The Florida Strawberry Festival is the biggest deal in Plant City, and it may soon have the biggest strawberry smoothie in the world.
On Friday, March 3, the festival will host Cabot Creamery Co-operative’s attempt to create over 1,000 gallons of strawberry yogurt smoothie in one day. The attempt will be monitored by Guinness World Records, which previously oversaw Cabot’s 2013 smoothie record — a 400-pound concoction that has since been doubled in size by other parties.
What goes into a 1,000-gallon smoothie? Cabot and chef Jimmy Kennedy plan to use 250 gallons of Cabot Vanilla Bean Greek Yogurt, 3,375 pounds of ice, 265 pounds of Cabot whey protein powder and — because it’s the Florida Strawberry Festival -— 2,000 pounds of Plant City strawberries.
“We are extremely pleased to be part of this event and to have fresh Florida strawberries the featured fruit in making the world’s largest strawberry smoothie,” Florida Strawberry Growers Association Executive Director Kenneth Parker said. “This is a record we are proud to be part of, and we hope that the record stands for many years.”
This smoothie will require a 1,000-gallon holding vessel and eight residential, four commercial and two bicycle blenders, all provided by Vitamix. Cabot plans to have people riding the bicycle blenders from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with riders coming and going in 15-minute intervals. Plant City Times & Observer Sports/Associate Editor Justin Kline will be one of the riders.
But the smoothie isn’t just being made to set a world record. All proceeds from the event will benefit the United Food Bank of Plant City and Feeding Tampa Bay.
“We are grateful to be the recipient for this record-breaking event with our partners at Cabot,” Feeding Tampa Bay Executive Director Thomas Mantz said. “The enormity of this record reminds us of the enormity of the hunger issue in our community, with 700,000 of our neighbors not having
stable access to food. The fresh and healthy ingredients used in this smoothie are perfectly aligned with Feeding Tampa Bay’s goal to deliver more fresh, nutritious foods to those in need every year.”
Contact Justin Kline at jkline@plantcityobserver.com.