Celebrity Chefs Gather at Food & Wine Classic

Celebrity Chefs

Want to the know the most perfect event in the country? Try the Food & Wine Classic held each summer in Aspen, Colorado. Sponsored by Food & Wine Magazine, the festival just recently completed its 27th year.

If you’re a food and wine connoisseur, the Food & Wine Classic is about as close to heaven as you can get without actually being there. It’s considered the mother of all food festivals and is a meeting place  for restauranteurs, chefs, journalists and food and wine loving people.  Add in the beautiful setting of Aspen, the almost always-perfect weather and ability to rub shoulders with celebrity chefs and you’ve got the ingredients of a weekend that’s hard to beat.

This year, the event featured 50 of the world’s foremost authorities on food and wine at 80 demonstrations and wine seminars. Among the celebrity chefs in attendance were Mario Batali, Giada De Laurentiis, Bobby Flay, Jacques Pepin, Ming Tsai and Tom Collichio.

It’s basically an eating and drinking orgy. For example, a typical day would go as follows…

-  Attend a variety of cooking demonstrations and, of course, sample the food. Among the demonstrations you could choose from were Asian Tapas with Ming Tsai,
Osteria Mozza with Mario Batali and Nancy Silverton and Burgers, Shakes, and Fries with Bobby Flay.

-  Sip wine at one of the wine seminars.

-  Head over to the Grand Tasting to sample a variety of foods.

-  Try one of the new drinks created by sponsor Grey Goose at their appropriately named lair, Chateau de Grey Goose

-  Attend the Best New Chefs of 2009 Dinner.

Speaking of the Grand Tasting, it’s the highlight of the weekend for many. Made up of a number of large tents, it’s the place to go to try a wide variety of food, from Peruvian tiradito to Cypriot soutzouko. Another highlight of the this year’s event was the Welcome Reception featuring food prepared by four previous winners from Bravo’s popular cooking show, Top Chef. Each chef prepared their signature dish at their own cooking station.

Normally, events of this kind would be exclusive affairs for the well-heeled crowd, but organizers make around 1,500 tickets available to the public. For more information, check out  The Food and Wine Classic Website.

PFP is a top celebrity booking agent for celebrity chefs, entertainers, sports stars and celebrities.

Find booking information on  celebrity chefs including:

• Martin Yan
• Cat Cora
• Mel Melton
• Mario Batali
• Keith Greene
• Darren McGrady
• Ina Garten
• Tyler Florence
• Gordon Ramsay
• Art Smith
• Sara Moulton
• Bobby Flay
• Missy Chase Lapine
• Lindsey Williams
• Jamie Oliver
• Duff Goldman
• Paula Deen
• Maria Liberati
• Sandra Lee
• Emeril Lagasse
• Lorena Garcia
• Giada De Laurentiis