Highlights from the 9th Annual Palm Beach Food & Wine Festival

Instead of traveling around the country to sample your favorite chefs’ cuisine, why not have your favorite chefs come to you? We were lucky enough to have this happen (or as close to this as possible) at the beginning of December, as the 9th Annual Palm Beach Food & Wine Festival rolled through town. This annual event — now in its’ 9th year — gives food and wine enthusiasts a chance to mingle with their favorite local chefs and national celebrity chefs; indulge in some ridiculously good cuisine at formal dinners and more casual tastings; party into the wee hours of the night; and clink glasses with some of the best in the industry.

The festivities kicked off on Thursday evening when two sold out dinners took place. The “First Bite” took place at Chef Clay Conley’s Buccan, where he partnered up with chefs Hugh Acheson, Gavin Kaysen and George Mendes, while the second titled “Sustain” took place at PB Catch and featured a menu of sustainable seafood with a regional touch and featured Chefs Johnny Iuzzini, Mike Lata, Jonathon Sawyer, Stephen Stryjewski and Aaron Black. While we weren’t able to make it to the opening night events, we had our share of joy over the course of the weekend.

Here are some of the highlights from the 2015 Palm Beach Food & Wine Festival:

Arroz con Pato by Chef Brad Kilgore
Arroz con Pato by Chef Brad Kilgore

That Jade Risotto by Brad Kilgore

My first event of this year’s festival was the Miami Takeover lunch at Meat Market, where Chef Sean Brasel invited a stellar line-up of Miami chefs into the restaurant. Danny Serfer, Dena Marino, Giorgio Rapicavali, Brad Kilgore and Sean Brasel all nailed it with their dishes, but it was the Arroz con Pato from chef Brad Kilgore of Alter that made me want to relive that taste sensation over and over again. A hearty bowl of Jade Risotto (made with sticky rice, rather than arborio) was set before me and was plated with Jamon de Pato, shaved duck yolk and shiso fermented pear.  The risotto was delectable by itself, but when you added in all of the components and brought together the individual textures – crunchy, chewy, creamy – the fireworks went off.

Creekstone Farms Prime Roasted NY Strip
Creekstone Farms Prime Roasted NY Strip by Chef Sean Brasel

Fulfill those Carnivorous Cravings

If someone knows how to fulfill our meat cravings, it’s definitely Sean Brasel, chef and owner of Meat Market — and the host for this year’s Miami Takeover. While he already serves up one of the best steaks in Palm Beach County, his featured dish  — Char Broiled Prime Strip — was an extraordinary treat. This tender cut of meat, served with Paradise Farms Corn Purée, Fire Roasted Tree Oyster Mushroom & Cactus had our entire table swooning over it.

I Love Daisy Cakes
I Love Daisy Cakes

I Love Daisy Cakes

One bite of a daisy cake and you’ll be in foodie heaven. Well, at least that’s what happened to me, when I first tasted them back in 2012 — so,  I was thrilled to find out that Kim Nelson (a shark tank success story) of I Love Daisy Cakes was going to be at the Grand Tasting event with her cakes. While she didn’t have any cakes to sell (I was kind of hoping that she did), Kim did have a beautiful display set up and we were able to taste our way through some of her most popular flavors including carrot cake and the red velvet cake.

Volleyball

Beach Volleyball

For those moments, when you don’t want to battle the crowds, but still want to meet your favorite chefs, the afternoon of volleyball at Four Seasons Palm Beach with the chefs (and others in the industry) is probably right up your alley. This laid back afternoon gave everyone a chance to dig their toes in the sand, enjoy freshly made tacos, ice cold beverages and simply, hang out with your favorite chefs.
Trout
Gin Spiced Sunburst Trout

Gin Spiced Sunburst Trout from The Osprey Tavern

The festival came to an end on Sunday evening at the Grand Tasting event held this year at the Gardens Mall. We ate and drank our way through the mall (a bit of a sensory overload), but discovered some fabulous bites along the way (ok, we stuffed our faces). We were also able to taste dishes from restaurants outside of our stomping grounds including an outstanding Gin Spiced Sunburst Trout  & Potato Terrine with beet purée and trout roe from The Osprey Tavern in Orlando.

 

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