Bonnie Carroll's Life Bites - Epicurean Events

VISIT: WWW.AWFF.COM (American Food and Wine Festival) FOR TICKETS AND INFORMATION

Benefits "Meals on Wheels" and other charities. Star Chefs from around the country and the world, as well as outstanding wine and spirit sponsors present an unforgettable evening of gastronimique.

Since it's inception in 1982 the event has raised over $15 million for Meals on Wheels Programs of Los Angeles, which serve thousands of meals to the home bound.

Thursday, September 2nd
9.02.10 Beverly Hills Celebration Event
6:30pm – 10:00pm

The City of Beverly Hills will be celebrating its famed zip code, 90210 on September 2, 2010, with an event headlined by international pop sensation and Grammy nominee Natasha Bedingfield, along with CNN Talk Show host Larry King as master of ceremonies. The Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce introduces Mayor Jimmy Delshad to kick off the evening’s festivities. Guests will be provided with unlimited food and drink from renowned Beverly Hills restaurants and chefs. Celebrated chef Wolfgang Puck of Spago Beverly Hills and Cut Beverly Hills will make a special appearance. $150 for unlimited samples.

To learn more about the Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce,
“An Evening with the Mayor”, please visit: http://www.beverlyhillschamber.com

The entire community of Santa Barbara, California, becomes one

enormous Fiesta Celebration each year, and countless events are scheduled to celebrate Old Spanish Days in a variety of venues around the city. The Mission of Santa Barbara holds a beautiful night of dancing and music on the steps of the old historic mission, and The Canary Hotel held a pre-fiesta event on their rooftop area that was attended by fun loving locals to kick-off Fiesta.

One of my favorite Fiesta adventures in July was at the SB Zoo. Celebration de las Dignitaries honors local dignitaries and offers outstanding entertainment, dancing and some of the best food and wine in town. All the local dignitaries show up (many in full Spanish costume) and dance the night away. At one point I was dancing next to our Chief of Police and his wife to the sounds of Soul City Survivors, who really rocked. This was the start of the annual celebration for me.

There is an authentic El Mercado “market place” on De la Guerra near City Hall, where vendors sell everything from table clothes to tacos. A large stage provides the venue for authentic Spanish and Mexican music and dancing. People fill the surrounding streets and a wonderful party is had by all.

The El Desfile historic parade began in 1924 and is comprised of equestrians in Spanish garb on beautifully trained horses prancing down the street. A variety of groups, including the Mayor and City Council join in the parade, riding in carriages filled with flowers, as well as floats filled with musical groups and dancers. An army of little girls in full Spanish dance attire enjoy showing off their steps in the parade and throwing flowers to the crowd. De la Guerra Street becomes a joyous center of food, shops, music and fun.

The Children’s parade is like nothing anyone has seen

anywhere in this country, but it has been going on here since the late 20s. Hundreds of children ride or dance down State Street throwing confetti or flowers to celebrate. Whole families have participated in this parade for generations, making it a family tradition. From Spanish dance schools, to the Chumash Indian Tribe It is kids, kids, and more kids. Thousands of people line the parade route to wave at their children and their friends children as they pass by. Cumulus radio calls out the family and group members on a loud speaker as they pass the Granada Theatre and the Unity Store, and a good time is had by all.

The week of events also includes a real rodeo that is very exciting if you have never experienced one. This whole week is a photographers dream, and attracts photographers and tourists with camera in hand from around the world. If you would like a full history of the traditions associated with this amazing annual parade visit: www.oldspanishdays.com.

black truffles, cultivation and culinary programs, leading truffle scientists, Michelin Star chefs,
fabulous food and wine pairings, a truffle orchard excursion, epicurean market and more…

December 10–12, 2010

Napa, CA, August 26, 2010 – The American Truffle Company proudly introduces the inaugural Napa Truffle Festival, presented by Lexus, December 10-12, 2010—featuring a unique gathering of leading truffle cultivation experts and scientists, along with internationally renowned Michelin Star chefs and special guests from the food and wine world.

The focus of the Festival is primarily black truffles—specifically, Tuber melanosporum (the winter or Périgord truffle) and Tuber aestivum/uncinatum (the summer or Burgundy truffle), which will be discussed, examined, probed, prepared, demonstrated, and finally paired with wines and feasted upon.

The Napa Truffle Festival weekend kicks off Friday evening with an opening reception at The Westin Verasa and organized dinners at select Napa restaurants. Saturday includes cultivation and culinary seminars, cooking classes, a truffle orchard tour excursion and the Michelin Star Truffle Dinner. Sunday concludes the Festival with a Champagne Truffle Brunch, followed by an Epicurean Marketplace.

The highlight of the Festival will be Saturday night’s Michelin Star Truffle Dinner, hosted by Michelin Star Chef Ken Frank of La Toque restaurant and featuring a multi-course truffle menu (each course prepared by a Michelin Star chef) and wine pairing.

Throughout the Truffle Festival weekend, local Napa Valley restaurants will provide seasonal truffle menus, and contribute to culinary seminars and classes focused on truffles.

Cultivation experts and scientists include Dr. Paul Thomas, partner and chief scientist, American Truffle Company and Managing Director, Mycorrhizal Systems Ltd (UK); and Dr.Alexander Urban, University of Vienna.

