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Autumn Food & Wine Festival

 



25th anniversary celebration

September 10-12, 2010 • The Village at NorthstarTM

In the forests and cobbled streets, music fills the air, chefs engage in friendly battle at the Blazing Pans© Mountain Chef Cook Off and fine wine and delicious food reign supreme. In addition, you’ll find the gourmet marketplace, kids cooking classes, the Village Grape Stomp, art exhibits and more, culminating with the Culinary Competition and Grand Tasting. Join noted celebrity chefs, presenters and vintners, as they complement a festive atmosphere of fun and food to usher in autumn in style.

Make plans for this three-day spectacular. Contact us for
event tickets, event schedules, venues and lodging.

Schedule of Events

Friday, September 10, 2010

Noon-2:30pm

7th Annual Village Grape Stomp and Vineyard Luncheon Village Rink, Northstar-at-Tahoe™

Sign your team up for this hilarious annual event. Teams of four stomp their hearts out trying to extract the most juice from the grapes. Team entry fee includes grape stomping, wine and beer tasting (included in the ticket price) and live music. The Northstar culinary staff is going all out on the luncheon. Please note: you must be 21 to participate in the grape stomp and wine tasting. Families with children are welcome to come for lunch and watch the grape stomp. Click here for a luncheon menu.

Evening

5pm-7pm


Autumn Food & Wine 25th Anniversary Welcome Party
Presented by Corzo Tequila
The Meadows at The Ritz-Carlton Highlands, Lake Tahoe

Join us for the kickoff of the Silver Anniversary of Autumn
Food & Wine, co-hosted by The Ritz-Carlton Highlands
(mid-mountain at Northstar) and presented by Corzo Tequila.  
Corzo mixologist, Manny Hinojosa will be pairing Corzo
cocktails with food stations at the stunning Meadows area 
at The Ritz-Carlton. The event promises to be lively, social
and delicious with silver tequila cocktails, live music,
a great outdoor vibe and stunning mountain views.

5:30- 9:30 pm

Dinner with Traci Des Jardins and Friends
Manzanita inside The Ritz-Carlton Highlands
Join James Beard award-winning chef and Autumn Food &
Wine co-hostsTraci Des Jardins and Mark Estee with other
notable California chefs as they create a locally inspired
five-course dinner and wine pairing at Manzanita. $25 of each
ticket will be donated to Project MANA, a local hunger
relief agency serving the North Lake Tahoe region.

Winery Dinners and Special Tasting Events
North Shore and Truckee Restaurants

Our restaurants and chefs celebrate Autumn Food & Wine and the Lake Tahoe Restaurant Week with very special food and wine presentations. From simple tapas to multi-course winery dinners, the choices are endless.  Please call your favorite restaurant directly for reservations, or call us for suggestions at 530.581.6900.

PlumpJack Cafe, Squaw Valley, features Truchard Vineyards 530-583-1576

Saturday, September 11, 2010

10:30-11:30am
The Village at Northstar

Sushiology - Hands on Sushi Rolling & Sake Pairing
                   with Chef Chris Jackson
Mikuni Japanese Restaurant and Sushi Bar
It's no secret the sushi discovered at Mikuni is one of a kind. With the popular Mikuni Sushiology classes, you can learn some of the most famous techniques in creating Mikuni-style sushi. Learn from imaginative, inventive and sharp-witted Chef Chris Jackson. He's one of the amazing chefs of the Mikuni sushi bar. Hands on sushi rolling and tasting is limited to 30. Gekkeikan Sake and Plum Wine will be paired with the Sushi. Must be a minimum of 18 years of age to participate and 21 years of age for Sake/Wine Tasting.  Sushi and sake tasting.

Hands on sushi rolling and tasting is limited to 30 guests

Overlook Pavilion

Tuscan Grilling Techniques with Chef Lars Kronmark
Chef Instructor, Culinary Institute of America, Napa
Chef Lars just returned from a four week work study
program in Italy and is excited to share the art of
cooking a two pound Florentine Steak
(Bistecca alla Fiorentina) the way Italians have done
for hundreds of years in Tuscany.  Lars will also
demonstrate grilling rosemary scented beef skewers,
crostini with chicken liver and sage, black charred
Leeks and the secret to blending Tuscan seasoning salt.
Get your seat early.... Demonstration.

