If you didn't purchase tickets to this year's Palm Beach Food & Wine Festival, taking place December 7-10, you probably missed the opportunity to watch Michelin-starred chef Daniel Boulud cook a five-star meal with his friend. Course menu created by Marcello Fiorentino at Marcello's La Sirena Restaurant in West Palm Beach.
You'll also miss out on a multi-course dinner prepared in Palm Beach by the great Southern chef Ashley Christensen and the opportunity to attend one of the festival's most popular dinners, hosted by Buccan chef Clay Conley. This year he's cooking with top national chefs Stephanie Izard, Ken Oringer and Joe Flamm.
But there are still tickets available for star-studded festival events featuring big names in the culinary world, such as legendary chef Larry Forgione, known as the “Godfather of American Cuisine.”
Forgione will join his famous chef sons Marc Forgione and Bryan Forgione at the four-course “Frank and the Forgiones” luncheon at Café Chardonnay in Palm Beach Gardens on Friday, December 8 ($175 per person).
Thanks to the release of additional tickets on Cyber Monday, some events previously marked as “sold out” have become accessible again, says festival director and co-founder David Sabin.
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Here are six of the food stars you can still see at this year's Palm Beach Food & Wine Festival.
Robert Irvine
Celebrity chef and Food Network host Robert Irvine (“Restaurant: Impossible”) returns to the festival for three events. But don't be surprised if you see him making cameo appearances at other events. Irvine headlines the festival every year.
Where can you see him: Irvine, who launched his own line of vodka and gin called Irvine's Spirits this year, is headlining a walking tour tasting with Ralph Lewis, owner of Okeechobee Steakhouse, on Thursday evening, December 7. “An Evening with Robert Irvine” ($200 per person) brings a selection of Irvine’s beverage lineup to the Okeechobee Prime Event Hall, located behind the steakhouse. For every ticket purchased, the festival will donate $100 to Irvine's charitable foundation, which supports veterans, first responder families and military personnel.
Irvine will also headline the festival's expanded grand finale event on Sunday, December 10, from 2 to 6 p.m. at the Palm Beach County Convention Center ($195 per person), where he will feature the chef's performance at the “Grand Tasting “event will be evaluated.
And he'll be leading one of the festival's two sold-out “Kids Kitchen” cooking classes on Saturday, December 9th.
Maneet Chauhan
Food Network fans may know her as a judge on “Chopped,” but there's a lot more to know about chef Maneet Chauhan. The vivacious chef from Nashville is also a restaurateur and cookbook author. She is in the process of opening a modern Indian restaurant called Eet in Disney Springs with her husband and business partner Vivek Deora.
Where can you see them: Chauhan will headline a festival luncheon on Saturday, December 9th at the newly relocated and expanded Ela Curry & Cocktails (formerly Ela Curry Kitchen), which reopens on December 1st in Palm Beach Gardens. She will join Ela chef/co-owner Pushkar Marathe and North Carolina-based celebrity chef Cheetie Kumar. The multi-course lunch ($195 per person) includes authentic Indian classics.
Chauhan will also be at Sunday's Grand Tasting alongside fellow Food Network star Irvine. And she will headline a sold-out festival lunch at Meat Market on Friday and a sold-out Sunday brunch at Café Boulud Palm Beach.
Stephen Stryjewski
New Orleans foodies know why this chef is awesome. And not just because he won the 2011 James Beard Award for Best Chef in the South, and one of his restaurants and that of his business partner, Peche, won the 2014 James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant in the country. As a grill master, Stryjewski captures the complexity of Southern cuisine with great heart.
Where can you see him: On Friday, December 8, Stryjewski will join creative chefs Giorgio Rapicavoli (Eating House and Luca Osteria, Coral Gables) and Jordan Rubin (Mr. Tuna, Portland, Maine) for lunch at Avocado Grill ($150 per person). lead.
On Saturday evening, December 9th, Stryjewski will join local pitmasters at The Porch barbecue event ($100 per person) at Ravish Off Ocean restaurant in Lantana. He will prepare a whole roasted cochon de lait (suckling pig) with gingerbread sauce and jambalaya.
Alon Shaya
Like Stryjewski, Alon Shaya is a James Beard Award-winning chef from New Orleans. Shaya was born in Israel and is considered an advocate for popularizing modern Israeli cuisine in New Orleans. He is the chef/owner of Saba Restaurant in that city and Safta Restaurant in Denver.
Where can you see him: Shaya is headlining a five-course Shabbat meal Friday night, December 8, at Aioli in West Palm Beach ($275 per person).
He also attends star chef Daniel Boulud's sold-out Sunday brunch at Café Boulud in Palm Beach.
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Lior Lev Sercarz
Sercarz, a French-trained chef and culinary author, is best known for creating delicate, signature blends at his spice lab and shop La Boîte in New York. Like Shaya, he was born in Israel. His latest book, A Middle Eastern Pantry, was published by Clarkson Potter in June.
Where can you see him: Sercarz will join Shaya at Friday night's Shabbat dinner at Aioli ($275 per person).
He's also a headliner at the festival's “Rosé Parté” tasting on Saturday at Almond Restaurant in Palm Beach ($100 per person).
Cheetie Kumar
An aspiring celebrity chef, restaurateur and musician, Kumar has family roots in India, grew up in the Bronx and calls the American South home.
Where can you see them: Kumar will join Chauhan for Saturday lunch at the new Indian restaurant Ela ($195 per person).
She's also attending a sold-out Thursday night dinner at Stage Kitchen in Palm Beach Gardens.
Have a delicious weekend!
Liz Balmaseda
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Liz Balmaseda is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Today Network. It covers the local food and dining sector. Follow her on Instagram and post on Food Facebook. She can be reached by email at [email protected].
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