By Saturday night, the F+W faithful were starting to lose steam, but luckily the Fest provided the perfect pick-me-up: Bubbles and Sweets. The main tent was transformed into a pretty, pink-lit space with bubbly projections on the walls, giant champagne flutes hanging from the ceiling, and a very happy crowd high on champagne. The ice queen – a sparkly girl sticking out of a table (see picture) – greeted revelers with Van Gogh cocktails. The champagne was flowing and the reps/volunteers were having a grand time pouring it, dancing, chatting, and no doubt sampling some themselves. With flutes in hand, we circled the tent sampling delicacies from an overwhelming variety of pastry chefs. Chris Ryan at Charleston Place had a tropical fruit carrot cake with white chocolate cream cheese mousse and candied jalapeño and gingered carrot coulis. Gerry Elliot of Grill 225 had a chocolate mousse cake on macadamia fudge with strawberries and warm ganache. But the very best was Laura Fieberg from the Sanctuary : a big box of chocolate. It looked impossible to eat, but we quickly realized it was hollow and filled with cream, chocolate cake, and raspberries. Possibly the best dessert of my life. DJ Moo Moo kept the crowd dancing on the insane dance floor as well as throughout the tent. My only complaint is that there weren’t any crackers or anything to soak up all the sweetness. The pig was completely picked when we got to the after-party at FIG, and we woke up with a horrible stomach-ache. But it was worth it. Oh, it was worth it. —Erica Jackson
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