2017 Big Sur Foragers Festival Announces Fungus Face-off on January 14 and Grand Chef Dinner on January 15 Chef-host Tim Wood joins forces with Bay Area chef/restaurateur Rodney Worth Big Sur, CA, November 05, 2016 - The Big Sur Foragers Festival may have changed the location of its
annual Grand Chef Dinner for 2017, but the event’s culinary star power remains intact. With a resort enhancement project in development at Ventana Big Sur, the festival moved its spectacular wine dinner to sister resort Carmel Valley Ranch, which was just named the No. 1 resort in Northern California in the Conde Nast Traveler 2016 Readers’ Choice Awards. Tim Wood, executive chef of Carmel Valley Ranch and the driving force behind its award-winning Valley Kitchen Restaurant, will co-host the January 15 event along with high-profile chef and restaurateur Rodney Worth, who owns six restaurants in the San Francisco East Bay and The Pear Southern Bistro in downtown Napa. These two culinary contemporaries have much in common, as Wood and Worth each carry out a farm-to-table approach using local, sustainable ingredients, and are passionate supporters of sustainability initiatives including the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program. An intimate forage-inspired feast paired with incredible wines, the multi-course dinner from Chefs Wood and Worth begins at 6 p.m., and seating is extremely limited. Early-bird tickets on Eventbrite cost $150 if purchased before November 30 ($175 beginning December 1). Carmel Valley Ranch will also host the Foragers Festival’s popular Fungus Face-Off on Saturday, January 14, in a beautiful tented setting on the resort’s Pete Dye-designed golf course. This popular event sells out early. There are 250 available tickets, priced at $65 per person. The price includes samples of foraged foods prepared by local chefs, award winning local wines to taste and samplings of local craft beers. A selection of handcrafted items will also be available for purchase from local artisan vendors. Fungus Face-Off Winery and Brewery Partners Include: ● Holman Ranch ● Mesa Del Sol ● Bernardus ● McIntyre Vineyards ● Chappellet