Taste of MetroWest Attracted Hundreds of Hungry People

Bonnie Biocchi smiled as she surveyed the ballroom at the Sheraton Framingham Hotel and Conference Center Tuesday evening.

"This has been a success," Biocchi said, watching the enormous crowd of people from throughout MetroWest laugh, mill about and enjoy the offerings of dozens of restaurants and food service providers from around the area.

Biocchi is president and CEO of the MetroWest Chamber of Commerce and she, along with many others, has been working for months to pull off this first Taste of MetroWest event.

While final ticket sales had not yet been tallied last night, Biocchi estimated that more than 700 tickets had been sold and her goal had been to sell 1,000. According to , who also attended the event, the final numbers came much closer to reaching that 1,000-ticket goal.

Taste of MetroWest featured more than 50 booths featuring information, menus, business cards, tablescapes and, of course, food.

The varied offerings ranged from the exotic -- a seared scallop and charred jalapeno guacamole on a toast prepared in the Carmel Terrace booth -- to the delightfully universal -- ice cream cake from Ben and Jerry's.

Most importantly, no one needed to leave hungry. The sample portions were large and, since attendees were asked to vote for their favorites -- including their favorite presentation -- many samples were artfully and cleverly handed out.

A portion of the proceeds from the event will benefit the MetroWest Chamber's Educational Foundation, which provides scholarships for area students.