up and moving and have a hot breakfast around 8:00 AM. After breakfast, we pack our gear into our bags and leave it in the tents for the porters and hit the trail around 9:00 or 9:30. One of the secrets of our group is we leave a little later in the morning than most people so we have the trail mostly to ourselves but send a porter ahead earlier to grab the best campsite in the next dedicated camp area.

FV: What's a typical schedule like on the trail? And more importantly, what's for dinner?

AW: We walk until about noon, stopping for photos and visiting ruins. We have a guide at the front and one at the end, allowing each person to walk his or her own pace. Our porters will clean up from breakfast, pack up camp, pass us on the trail, and have a hot lunch waiting for us around noon. They are quite amazing. We usually have a leisurely lunch and then have another three hours or so of hiking in the afternoon, arriving to camp around 4:00 PM. We have a couple hours free time to read, take photos, play cards, etc and then have appetizers around 5:30 and dinner at 6:00. The dinners are quite amazing too - the cooks prepare a multi-course meal over camp stoves. Dinner might consist of a tomato and avocado salad, bread with a Peruvian salsa, pasta with a meat sauce (tofu sauce for the vegetarians), and pudding for dessert. It will of course be even better in April with the Firestone wines and our professional American cook.

FV: Do you have a favorite vista on the trek?

AW: The distances are not super long - perhaps 11 kilometers (7 miles) per day on average. The goal is not to rush but to enjoy the scenery. My favorite day of the four is definitely Day 3, when we pass two amazing ruins and hike along a section of trail that is composed entirely of original stones laid down by the Inca. That evening we have an incredible campsite on an open ridge with views of the nearby mountains and the Urubamba River below.

FV: Any recommendations for the most useful tools or gear?

AW: We will send everyone who joins us a Pre-Departure Packet with details about the entire trip, including a packing list. People actually carry very little on their backs: water, snacks, extra clothes, and a camera. One thing to consider is whether to bring hiking poles. I highly recommend them for anyone who has weak knees (they really help on the downhill) or has balance issues. For others, poles are not really needed. If someone does bring them, they need to have rubber tips.

Good luck everyone! Still have a few days to sign up your friends for a greater chance of winning!

Inca Trail Finalists: Announcement Coming Soon!

As we gear up to announce the first round of finalists for our Inca Trail Trek, we figured it would be nice to revisit the play-by-play, and let you know how it will all shake out.

Ultimately, we will have only one Pathfinder and only one Guest Chef. Let the game begin! Stay tuned for the big announcement - who will make the cut?

Round One: December 15th

• As you know by now, the process for selecting our Pathfinder involves a random drawing. Ten names will be chosen, and will subsequently go through an interview process with our team. Three semi-finalists will be selected to come to Firestone Winery in Los Olivos to participate in the final selection process.
• Simultaneously, ten chefs will be chosen from our Guest Chef applicant videos on the Firestone Discoveries YouTube Channel. We will select the ten chefs who have the highest number of unique video views. Those ten chefs will also go through an interview process with our team. Three semi-finalists will be selected to participate in the final selection process, a live cook-off at Firestone Winery.

Santa Ynez: January 10th

• The three Pathfinder semi-finalists, plus three Guest Chef semi-finalists will be flown to Santa Barbara, to convene at Firestone Vineyards for the final round.

The Cook-off: January 11th

• Guest Chef semi-finalists will prepare a signature dish live at the Crossroads Barn, Firestone Vineyards. Chefs will be judged by the Firestone staff and a panel of esteemed culinary judges on the following criteria: enthusiasm and credibility toward the Firestone Discoveries program and Firestone Wines (25% factor); verbal communication skills and charisma (25% factor); and presentation and taste of the dish prepared in the cook-off (50% factor).
• Pathfinder semi-finalists will attend and simultaneously blog about the cook-off. They will be judged on how they interact with the chefs, winemaking staff and guests of the winery as well as their writing and reporting skills.
• The official winner announcements will take place at the cook-off!

Homeward Bound: January 12th

The Trek! April 17th - 25th

• Our Pathfinder winner will join us for an all-expense paid four-day trek along the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, Peru, accompanied by skilled guides, journal while on the journey, take video and snapshots of the view, discover an ancient civilization and make $1000. In addition, post-trip, the Firestone Pathfinder will file reports on the Firestone Discoveries website, including Firestone wine pairings with favorite dishes from the Inca Trail trek. A minimum of 15 blog posts will be required to fulfill the obligations of the position.
• The winning Guest Chef will also join us on the trek, all expenses paid, for the culinary experience of a lifetime. He or she will work alongside Peruvian cooks, drawing up menus, shopping at local farmers markets, and cooking gourmet meals trailside. After the trip, he or she will work with the Firestone Pathfinder on recipe pairings and blog posts

Inside Peek: Chef Challenge Central

Thought we would spark a little excitement for our Inca Trail Chef Challenge by showing you a glimpse of the Crossroads Barn, where it will all go down. Can't you just picture the grills fired up and hear the excited frenzy of activity as chefs slice, dice and perfect their signature dish in hopes of winning it all? Come January 10th, three finalists will duke it out at Firestone's majestic Los Olivos property in Santa Ynez, for an esteemed panel of judges. Who will prevail? Which chef will take on the adventure of a lifetime? The countdown is on!

