The First Annual Hawaii Food and Wine Festival Will Take Place on Oahu September 29 – October 1

The First Annual Los Angeles Food and Wine Festival Is Set To Occur October 13 – 16

Hawaii Food and Wine Festival

The First Annual Hawaii Food and Wine Festival is scheduled to take place in the lush paradise of Oahu, the heart of Hawaii, and home to a fusion of East and West cultures.  Beginning on September 29, internationally renowned master chefs, culinary personalities and wine and spirit producers will gather in Honolulu for this inaugural, three-day extravaganza presented by Food and Wine Magazine.  Roy Yamaguchi and Alan Wong, two of Hawaii’s own James Beard Award-winning chefs, are co-chairing the event designed to showcase dishes using the State’s bounty of local produce, seafood, beef and poultry and featuring some of the biggest names in culinary talent.  Nearly 30 celebrity chefs will gather together to interpret Hawaiian food in innovative ways.  Dozens of the world’s most esteemed vintners, sommeliers and mixologists will pair wines and spirits with the flavorful dishes inspired by the master chefs, providing the perfect complement.

The Festival commences with the signature event “Streets of Asia: Morimoto and Friends,” interpretations of popular dishes by top chefs from Hawaii, Korea, Singapore, Canada and the U.S., led by Masaharu Morimoto, renowned chef and restaurateur whose Morimoto Waikiki Restaurant is at The Waikiki Edition Hotel.  Hawaiian Airlines is presenting the event.  Other chefs include Kaleo Adams of The Edition and Justin Quek of Sky on 57 in Singapore.

The signature event for the second day is the First Annual Halekulani Master Chefs Gala Dinner Series.  A lavish formal dinner with dishes created by master chefs from Hawaii, Japan, Australia and the U.S., will take place at the Halekulani Hotel.  The roster of chefs includes Hubert Keller from Fleur de Lys in San Francisco, Nancy Silverton of Mozza in Los Angeles, Alessandro Stratta of Stratta in Los Vegas, and Vikram Garg, Executive Chef of the Halekulani on Waikiki Beach.

The signature event for the third day, which highlights farm-to-table cuisine, is “Mauka to Makai,” meaning from mountains to sea.  This grand tasting event at the Hilton Hawaiian Village will be prepared by 15 celebrity chefs known for producing farm to table cuisine and for practicing sustainable sourcing and cooking practices.  The roster of chefs includes Michael Cimarusti of Providence, Los Angeles, Celestino Drago of Drago Restaurant Group Los Angeles, Dean Fearing of Fearing’s in Dallas, Michael Ginor of Hudson Valley Foie Gras and Lola in New York, George Mavrothalassitis of Chef Mavro in Hawaii, Jeffrey Vigilla of the Hilton Hawaiian Village, Alan Wong of Alan Wong’s in Hawaii and Roy Yamaguchi, Roy’s Restaurants, Hawaii.

Day three also has “A Farmer’s Market Extravaganza: Cooking Demos,” at Kapiolani Community College, a free event open to the public, featuring two cooking demos with local chefs and farmers.

The festival also features offsite excursions, seminars, lunches and special tastings.  In addition to the celebrity chefs, renowned sommeliers and vintners include Larry Stone of Evening Land Vineyards in San Francisco,  Jim Clendenen of Au Bon Climat, Justin Baldwin of Justin Vineyards, Steve Clifton of Palmina Winery and Brewer-Clifton, and Fritz Hasselbach of Germany’s Weingut Gunderloch.

Event co-chair, Roy Yamaguchi, creator of “Hawaiian Fusion Cuisine,” opened the first Roy’s Restaurant in Hawaii in 1988.  Now there are 31 Roy’s in Hawaii, the continental U.S., Japan and Guam.  Alan Wong, event co-chair, is famed for his marriage of ethnic-cooking styles with the finest island-grown ingredients, creating local dishes with a contemporary twist.

