Celebrity Chef Lineup For 2nd Annual Food & Wine Festival September 14-16, 2007
 Foxwoods Resort Casino, the world’s largest casino, is once again teaming up with some of the world’s most prestigious chefs for the second annual Foxwoods Food & Wine Festival. Featuring world-renowned chefs Lidia Bastianich, Giada De Laurentiis, Harold Dieterle, Dave Lieberman and Ming Tsai, the three-day festival, which is sponsored by Food & Wine magazine, runs September 14-16, 2007 at Foxwoods. Tickets for this star-studded culinary celebration go on sale today, May 8, 2007.
Showcasing an array of national and local culinary talent, as well as esteemed wine and spirits personalities, the festival will include lavish events, cooking demonstrations, wine and spirits seminars and walk-around tasting events. A portion of the weekend's proceeds will provide scholarships to students studying in the College of Culinary Arts at Johnson & Wales University.
"Once again we have a supremely talented line up of chefs and we couldn’t be more excited about this year’s food and wine festival," said Dennis Khanh, Vice President of Food and Beverage at Foxwoods. “As we continue to enhance our food and beverage program we are continually looking at ways to enhance the guest experience and are confident that this year’s event will be an extraordinary success.”
The event will include:
- a sumptuous cocktail reception and gala dinner prepared by chefs Jimmy Bradley, Michael Schlow, Andrew Shotts and Laurent Tourondel.
- the Festival’s Grand Tasting on Saturday and Sunday, where guests will have the opportunity to sample fine wines and spirits in a lively walk-around atmosphere. Here, award-winning chefs from across the region will serve samplings of their signature dishes with local purveyors showcasing savory artisanal cheeses, exquisite chocolates, baked goods and more.
- Celebrity chefs will also meet their fans and hold book-signing sessions in Foxwoods’ Storyteller Pavilion throughout the weekend.
- celebrity chef cooking demonstrations and wine and spirits seminars, where guests can learn secrets of the trade from the all-star line-up of chefs and distinguished talent.
- guest chefs from throughout the region joining the chefs of Foxwoods for a night of pageantry at an extravagant Masquerade themed dine-around on Saturday.
- Michel Nischan of the Dressing Room restaurant in Westport, CT recreating the southern cuisine he enjoyed as a child with a Gospel Brunch. Featuring the heavenly sounds of a gospel choir and a little southern hospitality, this special encore event promises to be yet another feast for the senses.
- a “Celebrity Chef Charity Poker Tournament,” where guests can watch their favorite chefs go “all in” to raise funds and awareness for their favorite charities.
"We are delighted to again be collaborating with our partner, Foxwoods Resort Casino, on this prestigious culinary weekend," says Food & Wine Publisher J.P. Kyrillos. “Building on the success of last year’s event, Foxwoods is continuing to lead the way with an impressive program of events for those who are passionate about fine food and wine.”
"Being able to experience an event of this magnitude and work with the scope of chefs involved, is an unmatched experience in a hands on environment for our students, one that we are proud to be able to offer them through our relationship with Foxwoods and this remarkable festival," said Dr. John J. Bowen, Johnson & Wales University President.
This year’s Festival brings a diverse range of culinary talent from across the country including:
 Lidia Bastianich is a cookbook author, restaurateur and the star of a national cooking show on public television. She is the chef/owner of four very successful New York City restaurants-Felidia, Becco, Esca, Del Posto and Lidia’s in Pittsburgh and Kansas City. Her best-selling cookbooks include her latest, Lidia’s Italy -- a companion book to her new television series, as well as Lidia’s Family Table, Lidia’s Italian-American Kitchen, Lidia’s Italian Table and La Cucina di Lidia. She is founder and president of Tavola Productions, an entertainment company that produces high quality broadcast productions including Lidia’s Italy. In addition, Lidia has developed her own line of specialty sauces that are sold at discriminating retail establishments nationally.
- Giada De Laurentiis is one of America's best loved food celebrities. Born in Rome, De Laurentiis grew up in a large Italian family steeped in the culture of food. After graduating from the University of California in Los Angeles, De Laurentiis trained at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris and worked in the kitchens of The Ritz-Carlton Fine Dining Room and Wolfgang Puck’s Spago in Beverly Hills. Today, she's the host of two shows on Food Network-“Everyday Italian” and the recently launched “Giada’s Weekend Getaways”—-and is a judge on the wildly popular “Next Food Network Star.” She also appears regularly as a contributing correspondent for the “Today” show and is the author of three cookbooks.
 Harold Dieterle’s strong Italian-American upbringing is what first inspired him to be a chef. Raised on his mother’s Sicilian cooking, Harold was destined to cook. His middle school home economics class (where he admits to studying the girls more than the recipes), and his first job as a dishwasher at The Marina on Fire Island fostered his love of the kitchen, and taught him to appreciate the various cultural cuisines of his kitchen crew. A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, Harold has spent time studying cuisine abroad, and in the kitchens of several acclaimed restaurants including Della Femina in the Hamptons, Manhattan’s Red Bar and one of Jimmy Bradley’s best loved restaurants, The Harrison. In 2005, Harold was offered the opportunity to become a top chef in his own right as winner of Bravo’s inaugural "Top Chef" TV show. The money he earned from the show is helping launch the restaurant of his dreams, Perilla, which opened May, 2007.
- Dave Lieberman's love affair with food began as a child and as a student at Yale University, he enlisted friends to produce a local-access cooking show, “Campus Cuisine,” which featured Lieberman as host. Dave later launched a campus catering service and went on to author "Young and Hungry: Making the Most of Fresh and Affordable Food" and "Dave's Dinners: A Fresh Approach to Home-Cooked Meals." He is the host of “Good Deal with Dave Lieberman” on Food Network, and also the host of “Eat This” and “Dave Does,” the exclusive online-only “webisodes” about culinary trends and travel on foodnetwork.com.
- Ming Tsai is the chef and co-owner of Blue Ginger in Wellesley, Massachusetts, which received three stars from the Boston Globe and was named “Best New Restaurant” by Boston Magazine in its first year. Tsai has since won the James Beard Foundation's “Best Chef: Northeast” award and is currently host and executive producer of public television’s "Simply Ming.” Tsai's cooking adventure series, “Ming's Quest,” can currently be seen on Fine Living Network, along with classic episodes of "East Meets West with Ming Tsai," the series for which Tsai won an Emmy in 1998. Tsai is the author of three cookbooks and has created a line of foodstuffs for Target.
Tickets for the second annual Foxwoods Food & Wine Festival will be available for purchase online at www.foxwoodsfoodandwine.com or by calling 1-800-FOXWOODS.
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