The second annual Sun Valley Food & Wine Festival returns bigger and tastier, with two evenings of vintner dinners, more food demonstrations, wine seminars and a Sun Valley Resort grand tasting event—and that's just for starters.
The festival will take place in and around Ketchum and Sun Valley from Friday, June 6, through Sunday, June 8. The event will feature well known chefs such as Cat Cora from Food Network's Iron Chef, who returns to the festival for a second year, and John Tesar from the Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek in Dallas. For complete vintner dinner menus, chef bios and online event registration, visit sunvalleyfoodandwinefestival.com.
This year the festival has partnered with the Jean-Louis Palladin Foundation, which began in 2002 as a tribute to Chef Jean-Louis Palladin. It was created in memorial to Palladin's career and to mentor talent as well as encourage creativity among chefs. The foundation will be represented at the festival by three renowned chefs—Jimmy Sneed of Carena's Jamaican Grille, Anne Callaghan from the Aureole Las Vegas and Larbi Dahrouch from Aqua at the One & Only Pamilla Resort in Los Cabos.
The weekend will kick off with a VIP champagne reception at the Elkhorn Golf Club in Sun Valley from 4:30-6 p.m., where VIP festival pass holders have the opportunity to meet attending chefs as well as sample some of Elkhorn Golf Club's Chef Paul Dean's delectables. After the reception there will be an evening of vintner dinners in Ketchum and Sun Valley, which will begin at 7 p.m.
Friday vintner dinners include The Knob Hill Inn Restaurant with Chef Michael Zentner and Laurent Perrier Champagne at $125 per person. Call 726-8010 for reservations. Chandler's Restaurant with Chef Christy Fox welcomes MacRostie Winery & Vineyards with guest winemaker Steve MacRostie. The dinner is $120 per person. Call 726-1776 for reservations.
il Naso features Chef Doug Jensen paired with JM Cellars, a family-owned Washington winery, whose wines have received ratings of 90-plus points from Robert Parker's Wine Advocate. The dinner is $105 per person. Call 726-7776 for reservations. At the Lodge Dining Room in Sun Valley, Chef Scott Wamsley welcomes Winebow Importers. The dinner is $125 per person. Call 622-2800 for reservations.
On Saturday, June 7, chef demonstrations will begin at 9 a.m. at CIRO restaurant and wine bar and will continue throughout the day at Cristina's Restaurant, the Sawtooth Botanical Garden, Riccabona's, Memory Park with Chef Tom Nikel of the Sawtooth Club and Roosevelt Grille, il Naso, The Knob Hill Inn Resturant, the Sun Valley Lodge Dining Room, Baci Italian Café & Wine Bar and Frenchman's Gulch Winery.
Vintner dinners on Saturday evening will begin at 7 p.m., and will include a dinner at Buffalo Bites presenting "Pigs and Pinot Noir" with Ric Lum and special selections from Phantom Hill and Nouveaux Distributing Co. The dinner is $120 per person. Call 726-2833 for reservations.
CIRO restaurant and wine bar presents a Jean-Louis Palladin Legacy Dinner, a re-creation of the most popular Jean-Louis menu selections from his restaurant in Washington, D.C., Jean-Louis at the Watergate. Jean-Louis Palladin Foundation chefs Jimmy Sneed, Larbi Dahrouch and Anne Callaghan will be the chefs for the evening. The dinner is $150 per person. Call 727-1800 for reservations. The Jean-Louis Palladin Foundation will provide a $25 charitable contribution certificate.
At Cristina's Restaurant, Chef Patrick Jam presents L'Abuffata Tuscana with Tony Ciccarelli of Empson Selections. Call 726-4499 for price and reservations. In addition, Elkhorn Golf Club Chef Paul Dean will present Spring Flavors of the Northwest, using fresh ingredients from local and regional farmers, ranchers and wineries. The dinner is $125 per person. Call 622-3300 for reservations.
Riccabona's restaurant will pair with Stag's Leap Wines, Lava Lake Lamb and Wood River Land Trust. The dinner is $150 per person. Call 726-1166 for reservations. Wood River Land Trust will provide a $25 charitable contribution certificate.
The Roosevelt Grille presents "Local & Sustainable—The Very Best of Idaho" featuring the wines of Cold Springs Winery and winemaker Jamie Martin. Call 726-0051 for reservations. This dinner will begin at 6 p.m.
Festival events will continue through Sunday, June 8, with a "Coffee Talk" from 9-10:30 a.m. at Iconoclast Books with Cloverleaf and Grace Organics followed by the Wood River Land Trust's Morel Mushroom walk from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
The weekend of food and wine will culminate with the Sun Valley/Ketchum Grand Tasting, which will highlight Sun Valley Resort's Chef Kenny Rudolf and will feature a diverse sampling of beers, champagne, wines and vodka, and a Bartender's Cup, at Carol's Dollar Mountain Lodge in Sun Valley from 1-4 p.m. Tickets for this event are available for $35 at the door.
Tax and gratuity are inclusive for vintner dinners and advance payments are required. For festival passes and event tickets, call (866) 305-9798.
Sample tasty and exotic treats at the Sun Valley Food & Wine Festival chef demos.
Photo by David N. Seelig courtesy of the Sun Valley Guide
