Once upon a time, Jennifer met Niri. First via Twitter and then IRL. These two great ladies have gotten to know each other little by little over the past year and a half. Niri knows Jennifer likes quality food and fun and invited Jennifer to a event hosted by herself and Panera Bread two weekends ago.
Whoa, who was that writing in third person? Snap out of it Jen. So, this past weekend, my daughter and I had the pleasure of spending some time in Newton, Massachusetts at a gorgeous Panera Bread with other bloggers and their children. The kids did some coloring and nibbling while we were introduced to the district manager, manager and head baker. We heard a bit about the baking schedules (10 pm until 6:30am each night), the companies philosophy about their bread all while sampling fresh breads and dips. (ugh, had to skip my favorite, Asiago)
Did you know that their breads do not containing preservatives? I asked about the ingredients and colorants in the pastry fillings. The company is working towards using all natural colorings in their pastry fillings and in case you want to know what is in each items you are eating, you can browse the nutritional booklet. The booklet lists the nutritional profile and all of the ingredients.
Another aspect I asked for more details about was their Operation Dough*Nation program. If you notice by most registers, you can place your change in the collection box. Each panera donates to different agencies in the community anywhere from children’s hospitals to other non-profit agencies. They also have all their leftover breads available for pick up by non-profit agencies each night at closing.
After the Q & A session, we all marched to the kitchen to score some loaves of bread. No, literally, score loaves of bread. I made a custom loaf with ‘BLOG’ etched into it and was so excited to see how it baked but it must have gone home with another blogger (I have a detective on the hunt – just kidding). For my daughter we etched two hearts in the loaf.
All of us were treated to lunch afterwards. I choose the Mediterranean sandwich (no feta- gulp) and an iced latte (the word ‘awesome’ is not adequate).
For a sweet ending, the kids decorated some Easter egg cookies. While the kids were decorating, we were told about the Easter Egg cookies that are sold at Panera Bread. They are part of a campaign for raising funds for Children’s Hospital Boston (I am not sure if monies raised go to other hospitals nationwide)
Other bloggers at the event were:
Niri – MommyNiri
Charlene – Charlene Chronicles
Ramesh – The Papa Post
Andrew – Ben Spark
Kristy – Casual Dish
Nicole – Good Golly Miss Blondie
Sarah – Trenches of Motherhood
Charlene – Galtime
Erica – Daily Grind Of Work At Home Mom
Jennifer says
Absolutely must gather more often than 1x/year. Sheesh.
Sarahviz says
It was great seeing you there! We need to connect more often than once a year!