Michelin Star chefs, with 13 stars among them, include Josiah Citrin of Mélisse, New York, NY; Ken Frank of La Toque, Napa, CA; David Kinch of Manresa, Los Gatos, CA; Gabriel Kreuther of The Modern, New York, NY; Nancy Oakes of Boulevard, San Francisco, CA; and Sylvain Portay of Le Louis XV (Monte Carlo), Mix (Las Vegas) and Adour (NY).

Prices

The Epicurean Grower Scientist: $850 per person

·       Welcome Reception and Truffle Prix Fixe Dinners at Napa restaurants including Bardessono, La Toque and Martini House
·       Saturday Continental Breakfast
·       Keynote
·       Truffle Lunch at La Toque
·       Truffle Seminars 1, 2, 3
·       Robert Sinskey Vineyards Truffle Orchard Tour

The Gourmet: $950 per person

·       Welcome Reception and Truffle Prix Fixe Dinner
·       Saturday Continental Breakfast
·       Keynote
·       Gourmet Lunch at The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone (CIA)
·       The Art of Wine-Truffle Pairing: Cooking Classes 1 & 2
·       Champagne Brunch
·       Epicurean Marketplace

The Truffle Gourmand: $1,325 per person

·       Three-day pass to all events including Michelin Star Truffle Dinner

Michelin Star Truffle Dinner: $475 person

Order Tickets online: www.napatrufflefestival.com

The Westin Verasa in downtown Napa will serve as the host venue and offer a special discount rate for the Festival weekend. Guests can book rooms at www.napatrufflefestival.com/westin/.

Truffle Festival Schedule

See website for more details plus the latest updates!

Friday, December 10, 2010

·       Welcome reception at The Westin Verasa
·       Truffle Prix Fixe Dinners at select Napa restaurants

Saturday, December 11, 2010

·       Continental Breakfast
·       Truffle Seminars
        1.     Science-based Truffle Cultivation – with world-renowned truffle scientists Dr. Paul Thomas and Dr. Alexander Urban
        2.     The Economics of Truffle Cultivation – with ATC Robert Chang and Dr. Paul Thomas
        3.     Proprietary Truffle Science – by invitation only (for existing ATC client-partners)
·       The Art of Wine-Truffle Pairing: Cooking Classes 1 & 2 – each session taught by a Michelin Star chef
·       Robert Sinskey Vineyards Truffle Orchard Tour in the Carneros Region – see what an operating truffle orchard looks like!
·       Michelin Star Truffle Dinner

Sunday, December 12, 2010

·       Champagne Truffle Brunch
·       Epicurean Marketplace - fresh black truffles for sale along with local organic farmers and artisanal gourmet vendors on hand to show and sell their fresh produce and specialty food products.

Participating Michelin Star Chefs

·       Josiah Citrin of Mélisse, New York, NY
·       Ken Frank, La Toque – Napa, CA
·       David Kinch, Manresa - Los Gatos, CA
·       Gabriel Kreuther, The Modern - New York, NY
·       Nancy Oakes, Boulevard - San Francisco, CA
·       Sylvain Portay of Le Louis XV (Monte Carlo), Mix (Las Vegas) and Adour (NY).

A portion of the proceeds from the Napa Truffle Festival will go to support the Hunger Project and Feeding America.

Please check the website for updates: www.napatrufflefestival.com.

LA KOGI TRUCK SHARES CHAOTIC HARMONY SPOTLIGHT Korean Photography Exhibition Attendees at Santa Barbara Museum of Art Enjoy Korean BBQ

The line of hungry visitors was winding around the block during the Kogi Truck’s recent visit to the Santa Barbara Museum of Art. The visit of the popular eatery on wheels was scheduled in conjunction with Chaotic Harmony: Contemporary Korean Photography Exhibition, which is scheduled to run through September 19.

Chaotic Harmony is the first major exhibition in the US of photographs made by

contemporary Korean artists presently living in Korea, and opens a window to the dynamic photographic scene in the Republic of Korea, known in the West as South Korea. 40 contemporary photographers present their work in large-scale images and range through themes of land and sea, urbanization and globalization, family, friends, memory, identity, cultural and personal, and anxiety. The exhibition was co-organized by Karen Sinsheimer, Curator of Photography at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art and Anne Wilkes Tucker, The Gus and Lyndall Wortham Curator of Photography at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, Texas.

People waiting in line did not seem to mind the wait, and

many said they had been to the truck in Los Angeles and knew how good the food was. A museum artist was offering art lessons and art materials to children visiting with their parents, and the children loved making their own museum inspired artwork. As people ordered and picked up their food they became acquainted with one another, and it proved to be a totally interactive experience for everyone who showed up.

The food truck serves Korean BBQ, and a variety of taco

options, fantastic beef sliders, quesadilla’s, beverages, and desserts. The prices per item run from $2-$5 and $1.50 for beverages. The Kogi staff doing food preparation and service are delightful and were really moving very fast to accommodate the huge crowd that arrived between 12:30 and 3:30. We waited in line for nearly an hour to be served,and it was so worth it!

Mark Manguera, Founder & CEO of Kogi BBQ, said they love Santa Barbara and they were happy to be a part of the Chaotic Harmony promotion at SBMA. "Santa Barbara is one of my favorite places in California, and it is always nice to be here, for work or fun," said Manguera. For truck information visit: www.kogibbq.com.

The Santa Barbara Museum of Art is located at 1130 State Street in Santa Barbara, is open daily (closed Monday) from 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Chaotic Harmony Exhibition runs through September 19. Ticket prices are $9 adults, $6 seniors, students with ID, and children 7-17. For information visit: www.sbma.net.