Michael Palin Visits Machu Picchu

Check out this cool video of travel reporter/Monty Python alum visiting Machu Picchu. Could be good research for anyone who might, perhaps, be hoping to hike there sometime next year...

Global Treks: Milford Sound

The Milford Track (approximately 33 miles) is in the heart of spectacular Fiordland National Park, part of the Te Wāhipounamu – South West New Zealand World Heritage Area. Fiordland National Park has some of the oldest rocks in New Zealand. What today is known as the Milford Track was once one of the two principal trails, used by Māori, linking Fiordland with the rest of Te Wai Pounamu (South Island) for the gathering of pounamu (greenstone). Believed by many to be amongst the top hikes in the world, the 'Milford Sound' track boasts breathtaking lush mountain vistas and a jagged glacial landscape. The track may be only accessed by boat to and from the trailheads, providing scenic views of million year old glacial 'hangovers' as the ocean has slowly seeped through the hills and into this enormous body of water over thousands of years. The track is well worth the time and effort, if you ever make it to Zealand, of course. Be warned, because of its mesmerizing terrain, the Milford Track can exceed 14,000 visitors in a given year during the peak season (Oct 28 - Apr 29), and comes with a larger fee. But, our sources tell us that waiting even a few days after peak season ends in early May (to also avoid harsh winter conditions deep in the off-season), the Milford Sound will be your own playground, leaving hearty winter travelers with the time, space and solitude to take in this ancient landscape uninterrupted. We think it's worth the wait. Photograph is courtesy of William Collins, Archetype Productions.

Sending off Summer in Style

As the light fades on September and the leaves begin to show their first signs of color, we should all take a little time to pause, reflect, and bask in the summer’s many wonders while we still can. Although I suppose “many wonders,” is just my way of saying “many strawberries.” And then, in that case, “bask in” must just mean eat. I guess what I’m getting at is that time is running out to enjoy those gorgeous glowing red orbs of sweet juicy succulence and that this is our last chance to eat as many as we possibly can before they disappear from our collective gardens and farm stands only to be curiously replaced by rows of the bland Stepford Strawberries which the fall and winter meekly try to pass off as the real deal. And since we’re doing this all in the name of summer, and we’ve made clear our favorite way to temper the summer’s accompanying heat, might I suggest enjoying these precious remaining berries atop a bed of vanilla ice cream? And being the classy folks we are here at Firestone, the celebrants of joie de vivre and revelers in all of life’s finest, we’re naturally interested in transforming a combo as classically elegant as berries ‘n’ cream into something truly majestic. My preferred addition? A light drizzle of reduced balsamic. While spinach salad may be the venue where strawberries and vinegar were first introduced, a cool scoop of vanilla ice cream turns out to be an unexpectedly perfect setting for the budding romance between these two sweetly acidic delights. It’s a fitting send-off to the sunniest of seasons, and it couldn’t be much easier. Just simmer some balsamic vinegar for fifteen minutes or so and let it cool. Then, chop some berries, scoop some ‘scream, and assemble it all into a sophisticated sundae. If you’re thinking, “Wait. This is crazy. Balsamic vinegar? In a dessert? Now I’ve heard everything.” then perhaps some of the recipes below (presumably by actual chefs, with degrees and stuff) will convince you.

(If, however, you are an actual chef, totally unimpressed, thinking this is amateur hour, and that you could whip up a way classier dessert while, oh I don’t know, hiking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, well then, frankly, we’d like very much to take you up on that. Check out the contest here and show us what you (and your signature dishes) are made of. )

The Tradish
The Marinater
The Everything at Once

And come to think of it, it would be doing summer a disservice if we didn't accompany this fine dessert with a nice glass of wine. Might we suggest a Firestone?

We Challenge You

There's a flipside to our Firestone Discoveries contest, one that has been a little hush-hush since contest launch. One exciting announcement at a time, whew. In addition to searching for a Firestone Discoveries Pathfinder to join our amazing trip to Peru and the Inca Trail, we have a Guest Chef Challenge. We're searching for an exciting, outgoing, creative, and adaptive chef who will join us, work alongside our Peruvian cooks and serve as the official Guest Chef on the four-day Inca Trail trek. The winner will be hired as a Guest Chef Consultant and will receive an all-expense paid trip to Peru -- to experience the incredible Inca Trail -- in return for your time and effort. This will not be just any chef - cooking on the Inca Trail trek will be an amazing challenge, guaranteed to stretch your horizons and your idea of what a kitchen should look like. Know someone who would fit the bill? Or maybe you're ready to take on the Chef Challenge? Let the games begin! Our official Firestone Discoveries YouTube Channel is about to be brimming with Guest Chef applicant videos - who will be the first? Get tips on how to create your Chef Challenge applicant video from our team.

Also, find an amazing promo video recently uploaded to the site (see below) - if it doesn't get you geared for adventure, we don't know what will! The video is also very easy to share - remember, the more friends to get to apply to become our Firestone Discoveries Pathfinder, the better your chances for winning the assignment (i.e. a trip to Peru!). Whether you are submitting Discoveries Pathfinder application or the Guest Chef Challenge video, we look forward to hearing from you.