Palm Springs Food & Wine Festival to Benefit Culinary Institute of America
PALM SPRINGS, CA…February 6, 2008 -The Palm Springs Food & Wine Festival, a benefit for the Culinary Institute of America’s Endowed Scholarship Fund is presented by Wells Fargo and will be one of the most prestigious food and wine festivals in Southern California. Located at the Spa Resort Casino in downtown Palm Springs, this event will be uniquely educational in focus showcasing Palm Springs as a culinary destination.
This Festival is the only one of its kind on the West Coast as it benefits the premier culinary school in America, the Culinary Institute of America. Locally, the Festival also benefits the Desert AIDS Project whose mission is to provide crucial services for those with HIV & AIDS. In the spirit of these two organizations and their mission of education, the Festival and all of its partners will have educational components in each of the venues while the attendees experience the finest cuisine and wines from around the world. As an earth friendly event, the producers will be making every effort to use recycled products, biodegradable material, and limited power draw from the grids while being constantly aware of its overall footprint on the environment.
The first in a series of events on March 6 from 6:00-8:30p.m., will feature Culinary Institute of America graduate Sara Moulton, Executive Chef, Gourmet Magazine at a Media Launch Party high atop the valley floor at the incredible William Holden Estate in Palm Springs, California hosted by menu engineer, Gregg Rapp. 
On April 11, from 6:00-9:00p.m., the Spa Resort Casino will host a Celebrity VIP Event at the Cascade Lounge featuring chef demonstrations, incredible live auction items from Cunard Cruise Lines, Viking Range Corporation and a 10-day private cooking class for two at the Culinary Institute of America Greystone Campus including accommodations at the incomparable Meadowood Napa Valley in beautiful St. Helena.
Master wine maker Chateau Montelena based in Calistoga will provide tastings of their premium vintages paired with cuisine from cooking demonstrations by Executive Chef Paul, Steakhouse Spa Resort Casino and Executive Chef Hector Salvatierra, Camelot Café. The evening’s cuisine will be courtesy of the Spa Resort Casino and Wine Spectator Magazine will provide premium gift bags for all attendees. The evening will be topped off with tastings from Café Boheme’premium coffee liquor.
Saturday, April 12 from 2:00-8:00p.m. will be the Grand Tasting Event in tented pavilions outside the Spa Resort Casino on East Andreas Road and North Calle Encilia with a spectacular backdrop of the San Jacinto mountain range. As attendees walk into this main event there will be a spectacular piazza featuring fountains with lush greenery leading into The America’s Pavilion featuring celebrity chef demonstrations, wine tasting and incredibly paired cuisine all focused on wines and foods from North and South America with a special Native American cuisine area.
Foodies can then explore the Taste of Europe Pavilion with a variety of celebrity chefs and foods featuring regions of Italy, France, Spain and Portugal.
The Pan Pacific Pavilion is where celebrity chef demonstrations with a variety of CIA graduates including Roy Yamaguchi, Ann Cooper, Charlie Palmer and many more while perusing fine wines and foods from the Pacific Rim.
In addition to the main pavilions, visit the Cigar Aficionado Lounge where traditional techniques of the art of hand rolling will be demonstrated while enthusiasts enjoy complimentary cigars, lighters and cutters. The Fiji Tropical Rain Forest will be an educational interpretive center where visitors can find out ways to help save the rainforest and to see what Fiji Water is doing with its worldwide conservation efforts which are making an impact on stopping the tide of global warming.
An incredible day of wine and food tasting will crescendo with the Viceroy Bubble and Groove Lounge sponsored by the Viceroy Palm Springs, Piper-Heidsieck Champagne, cuisine of the Viceroy Hotels and live DJ performances all coming together in a dramatic mid-century modern ultra cool Groove Lounge from 7:00-10:00p.m. This promises to be the hottest spot at the Festival.
To purchase tickets visit http://www.palmspringsfoodandwine.com/ or for more information on sponsorships, participation and how to be a volunteer phone 760-320-5373.
Tags: Desert AIDS Project, Palm Springs Food & Wine Festival, Spa Resort Casino, wine festivals