All three of the event hotels are beautifully situated on Waikiki Beach with a view to world-famous Diamond Head.  Hilton Hawaiian Village Beach Resort and Spa is located on 22 acres along Waikiki’s widest stretch of beach with 90 shops, 16 restaurants, six swimming pools and an exotic wildlife collection.  The Waikiki Edition, a new concept in luxury hotels, offers everything under one roof, including a private sunset beach with bar, an intimate lobby bar hidden in a secret passage, a nightclub, shops and an outdoor movie theatre, reminiscent of a drive-in theatre, but without cars.  Halekulani has welcomed the world’s affluent to Waikiki Beach for more than a century, with its legacy of gracious service and globally-acclaimed cuisine in an oasis of tranquility.  In addition to the restaurants, you can enjoy sunset cocktails and Hawaiian music at the famed House Without a Key, immortalized in the 1925 Charlie Chan novel, House Without A Key.  The hotels all offer special festival packages.

For additional information, please visit the website, http://www.hawaiifoodandwinefestival.com or telephone 808-738-6245.  Individual event tickets may be purchased online, by telephoning  Denise Hayashi at 808-738-6254 or by email at info@hawaiifoodandwinefestival.com.  VIP and Table packages are also available.

Los Angeles Food and Wine Festival

The First Annual Los Angeles Food and Wine Festival, a four-day culinary and wine event, will take place October 13-16.  Headquartered at L.A. LIVE, the sports and entertainment district in downtown Los Angeles, with events held at venues throughout the city, including Santa Monica, Hollywood and Beverly Hills, Coastal Luxury Management, founders of Pebble Beach Food & Wine, are bringing the festival to Los Angeles through a partnership with AEG and Dick Clark Productions.  Sponsors of the festival are American Express Publishing and Lexus.  To celebrate the best in Los Angeles food and drink culture, celebrity chefs, acclaimed vintners and all-star pop culture personalities from music, television, film and sports will lead one-of-a-kind, diverse tastings, dinners, demonstrations, seminars, all accompanied by live music, and after-hours events, offering wines from over 300 international wineries.

Festivities,  commencing at L.A. LIVE downtown  with a signature opening night red carpet gala, will include a Lexus Grand Tasting also at L.A. LIVE showcasing 30 celebrity chefs and over 100 wineries as well as cooking demonstrations from Wolfgang Puck, Roy Yamaguchi, Rick Bayless, Tyler Florence, Hubert Keller, Frank Ostini, Celestino Drago and Michael Cimarusti, among others.

Wolfgang Puck’s Sunday Brunch and Charity Auction will be a star-studded event, with an awesome lineup of chefs for a great meal and a great cause –- giving something back to St. Vincent’s Meals on Wheels.  The event will take place at an exclusive private residence, featuring live music and a special performance. Plating will be d0ne by Tom Colicchio of Craft, Nobu Matsuhisa, Wolfgang Puck, Michel Richard of Citronelle, Joachim Splichal and Sherry Yard of Spago.

A sampling of the dedicated events scheduled to take place throughout the city include:

California Clambake with Tom Colicchio in Santa Monica –- Tom, Roy Yamaguchi and other chefs will cook up a clambake with a unique take on coastal cuisine.

Caviar and Champagne at the l’Ermitage Rooftop for a romantic evening under the stars.

Tribute to a Culinary Master:  Daniel Boulud at the Montage Rooftop – this industry-studded dinner prepared by Wolfgang Puck and others will honor the talented Boulud.

Brew B’Que on the Santa Monica Pier will pair BBQ bites with over 100 local and regional craft brews overlooking the Pacific Ocean with live music.

Hosted wine seminars to be led by industry experts including Ann Colgin, Anthony Giglio and Andrea Robinson, will feature Burgundy’s Brilliance: A Decade of Wines from Domaine de Hospices de Beaune; The Wines of Chateau Palmer: Five Decades of Margaux; The Best Champagnes of the 1990 Vintage; and Caviar, Bacon, and Bubbles.

Special luncheons will be held at restaurants throughout Los Angeles, including Melisse, Cut, Fig, Providence, Nobu and Patina.

It is the intent of Los Angeles Food & Wine to set the stage as the country’s first crossover culinary event that matches personalities from television, film, music and sport with celebrity chefs and vintners.

Tickets for Los Angeles Food & Wine events, starting at $50.00, are available online at http://www.lafw.com or call 1-877-234-8425 for further information