The 15th Annual Miami Wine and Food Festival will take place on Thursday, April 22 through Saturday, April 24, 2010 at Village of Merrick Park and the InterContinental Miami Hotel, benefiting Camillus House and United Way of Miami-Dade.
This annual event brings together food and wine lovers for a three-day festival that features notable chefs, prestigious wineries and winemakers, and impressive auction lots, all to benefit the South Florida community. One of the most decorated, respected and charismatic chefs in the world, Todd English, will headline the Interactive Dinner on Friday, April 23, 2010.
Following are event details:
Thursday, April 22, at the Village of Merrick Park
Taste & Toast – Fine Wine Tasting
The three day event kicks off with a sampling from more than 60 international wineries and nearly 30 of South Florida’s top restaurants. Spam Allstars is scheduled to perform, blending improvisational electronic elements and turntables with Latin, funk and hip hop music.
6:00 – 6:45 pm VIP tasting
7:00 – 9:00 pm General admission
Prices:
$150 per person VIP admission
$75 per person general admission online in advance
$100 per person at the door
Friday, April 23, at the InterContinental Miami
Food, Friends & Fun – Interactive Dinner featuring celebrity chef Todd English
Enjoy cocktails while you bid on rare wines and unique travel lots during our silent auction. Interactive dinner hosted by celebrity chef Todd English. You do the cooking, while Chef English leads you through a successful three-course menu.
6:30 pm Cocktail reception and silent auction
7:30 pm Interactive dinner
Prices:
$250 per person or $2,000 per table of eight
Saturday, April 24, at the InterContinental Miami
Bubbles, Bids and Bites – The Great South Florida Fine Wine Live Auction and Dinner
The good times begin with a champagne reception, followed by a night of silent and live auctions. During dinner, cast your bid on a range of amazing packages, from travel to exotic destinations to rare wines from the most enviable collections. Enjoy the fun.
6:00 pm Champagne reception and silent auction
7:00 pm Live auction and dinner
Prices:
$500 per person or $5,000 per table of 10
About Chef Todd English:
One of the most decorated, respected, and charismatic chefs in the world, Todd English has enjoyed a staggering number of accolades during his remarkable career. He has been recognized by several of the food industry’s most prestigious publications, established one of the best-known restaurant brands in the nation, published three critically acclaimed cookbooks, and was named one of People Magazine’s “50 Most Beautiful People.”
Todd began his cooking career at the young age of 15. After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America, English continued to hone his craft, first in New York and then in Italy where, drawing from his Italian heritage, he developed his unique style and approach to cooking. Todd returned to the United States at 25, opened Olives in Massachusetts, in 1989, and in 1991, the James Beard Foundation named him National Rising Star Chef.
Today, Todd English Enterprises has a hand in 20 restaurants nationwide, including Beso — a Latin steakhouse in Hollywood, Calif., with partner Eva Longoria Parker — to Olives restaurants in New York and Las Vegas to four spots in South Florida. The high seas host two locations of Restaurant Todd English, on the Cunard Line’s Queen Mary 2 and the Queen Victoria. Like English himself, his restaurants have received numerous accolades.
Todd has a long list of television credits that include PBS’ Cooking Under Fire, Iron Chef, The Today Show, Good Morning America, CBS This Morning among many others. In 2007, he debuted a 13 episode international travel and cooking series, Food Trip with Todd English, which won him his third James Beard Award and an Emmy nomination.
Todd is very involved with several local and national charities including: Big Brother, Share Our Strength, the Boys and Girls Clubs, and City Harvest. The Miami Wine & Food Festival is pleased to welcome Todd English as our 2010 Celebrity Chef.
About the festival:
In its 15th year, the festival is one of South Floirda’s premier wine and food events Lyn Farmer, a James Beard award-winning wine and food writer, serves as the festival’s director. Dan Hanrahan, president and chief executive officer of Celebrity Cruises is the festival chair. Bob Dickinson, retired president and chief executive officer of Carnival Cruise Lines, serves as the festival’s co-chair.
For more information about the festival, please go to www.miamiwinefestival.org.