03/24 CHEF BROOKE WILLIAMSON, FOOD + WINE FESTIVAL PALM DESERT PRESENTED BY AGUA CALIENTE CASINO RESORT AND SPA, BRIAN HUNNINGS, SHERATON MAUI RESORT & SPA

CHEF BROOKE WILLIAMSON - TOP CHEF CONTESTANT & RESTAURANT OWNER - FOOD + WINE FESTIVAL PALM DESERT PRESENTED BY AGUA CALIENTE CASINO RESORT & SPA

When & Where

• The fifth annual Food + Wine Palm Desert takes place from Friday, March 27, 2015 through Sunday, March 29 in the heart of Palm Desert’s famed El Paseo shopping district 

What to Expect 

• The three-day event brings together the brightest and most-inspired chefs from around the country to celebrate food, wine and cocktail tastings 
• The event will include celebrity chef demos, wine seminars, and engaging panels from industry insiders 
• The James Beard Luncheon will take place on Friday, March 27 from 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. 
• For the first time in history, it will feature four powerhouse female chefs including Cat Cora, Gale Gand, Lulu Powers, and me each performing a live demo 
• Food + Wine Festival Palm Desert presented by Agua Caliente Casino Resort & Spa will donate a portion of the luncheon proceeds—including from its live auction—to the Friends of James Beard Foundation, which raises scholarship funds for culinary students 
• Saturday and Sunday will feature live cooking demonstrations from the nation’s most celebrated culinary personalities including Ari Taymor (chef of Alma, named a “Best Restaurant in America” by Bon Appétit) and Zack Bruell (James Beard Award-winning chef, owner of six restaurants) 
• Grand Tastings include sampling from over 50 restaurants and 80 premium wineries and spirits purveyors 

Tickets 

• Grand Tasting tickets are $90 per person/per day and include access to all chef demos, as well as unlimited food, wine, and spirit tastings 
• VIP Grand Tasting tickets are $125 per person/per day and include all access chef demos; unlimited food, wine, and spirit tastings; early entrance to the festival; caviar and champagne tasting; and an exclusive celebrity chef demo 
• Tickets to the James Beard Luncheon range from $125-$150 per person depending on seat selection 
• Guests may purchase tickets and view the latest festival additions, schedules, and more by visiting www.palmdesertfoodandwine.com 

ABOUT CHEF BROOKE WILLIAMSON

A native of Los Angeles, Brooke Williamson began her culinary career at a young age as a teacher’s assistant at the Epicurean Institute of Los Angeles. Williamson began working in professional kitchens at the age of 18 as a pastry assistant at Fenix at the Argyle Hotel under Chef Ken Frank. As her star quality began to shine, Chef Michael McCarty took notice and invited the young chef to work at his acclaimed Santa Monica restaurant, Michael’s under executive Chef Sang Yoon. Within one year she became sous chef at Michael's. Two years later, Williamson headed to the East Coast to intern at the celebrated restaurant Daniel in New York. She then returned to Los Angeles, where she was appointed executive chef at L.A. restaurant, Boxer. Williamson then continued her culinary career as executive chef of Zax in Brentwood, raising the bar on seasonal American cuisine by infusing local ingredients from Southern California with more diverse and global flavors. During her time at Zax, she was honored by media outlets such as the Los Angeles Times and Forbes as a culinary mastermind. She was also invited to cook at the James Beard House, being the youngest ever female chef to do so. After leaving Zax, Williamson and fellow Zax partner Nick Roberts opened Amuse Café and later Beechwood in Venice, where Williamson and Roberts earned the title "Rising Star Chefs" by StarChefs. In 2010, Williamson also became certified by The Court of Master Sommeliers.
Brooke now owns and operates Playa Del Rey’s immensely popular gastropub The Tripel and Redondo Beach staple the Hudson House. Her most recent venture, 4-in-1 concept Playa Provisions, opened June 2014.

Brooke was also the first runner-up on Bravo’s “Top Chef: Seattle” and starred in MTV’s cooking competition series “House of Food”. Brooke recently competed on Bravo’s “Top Chef Duels” and Esquire’s “Knife Fight”. She will also be featured in the PBS series Moveable Feast, airing in early 2015

WWW.PALMDESERTFOODANDWINE.COM


BRIAN HUNNINGS - EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT MANAGER, SHERATON MAUI RESORT & SPA - NATIONWIDE COCKTAIL COMPETITION AND TABLE TO FARM EVENT TO TAKE PLACE AT SHERATON MAUI 

NATIONWIDE COCKTAIL COMPETITION TO TAKE PLACE AT SHERATON MAUI RESORT & SPA

Sheraton Maui Resort & Spa and OCEAN Organic Vodka have partnered together to find the Ultimate OCEAN Cocktail with a national and statewide recipe contest. Recipe submissions have been pouring in over the last two months from across the state and United States. Five finalists from the State of Hawaii and one finalist representing the other 49 states will face off in the Ultimate Cocktail Showdown on Saturday, April 11, 2015 at 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm at the Sheraton Maui Resort & Spa’s Ocean Lawn.

The Ultimate OCEAN Showdown features the top six finalist cocktails selected from hundreds of entries.  Each finalist is paired with a celebrity chef as well as a Maui-based non-profit organization.  Guests along with a panel of judges will be asked to vote for their favorite cocktail as well as “best food pairing”.  Following the theme of Table to Farm, each chef will create a dish to pair with the finalist cocktail.  The winning cocktail recipe will be named Ultimate OCEAN Cocktail and will be featured on the menus of Sheraton Maui Resort & Spa for one year with a portion of proceeds from the sale of the cocktail being donated to the paired Maui-based non-profit organization throughout the year.

Celebrity chefs participating in the event include Lee Ann Wong from Koko Head Café in Kaimuki Oahu, Shawn Gavin from the St. Regis Princeville Kauai, Sheldon Simeon from Migrant in Wailea Maui, Hank Adaniya from Hank’s Haute Dogs in Kaka‘ako Oahu, Will Chen From HiFreshBox in Manoa Oahu  and Andrew Le from The Pig and the Lady in Honolulu Oahu. Entertainment for the evening will include a performance by CrazyFingers. Event ticket holders will have free entry to the Afterparty at Black Rock Lounge.

Tickets are on sale now for $40 per person ($45 day of) when purchased online at OceanVodka.com or by calling (808) 550-8457.  $25 of each ticket sale will be donated to six Maui based non-profit organizations including:  Hui O Wa‘a Kaulua, Women Helping Women, Make A Wish Foundation, Grow Some Good, Imua Family Services, and Whale Trust.
About the Sheraton Maui Resort & Spa

Sheraton Maui Resort & Spa is where the legend of Ka‘anapali began. Situated on Ka‘anapali Beach at historic Pu‘u Keka‘a, Black Rock, the oceanfront resort is nestled among 23 acres of tropical landscaping with 83 percent of the resort’s 508 rooms and suites facing the ocean.

Sheraton Maui Resort & Spa was named the Starwood Hotels & Resorts 2007 “Hotel of the Year” for the Sheraton brand, and recognized in Conde Nast Travelers’ 2012 Top 25 Hawaiian Resorts. Sheraton Maui Resort & Spa has also appeared in TRAVEL + LEISURE magazine’s World’s Best Awards “Top Resorts in Hawaii” in 2007, 2008 and 2013. For more information about Sheraton Maui Resort & Spa please visit http://www.sheraton-maui.com.

TABLE TO FARM MAY 22 AND MAY 23
Table to Farm is a two-day culinary event beginning with a farm-inspired wine paired five-course dinner at the oceanfront resort’s Black Rock Kitchen.  Led by the Executive Chef Greg Gaspar, guests enjoy tasting and learning about Maui grown ingredients in gourmet dishes along with hand-selected wine pairings.  The winemaker and farmer join the chef to engage in a talk story session with the dinner guests.  The following morning guests may join a private tour to a local farm to see firsthand how the farm operates. The farm tour continues with a cooking demonstration and gourmet lunch in the field.  For our upcoming March 20th and 21st events we are partnering with Fresh Island Herbs and Maui Wines.  The farm tour will take our guests up to Fresh Island Herbs to see how they grow micro greens, root plants, citrus, avocado and more.  Following the tour of the farm, we will head up to Maui Wines vineyard – an area not open to the public. Here we will tour the vineyard, taste wines right in the location the grapes are grown, and have a cooking demo by Executive Chef Greg Gaspar and a gourmet lunch in the vineyard.  This is a great showcase of our chefs working with our local farmers and taking the farm to table concept a step further.

This is the second in a series of four Table to Farm events at Sheraton Maui Resort & Spa- each time partnering with a different local farm and winery (wineries may be located outside of Hawaii – in this March event it is not).

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