Oh, how I wish I could make it to every luxurious food, wine, and spirits event there is. Flying to and fro – Europe, Asia, Australia – eating, traveling, writing. It took Bourdain a few years to finally get to that point, and it’ll take me a few years to get to that point, too, so until then, I’ll just wrap up pleasant little posts on my favorites so that the rest of you can imbibe and gallivant to your heart’s content. Or at least dream about it with me.
We …

Sunday’s Moët & Chandon Champagne Brunch was perhaps one of the loveliest events of the Cayman Cookout. Closing a weekend of spectacular parties, demos, and tastings, the brunch always sells out, offering the opportunity to gorge on luxury items like caviar and made-to-order blinis, a fully-stocked seafood cold bar, sushi and dim sum, and a bevy of other brunch items from greens to tartare. While inhaling the best food and champagne available, guests are treated to a live culinary competition judged by a panel of celebrity chefs, food and wine …

In writing Daily Blender, I’ve occasionally found myself in the middle of a handful of situations I hadn’t considered. Exiting a New York City Food & Wine Festival soiree, only to bump into Billy Joel waiting for his towncar. Amid local celebrities and Hollywood producers at the opening reception of the Maui Film Festival anxiously awaiting the arrival of Megan Fox. And this past Saturday evening, when I arrived at Michael’s Genuine Food and Drink for a Cayman Cookout dinner event, only to find that I had been seated squarely …

Even in a collection of islands, from the Bermuda Triangle to the Gulf of Mexico, Grand Cayman manages to stand apart. Despite its outward resemblance to every other island nearby – sandy beaches, restaurants of every kind, hotels and resorts lining the waterfront – the island is a business mecca, with banks and international conglomerates at every turn. As the honorable McKeeva Bush, Premier of the Cayman Islands, explained to me on Saturday evening, the goal is to create an ever-growing, business and family-friendly destination, a place where you won’t …

And, here it is, folks. The last week of the year. A time for introspection. A time of reflection. A time to open that bottle of wine you’ve been coveting all year. It’s been a long year – for many – both personally and professionally, and I’m feeling all hopeful that the new year will bring a bevy of blessings and wishes.
Here on Daily Blender, I’ve been busy whittling away at the noise and honing in on what really makes this place a favorite destination for food, wine, and spirits …

At the insistence of friends, my day two of Flavor! Napa Valley began with a quick bite at Bouchon Bakery in Yountville. The location, recently hit by a small fire that wiped out their baking area, is certainly cozy, but with the rain holding off, we enjoyed a bit of pumpkin brioche in the adjacent courtyard before venturing off to the CIA.
Joining the late morning interactive luncheon, I was a bit taken aback to see chef Scott Conant on stage when I arrived. Like many of the luncheon guests, I …

Flavor! Napa Valley has been on my calendar for nearly a year. The inaugural event, the brainchild of Karlitz & Company, piqued my interest from the very beginning. A food and wine event in Napa seemed a natural choice – the mecca of spectacular food and wine in this country, where some of the finest wines in the country are created next to some of the finest restaurants in the country.
And in the fall, no less!
It was the colorful countryside that met me upon my arrival this last Tuesday to …

Chef Michael Chiarello wears a bevy of hats – cook, restaurateur, vintner, businessman, food personality, father, husband – and he does it with aplomb.
Over the last twenty years, the gregarious chef has managed to stake a solid claim in an already-revered mecca of food and wine – California’s Napa Valley. As owner and chef of Bottega, he’s been applauded for his dedication to locality and sustainability, with a cuisine highlighting dishes from his Italian heritage. As a vintner, Chiarello has built his own respected wine estate, cultivating a handful of …

Season four was the first Top Chef season I ever watched. Introduced to a dozen great chefs from around the country, it was the first time I learned who Tom Colicchio and Gail Simmons were, and the first time I was introduced to chef Stephanie Izard.
With fans across the country, I cheered for Izard, and her many now-familiar competitors, throughout the season and watched the final episode as she secured the Top Chef win from competitor Richard Blais. I almost immediately scoured the web for contact information for the winning …

By the time Sunday began, I was ready for a little leisurely imbibing. With the weekend coinciding with the Great American Distillers Festival, I dropped in to Portland’s Leftbank Annex to check out the selection of distillers and distributors bringing the best spirits to Stumptown. My plans, however, were a bit thwarted when Oregon Bartenders Guild president David Shenaut asked me to step in to judge the final round of the GADF cocktail competition. Joining fellow judges Ali Tahsini, who took home first prize in last year’s competition, and Paul …

Like many of her peers, Miami chef Paula DaSilva spent much of her formative years in the kitchen. The daughter of two self-taught restaurateurs, DaSilva learned the basics from her parents before taking the path of culinary education post-high school. Now the Executive Chef at 1500˚, located in the hip Eden Roc Renaissance Hotel along the sunny shores of South Beach, DaSilva has been incorporating those early years of inspiration into her menu since the restaurant’s opening last fall. Fresh off the heels of her stint as a contestant on …

There is a majestic magic to New York’s Le Bernardin.
Before arriving in New York in 2008 to attend my first New York City Wine & Food Festival, I preemptively made pre-theatre reservations at the famed seafood restaurant. Dining with my mother, the decor of the room, the bustle of the service staff, and the grandeur of each dish left a marked impression. Meeting chef Eric Ripert during the dessert course, as we enjoyed pastry chef Michael Laiskonis’s signature egg, only added to the magnificence of the visit.
Founders Maguy and Gilbert …

A longtime supporter of Share Our Strength and its many outstanding initiatives, including Taste of the Nation, the Great American Bake Sale, and National Dine Out, I was thrilled to see that Portland’s own Sarah Schafer would be hosting a “No Kid Hungry” dinner here in Stumptown this fall featuring an all-star lineup of accomplished female chefs.
“People in Portland love everything local, so I thought the best thing to do for the first year was to only have local chefs. I remember talking to someone who said it was difficult …

You know that I’ve been keeping tabs on the ongoing development of the famed Tavern on the Green over the past few years, first as it went through a change of hands and then ultimately as it fell to bankruptcy. After all, the restaurant, after nearly a decade in business, had become a staple in the Big Apple’s grandiose history. The latest on the New York icon, however, involves something a bit… unusual. While the last we heard, the location, nestled in the city’s Central Park, was going the way …

I kind of appreciate Gordon Ramsay. He, like a select few in the culinary world, helps to keep the industry all spicy and news-riddled. Long at war with his father-in-law, Chris Hutcheson, the Daily Mail reported last week that the British chef is in the process of suing Hutcheson, over everything from email hacking and embezzlement. The drama includes a tangled web of mistresses, spyware, most of Ramsay’s wife’s family tree, and heaps of money funneled into personal trips and expenditures. Oy, the drama!
The newspaper also reported days later that …