It gives me so much joy to be able to give back to the readers of Gastrofork. So when Whole Foods approached me with this, it was an easy yes to share some of their great events coming up this weekend.

On Saturday, March 8 at noon all Whole Foods Market stores across Canada, the UK and US will be cracking an 85 lb wheel of Parmigiano Reggiano and sampling it. Whole Foods set a world record last year for most Parmigiano Reggiano wheels cracked simultaneously (all 426 of them).

Now I am a huge fan of Parmigiano Reggiano, I was introduced to it by my Aunt and Uncle who live in Toronto (who apparently read my blog, so Hi Tita Corrie and Uncle George!!) and it is the perfect addition to your pasta dishes. You will never go back to the shake-in-a-can type Parms after you’ve experienced this one.

Parm Crack

Here are some fun facts that I just learned about this heavenly cheese:

• Parmigiano Reggiano is always aged 24 months at Whole Foods Market. It cannot be called Parmigiano Reggiano until it’s aged at least 12 months but Whole Foods ages it an extra year.
• Only cheese made in one area of Northern Italy – Reggio Emilia, Parma, Modena and portions of Bologna and Mantua can bear the Parmigiano Reggiano name.
• Each wheel is 85 pounds and requires special knives to crack it open!
• It’s flavour profile: toasted, salty, nutty with a subtle crystal-like texture
• Real Parmigiano Reggiano is known for it’s studded rind, at Whole Foods you can learn what these numbers mean!

Finally, tomorrow, Friday March 7, Whole Foods Market will also be selling three 10-stem tulip bunches for $9.99 (total of 30 stems). This is a perfect gift for International Women’s Day which is on Saturday, March 8th to that woman that inspires you!

Okay now for the big giveaway! This is probably the biggest giveaway to date, so I’m super excited about this!

You can win a $75 gift card to Whole Foods Market! I will be drawing on Monday morning, so it’s a quick contest! Good luck!

 Congratulations to Katrina on winning the $75 gift card to Whole Foods!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway