by Linda Lang | Aug 4, 2018 | Travel Bytes
Are you a sushi aficionado needing another reason to escape to the Maldives? Look no further than Soneva’s flagship resort which is featuring guest chef Kenji Gyoten, one of only four Michelin three-starred sushi chefs in the world August 18-29, 2018. He will create his art at So Hands On, one of five new dining venues in Out of the Blue, the resort’s spectacular new overwater dining pavilion just off shore.
During the two weeks, guests can forego the usual six-month wait at Chef Gyoten’s restaurant in Fukuoka, Japan which he opened when just 26 years of age. It has received three Michelin stars for three consecutive years since 2014. Currently the youngest three Michelin-starred chef in Japan, Chef Gyoten is especially known for his expertise with hontegaeshi (hand flip) method of Endomae nigiri to prepare his bite-sized sushi — a technique rarely seen today.
On its own private island in the Maldives, Soneva Fushi is a tranquil paradise where Soneva’s signature barefoot luxury rules. Crystal waters and shallow lagoons, home to 2,000 different species including dolphins, sharks, moray eels and rays, are perfect for world-class diving and snorkeling. Spacious tropical villas are furnished with every conceivable amenity and surrounded by lush tropical foliage, most with views overlooking unobstructed ocean panoramas. Other luxury features include the spa and the over a dozen restaurants and bars, on and near the property, are just some of the pleasures ashore.
Lunch with the Michelin-starred chef is priced at $350 per person for lunch and $500 for dinner. During the remainder of the year, highly trained sushi chef Akira Koba will be running the kitchen. It’s open for lunch on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and dinner on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday.
For reservations and further details on dining with Chef Gyoten’s, click here. For more information about the resort, visit https://www.soneva.com/soneva-fushi
by Linda Lang | May 30, 2018 | Travel Bytes
The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman once again hosts the prestigious Annual Cayman Cookout January 16-21, 2019. Created and hosted by renowned Chef Eric Ripert, co-owner of Le Bernardin in New York City and Blue by Eric Ripert at The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman, the celebrated chef will be joined by a distinguished roster of international culinary stars including Anthony Bourdain, Jose Andres, Andrew Zimmern, Emeril Lagasse, Yannick Alleno, Dominique Crenn, Amanda Cohen, Emma Bengtsson and Nancy Silverton.
The prestigious event brings together some of the world’s most talented chefs, wine and spirit experts, and culinary influencers in one of the world’s most esteemed celebrations of food and wine. Guests at this exclusive festival will interact and enjoy an exciting roster of cooking demonstrations, exclusive tastings, extraordinary dining events, local tours and unique epicurean experiences in an ambience of barefoot elegance. Intimate events and celebrations allows for unprecedented interaction with some of the world’s most talented and beloved chefs as well as extraordinary dining in one of the Caribbean’s most exclusive destinations.
Spanning 144 acres along Seven Mile Beach, The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman is the island’s only AAA Five Diamond hotel and a flagship of the Caribbean. The 375-room luxury resort features a la prairie spa, five restaurants including Blue by Eric Ripert, the island’s largest ballroom, an interactive culinary studio, and The Courts tennis center. The resort’s Golf Club, highlighted by its Greg Norman-designed nine-hole golf course, also features a new indoor golf simulator using Trackman technology. Additional highlights include the Starfish Cay water park, Oculus glass bottom boat, renowned Ambassadors of the Environment family program by Jean-Michel Cousteau, and the new Seven South – largest luxury hotel suite in the Caribbean.
Reservations for Eleventh Annual Cayman Cookout will open in summer and ticket sales will begin in the fall. Go to at ritzcarlton.com/grandcayman, call +1.800.241.3333 or contact your travel professional.
by Linda Lang | May 22, 2018 | Travel Bytes
Fo
odies will once again flock to Greater Palm Springs June 1 – 17 to experience some of the best dining the Coachella Valley has to offer. Presented by the Greater Palm Springs CVB, this annual signature event features meals created especially for the event by the chefs of participating restaurants.
Special 2+ course lunches are priced from $15 to $25 and 3+ course dinner menus from $29 to $49. Choose from Asian Fusion, Continental, Mediterranean, French, Japanese, Mexican, and Californian as well as seafood, steakhouse, vegan and more. You can search by restaurant name, city, type of cuisine, as well as price at visitgreaterpalmsprings.com/dinegps/restaurant-week.
Photos courtesy of Greater Palm Springs Restaurant Week.
by Linda Lang | Nov 2, 2017 | Travel Bytes
The American Truffle Company returns for the 8th Annual Napa Truffle Festival Friday, January 12 through Monday, January 15 uniting gourmands and aspiring truffle growers for a weekend packed with activities centering around one of the world’s most prized delicacies.
Recognized internationally as a wine and and culinary Mecca, Napa Valley again serves as host for the festival with The Westin Verasa Napa serving as “truffle central” for check-ins, programs and special room rates for festival guests.
Leading the scientific group is American Truffle Company cultivation expert Robert Chang and mycorrhizal expert/scientist Dr. Paul Thomas. Additional presenters include certified professional dog trainer Alana McGee, wild mushroom 
forager/mycologist David Campbell, the team at Robert Sinskey Vineyards Truffle Orchard, and returning favorite truffle dogs Rico and Lolo.
Other events include the highly-popular Truffle Orchard Tours/Dog Training Demos, Grower Truffle Cultivation Seminar, Wild Mushroom Forays, Dig Truffles Experience, Winery Truffle Lunches, Trail Rides & Terrace Tastings, the Truffles & Wine Dinner at La Toque, and special truffle menus at local restaurants.
The event concludes Monday with the Festival Marketplace at Oxbow Public Market showcasing local artisan vendors and their specialty food products, cooking demos, plus fresh truffles for sale and a chance to win a prized black truffle. Admission is free to the public.
For a detailed schedule of events, go to http://napatrufflefestival.com.
For information about the special room rates being offered by the host hotel, visit The Westin Verasa Napa
Above photos from 2017 Napa Truffle Festival
by Linda Lang | Aug 6, 2017 | Travel Bytes
Cocktail competition, wine and food tastings, breakfast on the beach, grand dinner, and specialty seminars by award-winning chefs and winemakers highlight the Fourth Annual Celebration of Food and Wine weekend September 22-23 at Terranea Resort in Southern California’s Rancho Palos Verdes. Across from Catalina and surrounded by water on three sides, the ocean-front luxury resort’s farm-to-Terranea culinary philosophy focuses upon local and sustainable ingredients including those from its own abundant herb and vegetable gardens, lemon groves, beehives, a sea salt conservatory and more.
Ticket prices vary for each event which is open to locals as well as resort guests. For those wishing to attend the entire weekend, a Celebration of Food & Wine package is offered for $575 per person which includes all events Friday through Saturday night. Accommodations are additional. The agenda is as follows:
Friday, Sept. 22
6-10 pm: Taste at Twilight features six Terranea bartenders competing to create the crowd’s favorite cocktail. During the cocktail competition, guests are invited to vote for their favorite libation from among such favorites as the Firebird, Koyo, London Knights, Native Flourish, Rye Berry Smash, and Somebody Call 911. Attendees sip champagne and enjoy bites prepared by Executive Chef Bernard Ibarra’s culinary team which are also paired with local beers and wines at food stations in the pool cabanas. Ocean views and live music complete the setting.
Saturday, Sept. 23
8:30-11:00 am: Breakfast at the Cove, an al fresco picnic includes stations serving flap steak asada, pan chilaquiles, and potato taco skewer; a griddle station with scrambled eggs and plancha-fried rice; bagel bar served out of a kayak; fresh fruit station; and freshly baked pastries including mortadella, basil and gouda cheese croissants, and parmigiana paprika granola bars. Nitro coffee, mimosas and bloody marys complete the beverage offerings. Seating is at picnic tables and blankets on the beach with live music by Wise.
11 am-2 pm: Vista Experience: Chef Ibarra presents his house-made kombucha followed by seminars on sustainability, cheese-making, sea-salt demonstrations, a falconer presentation, and Greenbar Distillery kombucha cocktails featuring Tru Organic vodka, and live music.
2-3pm: Tour of the Central Coast Tasting Lunch features a three-course tasting menu on the Catalina kitchen terrace by Chef de Cuisine David Tarrin or California Pinots Tasting Lunch — a three-course on the restaurant’s ocean view terrace showcasing a tasting menu prepared by mar’sel’s Chef de Cuisine Andrew Vaughan paired with California Pinots.
6-9 pm: Farm-to-Terranea Dinner will include three-courses served outside family-style by Chef Bernard Ibarra. Guests can taste dishes such as Spit Roasted Lamb with Moroccan spices; chilled garlic and almond soup shooter; grilled tomato salad with house goat cheese and freshly-cut basil; pressed herb potato pie; and stuffed honey brûlée figs. Live music is by Northern Lights.
10 pm-1 am: Night Cap on the Terrace After Party ends the festivities with offerings of fine ports and chocolates under the stars, highlighted by the winner of the cocktail competition winner.
Click here for event prices and reservations as well as information on the resort.
Culinary Event photos by David Rhein
by Linda Lang | Apr 15, 2016 | Travel Bytes
The International Chardonnay Symposium not only attracts winemakers, sommeliers, the trade and media. It is a must for wine enthusiasts who travel the globe and want to learn more about winemaking and tasting. There’s also ample time for exploring nearby Central Coast wineries and seaside resort towns of Pismo Beach and Avila Beach that offer downtown winetasting rooms, farm-to-table and seaport-inspired cuisine, boutique shopping, pristine beaches, surfing, kayaking, hiking and biking trails, and more.
Events open to the public include:
French Forum: Exploring The Wonders of French Chardonnay, (lunch included), Friday, May 13, 11:00am–1:30pm. Master Sommelier Bob Bath will take you on a guided tasting tour of the top Chardonnay-producing regions in France from Chablis to Champagne.
Wente Clone Comparative Tasting, Friday, May 13, 2:00pm–3:30pm. During the past 30-40 years, Ernest Wente selected vines that showed favorable trait, and re-planted them to establish the Wente Clone of Chardonnay. Today, the Wente Clone is widely planted throughout the western United States.
Pét-Nat, Sparkling Wine & Oysters Gala, Friday, May 13, 4:00pm–6:00pm.
Join 20 of your favorite producers as they showcase their Pét-Nat or Sparkling wine paired with freshly harvested oysters from Morro Bay Oyster Company.
La Paulée Dinner and Vintners Awards Ceremony, Friday, May 13, 7:00pm–10:00pm. La Paulée Dinner and Vintners Awards Ceremony is an elegant evening attended by consumers, winemakers, sommeliers, and enthusiasts celebrating top Chardonnay producers. The gourmet multi-course dinner will be prepared by Executive Chef Craig Strong at Montage Laguna Beach. Winemakers will showcase their treasured library of select wines with guests.
Hone Your Chardonnay Blind-Tasting Skills, Saturday, May 14, 10:30am-12:30pm. Scent expert Larry Brooks, who has crafted Chardonnay for more than four decades, will help you sharpen your blind-tasting skills in this two-part seminar.
Pairing Chardonnay & Artisanal Cheese, Saturday, May 14, 11:30am–1:00pm. A world-class tasting of paired artisanal cheese with acclaimed Chardonnay from top wine producers.
Saturday Grand Tasting, Saturday, May 14, 1:00pm–5:00pm Among the vines, taste premium Chardonnays from the U.S. and around the world spanning the diverse flavor profiles. Enjoy small bites, cheese, a host of vendor booths, and more
Winemaker Dinners, Various Locations, Saturday, May 14, 7:00pm–9:00pm. Select from a host of intimate winemaker dinners at wineries, in the vineyards and top local restaurants. Click on the View Participants for participating wineries.
For more information on the symposium and events, click here.
Are you a sushi aficionado needing another reason to escape to the Maldives? Look no further than Soneva’s flagship resort which is featuring guest chef Kenji Gyoten, one of only four Michelin three-starred sushi chefs in the world August 18-29, 2018. He will create his art at So Hands On, one of five new dining venues in Out of the Blue, the resort’s spectacular new overwater dining pavilion just off shore.
During the two weeks, guests can forego the usual six-month wait at Chef Gyoten’s restaurant in Fukuoka, Japan which he opened when just 26 years of age. It has received three Michelin stars for three consecutive years since 2014. Currently the youngest three Michelin-starred chef in Japan, Chef Gyoten is especially known for his expertise with hontegaeshi (hand flip) method of Endomae nigiri to prepare his bite-sized sushi — a technique rarely seen today.
On its own private island in the Maldives, Soneva Fushi is a tranquil paradise where Soneva’s signature barefoot luxury rules. Crystal waters and shallow lagoons, home to 2,000 different species including dolphins, sharks, moray eels and rays, are perfect for world-class diving and snorkeling. Spacious tropical villas are furnished with every conceivable amenity and surrounded by lush tropical foliage, most with views overlooking unobstructed ocean panoramas. Other luxury features include the spa and the over a dozen restaurants and bars, on and near the property, are just some of the pleasures ashore.
Lunch with the Michelin-starred chef is priced at $350 per person for lunch and $500 for dinner. During the remainder of the year, highly trained sushi chef Akira Koba will be running the kitchen. It’s open for lunch on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and dinner on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday.
