A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of heading to Detroit for the weekend. Not only is it where my bestie Sarah lives (or used to live!), but also a wonderful city that’s getting revamped with delicious new restaurants, shopping boutiques and entrepreneurship while still keeping its culture in tact. It makes me so happy to see Detroit thriving.

There were 12 food bloggers there who went on behalf of Tillamook and Kroger to try out the new cheeses that are coming to select Kroger stores nationally.

To be completely honest with you, before this trip I didn’t have the opportunity to try a lot Tillamook products BUT I was incredibly excited to give them a chance! And omg I’m so glad I did. The cheddar was beautifully earthy, robust and SO FLAVORFUL. Cheddar + honey + bread + pistachios = match made in heaven.

Upon getting into Detroit, we stayed at the Detroit Foundation Hotel — I really can’t recommend it enough. The bar area is beautiful, the ascetic is a little moody masculine glam and the staff had friendly faces. The rooms were comfy and clean. Also the hotel bar is literally pippin’ every single night, so I highly recommend grabbing a drink there if you find yourself in town.

After we dropped off our things at the hotel and did a little cocktail hour, we headed to the beautiful Brooklyn Outdoor event space where we were presented with an insane spread of delicious food. The dinner by Chef Sarah Welch featured Tillamook and Kroger Private selection products. It was absolutely beautiful and so well done. My favorite part of dinner = the sour cream coffee cake with coffee ice cream. YUM.

SATURDAY

Saturday morning, we woke up early and did a yoga class with Sitara Bird from Detroit’s Citizen Yoga. It was beautiful and made me realize how much a miss having yoga in my life. I plan on doing it at least 2x per week moving forward.

After yoga, we headed back over to Brooklyn Outdoor to do a DIY smoothie bar with yummy Kroger toppings including their Simple Truth Granola. I ended up just making a yogurt bowl with approximately 1 million toppings.

After breakfast we learned about the Tillamook products, how they’re made and about the quality, then we even got to sample their cheddar cheese from a 40 POUND block. OMG that thing was huge and the cheese was insanely good.

P.S. did you know that all cheddar cheese is naturally white until they add color to it?! #funfact

After all the cheese tasting, we ended up doing a goal setting workshop. As bloggers, we all work for ourselves in the ever changing social media & digital landscape and it’s always super interesting and inspiring to learn how we each navigate our businesses. Funny enough, most of us have different passions within food and the aspects of our job that we actually enjoy vs what we don’t. It was lovely to have a sounding board to bounce ideas off of people. Most of the time, I’m in my own head when it comes to ideation and goals. This was a great chance to be around other food bloggers and entrepreneurs and get inspired yet also provide valuable feedback from an outside perspective. Love those ladies.

After our workshop, it was LUNCH and we got to make our own cheese boards with Tillamook cheese and Kroger products, which I was ridiculously obsessed with. Look how pretty it turned out.

ALSO, you need to try the Tillamook cheddar. It’s so rich and earthy. I’m obsessed. There was also a really good local honey that I kept dipping my crackers in. I kinda figured out that honey + sharp cheeses and crackers are now one of my favorite snacks.

After lunch we popped over to a candle making class at Detroit Rose. I had never made candles before but this was SO MUCH FUN and definitely a highlight. We got to mix our own oils together to create our own candle scents. My candle was a mix between patchouli, lavender, grapefruit and a little hint of vanilla. It’s sooooo good and I’ve already burned through it. I basically want to be a candle maker now.

I purchased a few other goodies from Detroit Rose, including their rosehip seed oil blend and their rose + coconut milk bath powder. They’re both insane and I highly recommend checking them out if you get a moment.

Later that evening we headed to Grey Ghost, which was a 5 course delicious meal featuring Tillamook and Kroger products. Every single thing I tried was absolutely delicious. Especially the kale salad with a strawberry ice cream vinaigrette. Yassss TO ICE CREAM ON MY SALAD.

SUNDAY

Sunday was quick. We did a family style brunch meal together back at Brooklyn Outdoor then I jetted off to the airport to head home to my husband and cat.

This trip was such a blast and I’m so excited to get more Tillamook products in my life. Especially the ice cream. Curious if you’ve ever tried their cheeses and/or products before?!

If you love Detroit as much as I did, feel free to let me know your favorite restaurants + things to do there. I can’t wait to go back!

This post is sponsored by Kroger x Tillamook. All opinions are my own. Thanks for supporting AK and the brands that help make this site possible.