This is a sponsored collaboration with ALDI, however, all thoughts are my own.
I’ll be the first to admit that I am a bit of a skeptic when I see something with a low price tag. I can’t help but think- OK, what’s the catch? Like most people, I am led to believe that “store brand” or lower priced items mean lesser quality. I was happily proven wrong by ALDI. When I went on a Behind the Scenes tour of a brand new ALDI store in Moreno Valley, I got to see firsthand the great items that were being sold at low prices. A couple weeks ago, I got to dig a little deeper by joining ALDI for a Taste of ALDI event, where not only did I get to learn more about ALDI but I got to delight in dishes created with produce and products sold at ALDI too.
The evening I spent with ALDI at Bridlewood Estate Winery was truly eye opening. In a partnership with Bon Appétit, we were served a four course meal- appetizers, salad, entrees and dessert, that was all paired with select wines. My palette was dancing with all the flavors I got to experience.
Bon Appétit Executive Chef Mary Nolan was on hand to create and prepare a meal for us to dine under the stars with. The charcuterie was the first thing we all got to experience, where I had the most delicious brie, called Happy Farms Preferred Brie Cheese, I have ever had. I don’t know about you, but cheese is kinda the way to my heart. Plus the prosciutto was drool worthy. I wondered where the brie was purchased from, and it turns out, I wouldn’t get my answer til the end of the evening.
I wish pictures would have flavor vision because, oh-my-gawdddd, these dishes were amazing. The starters included a delicious Crostini with Goat Cheese which we ate while sipping on some Aldi private label wine. Then, the dinner began with a Kale with Avocado Salad that tasted as fresh as if they had come fresh off the farm. The entrees included a delicious Seared Specially Selected Jumbo Scallops, mouth watering USDA Choice Flat Iron Steak, and the veggie option of Cauliflower Steaks, as well as a Priano Bronze Cut Pipe Rigate and the most delicious chocolate cake I have ever tasted in my life…
With each dish we enjoyed wine like Trece Ranchos Cabernet Sauvignon, Moiselle Sparkling Moscato, and more. We would find out more about the wines the next day, but I already knew I was crazy about them.
Everything pictured was delightful, and the conversation was like a dinner party of dreams because everyone there was a food lover. I think I have said it before, but food is a love of mine and one of the reasons I kinda don’t buy “cheaper” items. In my head, I do think less expensive = lesser quality, so I imagined creating a dinner party, like the one we had just enjoyed, would cost a fortune. Not at all.
The entire meal (not including the wine) cost no more than $14.59 a person and everything, absolutely everything, came from ALDI. Is your jaw on the floor yet, cause mine was! But don’t take it from me, experience it yourself. ALDI is opening stores all over Southern California, and with their double guarantee, you know you won’t go wrong when you shop there. The ALDI double guarantee means that they guarantee your 100% satisfaction or you get your money back and ALDI will replace the product. It’s something that cannot be beat and definitely makes you confident in purchasing items at ALDI.
By the way, if you have a dinner party with ALDI products, invite me over! I’ll bring the wine!
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