asheville Wine and food fesTival lodGinG inn on Biltmore Package: Room accommodations for two nights. Two tickets to Sweet event on Friday, Aug. 24. Two VIP tickets to the Grand Tasting event on Saturday, Aug. 25. Complimentary transportation to and from Sweet and the Grand Tasting. Package starts at $379 per night, based on double occupancy in a deluxe room, excluding taxes. Call 433-6161 for availability. hotel indigo Package: Room accommodations for two nights. Two tickets to Sweet event on Friday, Aug. 24. Two tickets to the Grand Tasting on Saturday, Aug. 25. Complimentary parking. Packages start at $349 per person, based on double occupancy, excluding taxes. Call 239-0239 for availability:
Resources for Transformation and
Inner Peace
haywood park hotel
Books, Music, Crystals, Jewelry, Tarot Statuary, Candles, Incense and Events
Call 228-2522 for rates and availability.
Here your fun food fact of the day: Paul Cullen, the bassist for '70s supergroup Bad Company, has his own private-label wine under the name Sonata. He'll definitely be at the event but, sadly, his mullet will not. (Cullen is closely shorn and creating jazz these days; learn more about him at UnpluggedandUncorked.com.) Sixteen restaurants and caterers will be present at the Grand Tasting, as well as 35 to 45 assorted food producers, Bowles says. Regional chefs will offer cooking demonstrations at various stations around the venue. Blue Ridge Food Ventures, a local production facility for small entrepreneurs who want to get into the food business, will offer a marketplace with many of their goods for sale, some of which are difficult to find outside of the facility.
A Sanctuary for the Spiritual Seeker Since 1989
5426 Asheville Hwy. (Hwy.25)
½ mi. S. I-26 exit 44 • Mon-Sat 10-6
crystalvisionsbooks.com • 687-1193
miX iT up "There's so much happening this year," says Bowles. "We've always wanted to have bartenders and we've always debated who were the best bartenders in Asheville." This year, à la the chef competitions, the Grand Tasting introduces the Local Spirits Mixology Competition. (That takes place on Saturday, Aug. 25 at 2 p.m. at the U.S. Cellular Center.) Competitors will mix up creative cocktails using locally distilled spirits, including Troy & Sons moonshine, Cardinal Gin from Southern Artisan Spirits and apple brandy from Carriage House Brandy, among others. A panel of food writers and representatives from local restaurants will select the best. Interested in participating in the competition? Visit ashevillewineandfood.com, click on "activities," and fill out the entry form along with your experience in the world of mixing cocktails (deadline for entry is Aug. 1)
sTyle iT up Not all products at the Grand Tasting will be edible; local fashion designer and A-B Tech culinary student Sandra Harvey will showcase her wares during the Fashion and Food Runway. For the first time at the AWFF, models will strut their stuff on a catwalk, exhibiting fitted, back-ofthe-house culinary finery, as well as the type of evening-wear you might don for a fancy dining event. Sandra Harvey’s designs (sandraharvey.com) have been featured in the Los Angeles Times, Detour and Flaunt. Harvey has catered to Trent Reznor, Perry Farrell, Perri Lister, Hope Sandoval, Timothy Leary and India Dupre. Also featured will be milliner Simone Bernhard, who will show her chef hats and others decorated with food-inspired motifs. Mary Lou of Spiritex will add her elegant evening attire. Models include Susi Gott Séguret (director of the Seasonal School of Culinary Arts) and Adam Hayes, executive chef at the Red Stag, as well as his wife, Ashley, and Wendy Gardner, wife of chef Nate Allen of Knife & Fork. Cúrate’s Katie Button (if she can pull herself away from cooking and serving) will also model.
yes, chef: Contestants at last year’s chef competition finale. Photo by Jennifer Haynes
chef’s challenGe semifinals and finals Throughout the spring, chefs have been battling it out over secret ingredients to see whose cuisine reigns supreme. The talent has been whittled down to just a chosen few; WNC, below are your victors and their upcoming battle dates. The final challenge, judged by a panel of experts, will take place during the Asheville Wine and Food Festival. Tickets to all events are available in limited supply here: avl.mx/ib. All events take place at the Century Room at Pack’s Tavern. Tuesday, aug. 14: Chef Jason Roy of Lexington Avenue Brewery (Asheville) versus Chef Nate Allen of Knife & Fork (Spruce Pine) Thursday, aug.16: Chef David Ryba of the Inn on Biltmore (Biltmore) versus Chef Stewart Lyon of Boca (Asheville) Thursday, aug. 23: Final Chefs’ Challenge (TBD)
mountainx.com • JULY 18 - JULY 24, 2012 29