By Margaret Malsam
The international “who’s-who” in food and wine gather in Aspen every year for the annual Food and Wine Classic. Great chefs and wine authorities from around the world will be the superstars of this year’s 28th annual Classic on June 18-20.
The attendees range from restaurant owners and chefs scouting for new entrees and additions to their wine lists, to homemakers and corporate executives seeking new recipes for their dinner and business parties. All gather together in large, festive tents located in the heart of scenic Aspen to hear the renowned chefs share their secrets and recipes.
It’s a culinary dream come true to be able to taste and sip some of the best food and wine in the country. The event’s outstanding lineup will feature demonstrations and seminars with culinary masters such as Jacques Pepin, David Chang, Giada DeLaurentiis, Michael Symon, and Thomas Keller. They will share their favorite recipes, techniques, and trade secrets with about 5,000 foodie followers, who pay top dollar to attend.
This year, Top Chef season winner Michael Voltaggio will compete against Top Chef Masters winner Rick Bayless in the popular Classic Quickfire event. The grand closing event will feature ten chefs creating their best pork dishes at the historic Hotel Jerome.
This impressive culinary festival, sponsored by Food & Wine magazine, brings together 50 of the world’s foremost authorities on wine and food who will make presentations at 95 cooking demonstrations and wine seminars. To learn more about this event, log on to foodandwine.com/classic.
Several summer ago I attended this prestigious culinary event as a media guest and staff writer for a restaurant industry publication. Believe me, it was an unforgettable experience: from tasting samples of food delicacies, to sipping vintage wines from many nations. Internationally-famous wines presented in the Grand Tasting Pavilion that year were from Spain, Italy, Singapore, and Greece.
Before the programs started on Friday morning, I examined the star-studded schedule of the many wonderful cooking seminars. Topics ranged from cooking secrets of great French chefs to light and healthy Chinese food to the glories of Spanish food. These demonstrations occurred simultaneously, and they all sounded so intriguing that I had a hard time selecting just one for each time slot. Many of the chefs’ recipes were much too complicated for my liking, so I am sharing some great cooking hints and the simpler recipes that I received during cooking seminars.
One recipe by Joyce Goldstein, chef/owner of San Francisco’s Square One Restaurant, is for prawns (a shrimp-like shellfish) cooked in wine with garlic, hot pepper flakes and toasted almonds. Another recipe for a scrumptious, bourbon-flavored derby pie was developed for Hiram Walker liquors by Stephen Mutkowsi, an executive pastry chef at the Las Vegas Hilton Hotel. A third recipe for a delicious summer entree salad comes from the Bordeaux Wine Bureau.
Tips from great chefs
• Use only the freshest spices and herbs.
• Season with sea salt and fresh-ground pepper.
• Season as you begin and finish your cooking
• Taste as you cook
• Use two kinds of vinegar in salad dressing for a symphony of flavors
• Dissolve salt and pepper in the vinegar before adding the oil.
• Don’t drown salad greens in heavy dressings.
