GREENWICH, Conn. Fairfield County foodies rejoice! Tickets are on sale now for the second annual Greenwich Food and Wine Festival, slated for Oct. 4 through 6. Think you know a thing or two about food and wine festivals? Think again. This three day feast fest is a celebration of almost Dionysian proportions.
Produced by the glossy lifestyle magazine, Serendipity, the Greenwich Food and Wine Festival is like a pop-up party for the gourmet set.
Weve made quite a few changes this year, says Suni Unger, founder and Chief Executive Officer of the magazine. And everyone is excited. Especially the chefs.
The chefs Unger means are an impressive bunch. The events roster includes celebrities like Food Networks Ted Allen (Chopped), Graham Elliot (MasterChef) and Duff Goldman (The Best Thing I Ever Ate). These heavy hitters will join local stars Rui Correia (Duoro and Piri Q), Francois Kwaku-Dongo (eleven 14 Kitchen and The Chocolate Lab), Frederick Kieffer (lescale), Fritz Knipschildt (Chocopologie), Eric Korn (Good-Life Gourmet), Debra Ponzek (Aux Delices) and Bill Taibe (LeFarm and The Whelk).
Festival events begin Thursday evening with the Ultimate Wine Evening, featuring wines from local producers. Friday night ushers in the Grand Tasting. The chefs will be cooking in front of everybody, says Unger. Youll be able to pull up a stool and watch what they do. It was Chef Ruis idea that the chefs be able to interact.
And after eating, Unger says guests will be treated to a concert by Big Head Todd & the Monsters. Theyre big foodies, too, so they were really excited to do this, she says.
Saturday, the festivals final day, will be packed with events all day long.
Well have a mixologist corner where people can learn how to mix cocktails and go home with recipes. The celebrity chefs will be cooking in kitchens built for the event by Clarke Kitchens. Graham Elliot agreed to judge a burger battle with local burgers. But hes really a very nice guy. Hell be much nicer than he acts on TV, laughs Unger. And a concert by Greg Allman of the Allman Brothers will wrap up the weekend.
But all this food and fun happens for a good and very charitable reason. "The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp brought an enormous amount of support to the table, says Unger of the festivals fundraising beneficiary, founded by the late Paul Newman. And the work they do [with kids] is just incredible. Working with them on this festival has been truly a pleasure.
For event details or to purchase tickets, visit the Greenwich Food and Wine Festival website.
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