11am-6pm
The Village at Northstar

Gourmet Marketplace Trade Fair
Taste and buy from our local ranchers, growers and producers handcrafted gourmet goodies, artisan olive oils and hard to find delicacies. Browse the artists market, the Tahoe Plein Air Painting event, photography exhibits, the galleries in the Village and the artisans. Our vendors feature incredible handmade jewelry, clothing accessories and one-of-a-kind gifts. Enjoy the music of Jim Steinke, master of the guitar, mandolin and mandocello in his encore appearance at the Festival.

Also on tap are children's activities, bubble blowing, face painting, cupcake decorating, bunge jump (additional cost), stilt walkers, balloon sculptures and various activities at the children's shops in the Village.

Noon-2:30pm

Traci Des Jardins Celebrity Chef Luncheon
Manzanita at The Ritz-Carlton Highlands, Lake Tahoe

Take a scenic gondola ride from the Village at Northstar and join James Beard award-winning chef Traci Des Jardins and Reylon Agustin, Chef de Cuisine of Manzanita at The Ritz-Carlton Highlands, Lake Tahoe. Des Jardins, one of the country's most acclaimed chefs, is the chef/co-owner of Jardiniere, one of San Francisco's top restaurants, chef/partner of Public House at AT&T Park - home of the San Francisco Giants, as well as Mijita located in the San Francisco Ferry Building and AT&T Park. She will prepare a market fresh three-course luncheon with matching wine pairings. Limited seating. Reserve early for this fabulous celebration of food and wine.


Noon-1:15pm
Village Stage

Pasta and More
Chef Jason Gronlund
Senior Director of Culinary
Carla's Pasta

World-traveler, culinary expert and a Johnson & Wales Culinary Graduate, Chef Jason will share his recipes and simple techniques for a superb menu which can be made in your own kitchen. His stage presence and humor makes for a lively, informative and tasty demonstration. Be careful, he may bring you up on stage as his assistant! Cooking demonstration.

The Chocolate Bar Restaurant
Noon-1:15pm


The Chocolate Bar - Sweet and Spicy Chocolate Pairings with Chef Ben Deinken
Recruited from Denver, Colorado, Chef Ben brings years of training and experience to his craft. His ideas are inspired by fresh, local ingredients and straight-forward flavors. Learn the history of how to bring two dishes together to increase the flavor of chocolate. Chef Ben will explain the history of chocolate and will explore how a spicy dish before a chocolate dish can actually increase the flavor of chocolate. You will make a chocolate fondue that is rich, thick and works well with fruits, marshmallows, cakes, pies and cookies. Each dish will be paired with a wine and you will learn how to plate the dish then enjoy! Maximum: 30 people. All ages permitted. Food and wine tasting.

Noon - 4pm
The Village at Northstar
Gourmet Marketplace

Marketplace Wine and Beer Tasting
Pick up your souvenir glass and sample the generous array of wines from wineries of California and beyond. New this year is a beer tasting from NorCal Beverage Co., featuring Stella Artois, Becks, Bass and Hoegaarden (Belgium). You asked for it, we deliver!

1:30-2:30pm
Overlook Pavilion


Family Hands-On Pizza Grilling with Chef Lara Ritchie
Nothing To It Culinary School, Reno
Cook side-by-side on the gas grill with Chef Lara, Culinary Director, Co-Owner and Chef Instructor of the Nothing To It Culinary Center in Reno. Lara's easy teaching style and down-to-earth presentation captures the imagination of our young budding chefs as well as seasoned home cooks. You will prepare delicious grilled pizza, and then enjoy the fruits of your labor. Class is extremely limited to the first 25 guests. Young chefs must be a minimum age of nine years. Food tasting.
Conference Room

The Boutique Wines of Suisun Valley
California's Newest Appellation
Roger King, Winemaker, King Andrews Vineyards
Suisun Valley Vintners and Growers Association

We love bringing the tasting room to you, especially not-yet-discovered small boutique wineries from unexpected wine growing regions. The wineries of Suisun Valley Appellation have an impressive range of varietals.  You will sample six varietals plus a dessert wine all paired with some mighty fine food that perfectly complement the wine flight.


