The First Annual Hamptons Wine & Food Festival will take place on Friday, August 26th and Saturday, August 27th, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. at The Hayground School in Bridgehampton. This event will include live cooking demonstrations, extensive wine seminars, a themed Grand Tasting each night, book signings, displays of the latest and greatest cooking gadgets and high end appliances and will feature local and internationally acclaimed celebrity chefs and winemakers.
Star Chefs: Portale, Romano, Lomonaco and Raichlen
Internationally acclaimed chefs such as Alfred Portale (Gotham Bar & Grill), Michael Romano (Union Square Cafe), Michael Lomonaco (Guastavino), Rick Moonen (RM),
Floyd Cardoz (Tabla) and Food Networks VP Culinary Production, Susan Stockton will host live cooking demos. Other notable cuisiniers include Barbecue Bible author, Steve Raichlen, 2004 James Beard Award recipient for his cookbook TASTE, Pure and Simple, Chef Michel Nischan, The Ultimate Cookbook Series Chefs - Mark Scarbrough and Bruce Weinstein, 2005 James Beard Award Best Pastry Chef, Karen Damasco, 1997 James Beard Award recipient for his book Cheese Primer, Steven Jenkins and Moms Big Book of Baking author, Lauren Chattman.
Wine Experts: Wesson, Greenlee, Olson, and Ewing Mulligan
Distinguished winemakers such as Joshua Wesson (Bestsellers Wine), Michael Greenlee (Gotham Bar & Grill), Michael Cinque (Amagansett Wines) and Giselle Deiaco (Rainbow Rooms Open Wine School) will be on hand. Other significant experts include restaurateur Joe Bastianich (Italian Wine Merchants), Joshua Wesson (Best Cellars) and lecturer Steve Olsen (aka Wine Geek).
A Celebration of Farms, Vineyards and Gourmet Food & Wine
To celebrate the rich agricultural heritage of the Hamptons, there will be showcases of local multi-generational farms and vineyards with the worlds best of the best in gourmet food and fine wines. Weekend special events include VIP sponsor champagne Sunday brunch at a prestigious vineyard, an oceanfront estate caviar and cocktail party, VIP closing party and a festive, multi-bar Mojito BBQ after-party with Marc Weiss DJ Chef spinning discs and cooking.
Festival to Help Fund Jeffs Kitchen
Donations from a unique charity auction will be made to Make-A-Wish Foundation. Promoted as Celebrity Make-A-Dish, well-known figures in fashion, music and entertainment will decorate one-of-a-kind aprons throughout the event. In addition, Hamptons Wine & Food Festival will help fund the completion of Hayground Schools newest facility for learning through food preparation, the
Jeff Salaway Culinary Center (Jeffs Kitchen). Founded in 1996 by the late Jeff Salaway and his wife
Toni Ross (of the highly acclaimed Nick & Tonis restaurants), The Hayground School, a non-profit educational institution, is a creative and innovative experience for young multi-cultural students.
Experienced, Connected and Energetic Organizers
The organizers of the event are Jodi Della Femina, Stuart Racey and Jerry Romano. Della Femina is the author of Jodis Shortcuts - the best-selling guidebook to the Hamptons, Annabels Shortcuts - the guidebook for children, and Celebrity Dish - A Hamptons Celebrity Cookbook - featuring recipes from Sting to
Vera Wang and founder of the award-winning Southampton and East Hampton Independent newspapers. Racey specializes in the development and sponsorship representation of entertainment properties, creating integrated marketing programs for major event properties including the Macintosh New York Music Festival, Guinness Fleadh, Texaco and Bell Atlantic Jazz Festivals, Pontiac Beatfest with a 15 city Poetry Slam, and Showtime concert specials among others. Jerry Romano holds two decades of television production expertise including Food Network and MTV, HBOs Curb Your Enthusiasm and Buena Vistas Vera Wang talk show and CBSs Cosby, Politically Incorrect and The 1998 Goodwill Games; he is the long standing Executive Producer of the New York Emmy Awards.
Locals on Board
Local talent has been tapped as well. Look for chefs Joe Realmuto (Nick & Tonis),
Kevin Penner (1770 House), Michael Castino (Pacific East),
Jason Weiner (Almond and Almondito),
Mike Rozzi (Della Femina), Andrew Engle (The Laundry), Todd Jacobs (Tierra Mar), Waldy Malouf (Beacon), Jeff Harter (Alison) and Julio Quisbert (Jean-Luc, JLX Bistro and Madame Tongs) to participate in cooking demos. Other talent includes WOR radio personality Joan Hamburg, Artisanal and Picholine maitre fromage Max McCalman, author and publisher of Edible East End, Brian Halweil, Slow Food New York director Sherri Vinton, Flavors author and celebrity caterer, Pamela Morgan, American Caviar purveyor Sally Eason and Sustainable Kitchen author, Stu Stein.
Sponsors Want In!
The New York Times has signed on as a media sponsor and will produce a advertorial and program guide that will hit 3 million plus readers two Sundays before the event which estimates that it will draw approximately 3000 people during the two-day event. In addition, The New York Times will run several ads throughout the summer and radio promotional spots on its classical music station, WQXR. Peerless Importers Inc. is the presenting sponsor and exclusive wine and spirits sponsor providing all wine, champagne and spirits for the event. American Express is sponsoring the oceanfront VIP champagne and caviar party as well as offering an exclusive advance sale of VIP passes to 400,000 platinum and centurion card members. Home Depot Expo will be fully outfitting the Hayground Schools new kitchen with Viking Appliances, Silestone Countertops and Maax wood cabinets. King Arthur Flour will offer baking seminars throughout the weekend and other sponsors will contribute product and resources to help make the event fun and a success including Alejandro & Martin - Artisanal Olive Oil, Australis Barramundi Fish, Corcoran Group Real Estate, Sherry-Lehmann Wine & Spirits Merchants, Sunburst Trout Caviar and Tsar Nicoulai Caviar and Elements H20. Ground transportation will be provided by Hampton Luxury Liner.
How to Get Tickets
Cost for the four event segment that includes food expo, live chef demos and competitions, book signings and numerous wine and food seminars taking place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Friday and Saturday is $150 per person each day. Grand Tastings, Great Wines From Around The World, scheduled for 5 to 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday, is also $150 per person for each evening. Platinum Pass for the weekend includes all four segments and VIP after-party on Saturday night for $650 per person or $600 if purchased before July 30th. Tickets may be purchased by calling (631) 537-5937 or logging on to www.ticketweb.com.
For further information on Hamptons Wine & Food Festival, visit the events website at www.hamptonswineandfoodfest.com or call (631) 537-5937.
