CALIFORNIA DATES PARTICIPATES AT ART OF FOOD & WINE
EVENT
Three Top Chefs Present Award
Winning Date Dishes at
Opening
Night & Grand Tasting Events
INDIO, CA.
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(October 1, 2008)
For the second year, the California Date
Administrative Committee (CDAC) is
participating in Palm Desert’s third annual
Art of Food
& Wine weekend, Nov. 6 – 9 at Desert Willow Golf Resort and Desert
Springs JW Marriott Resort & Spa, with three
award winning chefs who competed at the 2008
California Date Chef Competition.
The Art of Food
& Wine, destined to become Palm Desert’s
premiere food arts festival, attracts food,
wine and art enthusiasts from throughout
California and across the country.
This year
Roy Luna, executive chef at The
Trilogy, will be creating a rendition of his
award winning “Date and Moroccan Spiced Pork
Lollipop” during the Opening Night “Food
Flight” at Desert Willow Golf Resort.
Participating chefs will compete in the
quest to be crowned “Food Flight Favorite.”
Grouped into flights, as assigned a
specific ingredient with which to create a
signature dish, competitors will be judged
by a panel of Celebrity Chefs as well as by
party guests.
Luna won 2008
Best of Show at the Date Chef Competition
for this dish and has participated in
numerous culinary competitions and
represented The Trilogy at Chili cook offs
and Salsa Festivals since becoming executive
chef in 2006.
Leanne Kamekona, executive
chef of Rancho Las Palmas Resort & Spa ™,
will offer tastings of her award winning
“New Mexico Chile and Date Crusted Brandt
Filet Mignon” during the Grand Tasting on
Saturday, Nov.
8 from 11 a.m.
to 4 p.m.
at the CDAC booth.
Kamekona won First Place Entrée and People’s
Choice at the 2008 Calif.
Date Chef Competition.
This popular, top-notch chef also
took double trophies Best of Show and
People’s Choice awards at the 2005 Date Chef
Competition.
The Hawaiian native is an American Chef’s
Association certified executive chef and
graduate of the University of Hawaii at Hilo.
Joel Rettzo,
pastry chef at Spotlight 29 Casino, will be
offering samples of his “Trio of Dates: Date
Shake, Apple Tart and Date Truffle Log”
during the Grand Tasting on Sunday, Nov 9
from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. also at the CDAC booth
This complex dish garnered him the
2008 First Place Dessert winner at
California Date Chef Competition.
A 1999 Culinary Institute of America
graduate, Rettzo first got his taste of the
culinary arts at age 14 when working as a
prep cook for several Italian restaurants in
his hometown, New Hazelton, Penn.
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