The 2009 Vegas Uncork’d Grand Tasting held poolside at Caesar’s Palace was admittedly my first. As one of the early food and wine events ever covered by Daily Blender, I arrived a bit late, uneducated on media call times or red carpet access, my new strappy heels already cutting off circulation to a few toes. I found myself relying heavily on my guest photographer to take the right shots, a local friend who, thankfully, was more familiar with the faces of the Vegas culinary scene than I. Not an hour …

Oh, Vegas. The bright lights, big city, sounds of ding-ding-dingity-ding in every direction. I don’t make it there often, but when I do, it always amazes me how there seems to exist a full-fledged metropolis within an metropolis, an excess of eating, imbibing, and miscellaneous debauchery all along one long strip. It’s warmly reminiscent of a time gone by full of Frank Sinatra and dollar buffets, replaced instead with flashy hotels of every theme and size packed to the gills with guests and business people alike – and one of …

Via a speculative post on Eater, restaurant fans learned today that Colicchio & Sons chef de cuisine Shane McBride would be moving on from his position at the New York restaurant. McBride, who has been a part of the Colicchio staff for the last three years, formerly manned the Craftsteak kitchen helm before making the transition with the restaurant to Colicchio & Sons. Though there’s always curiosity as to whether a departure is part of a restaurant’s master plan or simply a change of scenery, Craft’s Damon Wise left a …

The latest issue of Australian Gourmet Traveller features a review on chef Gordon Ramsay’s first Australian location, which is surprisingly two restaurant concepts in one spot. With a development price tag of nearly $300 million, Ramsay’s maze and maze grill opened in Melbourne in mid-April to mixed reviews.
According to the GT article, maze, the more formal of the two dining rooms, delivers dishes that are “all about exact cooking, clean flavours and precise presentation”, with Australian favorites making their way to the menu.
The Aussie flag is raised over dessert with …

Chef Jody Adams proved to be one tough cookie on this season’s Top Chef Masters. Adams, in competition with top chefs like Rick Moonen, Susur Lee, and Marcus Samuelsson, survived a number of battles (including an obscure Quickfire challenge to produce dishes designed to look like characters from The Simpsons) before being eliminated during a recent Exotic Surf and Turf challenge. Her first visit to Bravo’s popular competition series, the award-winning chef was happy to be a part of the season, noting that her on-air experience was full of …

Cooking demonstrations where you can get up close and personal with your favorite chef are a big part of Vegas Uncork’d.  And it’s likely that no demo was as much fun as Saturday’s “Culinary Theater: All the Kitchen’s a Stage” featuring chefs Rick Moonen, Hubert Keller, and Susan Feniger. The fantastic event took place at Moonen’s RM Seafood at the Mandalay Bay.

The trio were introduced by Andrew Knowlton of Bon Appetit who got the good-natured ribbing underway immediately by making fun of Moonen’s recent outburst on Top Chef Masters, …

Over the weekend, it was Vegas Uncork’d time – one of the biggest and best gourmet food festivals in one of the best food towns in the country! Now in its fourth year, the weekend-long event continues to grow round, showcasing local favorites as well as many of the big names in the industry.

While a few cooking demonstrations took place on Thursday, the main event was Friday evening – the Grand Tasting at the lush Caesars Palace. Just imagine the food court at your local county fair, but with all …

An amazing evening was had this past Monday night in New York City as the 2010 James Beard Foundation Awards were announced in Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center. Amid beautiful early summer weather, big industry names from Jacques Pépin to Grant Achatz and everyone in between came together to celebrate culinary greats from around the country. Chefs, mixologists, and food personalities made it down the red carpet early in the evening, stopping for laughs and poses as photographers, journalists, and food fans snapped photos of their favorites. Hosts Lidia …

It was announced last week that hotelier Ian Schrager, popular for his top hotels in Miami and New York, recently closed on his latest acquisition, Chicago’s famed Pump Room. According to Crain’s New York, the Windy City destination, long popular with celebs, is part of a purchase that also includes the Ambassador East hotel. Schrager says his plans for the locations have not been finalized, but are expected to take upwards of nine months to determine and a year to implement. Regardless of the final details, the hotelier assures city …

Hurrah! The 2010 James Beard Foundation Award finalists were announced this morning in New Orleans with a number of great names making the list. Chefs and supporters were welcomed to the Big Easy over the weekend with a traditional New Orleans boil celebrating twenty years of award history. Chefs really do throw the best parties.
Notable finalists on the Restaurant and Chef awards list:

Locanda Verde (NYC) – Best New Restaurant
Chef José Andrés – Outstanding Chef
Chef Tom Colicchio – Outstanding Chef
Chef Tom Douglas – Outstanding Restaurateur
Alinea (Chicago) – …

One of my favorite food and wine events of the year is Vegas Uncork’d, centrally located on the shiny Las Vegas Strip during the second weekend of May. The whirlwind festival, which benefits local food charity Three Square, highlights the cream of the culinary crop found along the popular Strip, including kitchen greats like Joël Robuchon, Alain Ducasse, Rick Moonen, Guy Savoy, Charlie Palmer, Michael Mina, and Wolfgang Puck. This year features another fantastic lineup with flavors and pairings that only Las Vegas can offer. Come hungry because the food …

A big congratulations to local Portland chefs Jenn Louis, Gabriel Rucker, Oswaldo Bibiano, Cathy Whims, John Gorham, Andy Ricker, Naomi Pomeroy, and Matt Lightner for being named to this year’s list of James Beard Foundation Award semifinalists. The list, which was released late last week, includes 397 fantastic chefs and restaurants from around the country nominated for an award in one of nineteen categories.
Notable 2010 award nominees:

Chef Tom Douglas (Outstanding Restaurateur)
Chef Tom Colicchio (Outstanding Chef)
Chef José Andrés (Outstanding Chef)
Chef Michael Mina (Outstanding Chef)
Chef Julian Serrano (Outstanding …

Starting on Monday, world-class dining at cash-saving prices comes to Las Vegas! Running August 31 through September 6, Restaurant Week provides diners with discounted menus, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting Three Square Food Bank. Participating Vegas restaurants will offer prix fixe menus from three tiered price points: $20.09, $30.09 and $50.09.
Many hotels are getting into the Restaurant Week mix as well, offering accommodation and dining packages for Vegas visitors. The fabulous MGM Grand is offering deluxe accommodations and a tasting menu for two for just $159 at …

Juliette over at Super Chef notes that tomorrow night is the start of the new Top Chef series, Top Chef  Masters. Instead of your average kitchen Joe, Bravo’s Top Chef series has wrangled a number of well-known, accomplished chefs to battle Top Chef-style – with the winner awarded $100,000 to donate to their chosen charity!
I’m really looking forward to seeing a few of my favorite chefs – Rick Moonen, Wylie Dufresne, Rick Bayless – in a timed competition. Let’s see if the big guys can really step up to the …

Posted by Jennifer Heigl
As an organic advocate, I was very interested in attending the recent ‘Farm to Table’ panel at the Vegas Uncork’d festival. Top chefs, including Bellagio Executive Chef Edmund Wong and sustainability advocate Rick Moonen, discussed the importance of supporting local and sustainable farms by designing menus that feature those food items. However, during the panel discussion, Bon Appetit’s Restaurant Editor, Andrew Knowlton, posed a great question:  If you had the choice to purchase organic asparagus from another country or locally grown asparagus, which would you choose? Hands …