2:45-3:45pm

Sushiology - Hands on Sushi Rolling & Sake Pairing
                   with Chef Chris Jackson
Mikuni Japanese Restaurant and Sushi Bar
It's no secret the sushi discovered at Mikuni is one of a kind. With the popular Mikuni Sushiology classes, you can learn some of the most famous techniques in creating Mikuni-style sushi. Learn from imaginative, inventive and sharp-witted Chef Chris Jackson. He's one of the amazing chefs of the Mikuni sushi bar. Hands on sushi rolling and tasting is limited to 30. Gekkeikan Sake and Plum Wine will be paired with the Sushi. Must be a minimum of 18 years of age to participate and 21 years of age for Sake/Wine Tasting.  Sushi and sake tasting.

Hands on sushi rolling and tasting is limited to 30 guests

Asian Inspiration with Chef Douglas Dale
Wolfdale's Cuisine Unique, Tahoe City
Village Center Stage
Join our own celebrated and renowned Chef Douglas Dale in
a live cooking demo on the Center Stage. Douglas will present a signature collection of his mouth-watering Tapas style (small plate) appetizers.  It is his style, interpretation and use of spectacular local, fresh, seasonal ingredients which has established him as a true culinary genius. Get your seat early for this extremely popular world-class Chef with an impeccable culinary reputation and wide following.

Olivier of Napa Valley, Village at Northstar

Silver Oak Vertical Tasting and Olivier Food Pairing
Kim Caffrey, Senior Wine Educator, Silver Oak Cellars

By popular demand, Silver Oak Cellars is returning with a rare vertical of their Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon vintages 2001-2006. The '06 Release Day is the first Saturday in August and it's going to be a very tasty vertical, indeed. And three wines will be paired with the Olivier chef's fabulous offerings.  Very limited seating. Reserve early. Food and wine tasting.

Baxter's Bistro, The Village at Northstar

Food and Wine Pairings from Arount the World
Chef de Cuisine Michael Plapp, Baxter's Bistro
Dawn Bertsch, Chamber & Chambers Wine Group

Chef Michael's culinary style is to create a menu drawing from many cultures, using the finest seasonal ingredients available and using organic and sustainable products from local farmers and ranchers.  His culinary career began in Southern California at Patina, and Campanile as well as at Restaurant Daniel Boulud in New York. He and Dawn will explain how chefs and winemakers work together to pair global food and wine for all occasions. Food and wine tasting.


3-4pm
Overlook Pavilion

Family Hands-On Pizza Grilling with Chef Lara Ritchie
Nothing To It Culinary School, Reno
Cook side-by-side on the gas grill with Chef Lara, Culinary Director, Co-Owner and Chef Instructor of the Nothing To It Culinary Center in Reno. Lara's easy teaching style and down-to-earth presentation captures the imagination of our young budding chefs as well as seasoned home cooks. You will prepare delicious grilled pizza, and then enjoy the fruits of your labor. Class is extremely limited to the first 25 guests. You chefs must be a minimum age of nine years. Food tasting.

4-5:30pm
Village Stage

Blazing Pans Mountain Chef Cook-Off©
Chef David Lutz, Evergreen, Tahoe City
Chef Chad Shrewsbury, Six Peaks Grille, Squaw Valley
Marko and Jenni Karakasevic
Charbay Artisan Winery & Distillery, St. Helena

Blazing Pans is the signature and event extraordinaire of Saturday's festivities. A fierce, live cooking battle between defending champion Chef/Owner David Lutz of Everygreen Restaurant, Tahoe City and this year's challenger, Chef Chad Shrewsbury, Chef de Cuisine, Six Peaks Grille, Resort at Squaw Creek. Chef Lutz and Shrewsbury will be presented with a secret ingredient unveiled at the start of the competition. The only thing they can bring to the culinary stage are their personal knives, a chef assistant, incredible culinary expertise and nerves of steel. This is live entertainment at its best.... Iron Chef© style! Dress up in costume; bring your finest cheering voice, noisemakers and a thirst for an ice-cold Charbay cocktail, hosted by Marko and Jenni Karakasevic, Charbay Artisan Winery & Distillery.  To make things even more interesting, Chef Jason Gronlund will emcee the competition, adding a whole new element.  Hang on!

5:45-6:30pm
The Village at Northstar

Charbay Artisan Winery & Distillery Annual Release Party - Doubled and Twisted Whiskey
Master Distiller Marko Karakasevic and Jenni Karakasevic

The term Doubled & Twisted was from the days of not knowing the exact proof coming out of a copper pot still on the second run. It's the best stuff! The heart of the heart cut. D&T was coming out of the still at about 162 proof and twisting on itself, so that's when Master Distiller Marko K. took the picture that would later turn into the label. Marko did not want to duplicate anybody's style of whiskey; he wanted to make his own style that accents the ingredients. It was barrel aged for a day and then bottled clear to capture the true whiskey flavors. We can already hear those moon doggies howling!

Chef Jason Gronlund joins us from Florida to prepare succulent  food pairings to bring out the nuances of the spirit. Includes a signed 1 Liter Jug of Charbay Double and Twisted Whiskey!

6:00 – 8:30 pm

Edible Reno-Tahoe Fall Edition Release Party
The Pines Terrace and Ballroom, The Ritz-Carlton Highlands
Return up the gondola from Northstar Village and eat
local food, drink organic wine, and meet local farmers
and winemakers at the Edible Reno-Tahoe fall edition
release party. Taste organic, natural, and biodynamic
wines from more than 10 wineries. Enjoy food prepared
with local products and produce by Ritz-Carlton Highlands’
chefs. Learn about local food and natural wine in short
educational seminars . The wine and food tasting will feature down-tempo house music deejayed by Reno's Patrick Rhoades.  Proceeds from the event will benefit Project MANA, a hunger relief organization that serves the North Lake Tahoe region.

Evening
North Shore and Truckee Restaurants
Special Tasting Events

Wolfdale'c Cuisine Unique and Schug Carneros Winery Special Tasting Event, Tahoe City 530-583-5700

Lake Tahoe Restaurant Week Continues.  Visit our web at www.TahoeRestaurantWeek.com

Sunday, September 12, 2010

1-4pm
Village Center and Overlook Pavilion

Culinary Competition and Grand Tasting
Enjoy food and wine pairings, live music, relaxing with friends, gourmet marketplace, auction, Plein Air Art Show, vendor fair. The finale to Autumn Food & Wine Weekend, the Grand Tasting features the food and wine of 30 of the finest restaurants, caterers and chefs from the Lake Tahoe region, paired with premium world-class wineries plus an amazing variety of wineries on Vineyard Row. This is an incredible opportunity to sample the culinary and winemaking talents of the chefs and wineries you always wanted to try, including Tahoe's newest restaurants. The culinary offerings are over the top, utilizing fresh seasonal ingredients prepared with the amazing skill of our chefs, perfectly paired with new and known wine finds.

The Culinary Competition for Best Marriage of Food and Wine is what sets the Lake Tahoe Autumn Food & Wine Festival apart from all other food and wine festivals. A unique Tahoe Experience. You will also discover new wineries and sample their latest vintage or newest varietal during the Grand Tasting on Vineyard Row and at the Gourmet Marketplace - all under blue skies in the great outdoors at the Village at Northstar. You must be a minimum of 21 years of age to attend the Grand Tasting.

2-4pm

Auction
Always exciting and peppered with buyers fever, the fast-paced bidding for the famous Wheelbarrow of Wine, as well as spectacular wine and merchandise lots including premium, collectible, large format bottles is an annual ritual. Every wine poured at the Grand Tasting is included in the wheelbarrow. Lots may include trips, high-end goodies for the kitchen, activity tickets, overnight stays and more. The bidding reaches a feverish pace as the gavel comes down to the appointed hour.

 
Event tickets available online. For lodging packages, see Cool Deals.

Tickets also available at the following locations:

North Lake Tahoe Visitors Information Center
380 North Lake Blvd., Tahoe City, CA 96145
530.581.6900

Grand Tasting tickets only are also available at:

Incline Village Crystal Bay Visitors Center
969 Tahoe Blvd., Incline Village, NV 89451
775.831.4440


Tahoe Autumn Food & Wine Festival is proud to partner with these fine companies:

 

  

 

                                    

                                      

A fundraiser for the Community Fund of North Lake Tahoe, through the 501 © (3) Truckee Tahoe Community Foundation.

 

Program subject to change. Festival proceeds rain or shine. Sorry, no refunds.  

 

 



Autumn Food & Wine Festival LINKS


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