Miami Dade College's Miami Culinary Institute is offering a 21st century educational experience with food and wine programs for individuals who are passionate about the preparation and enjoyment of exceptional cuisine. 

The Culinarium's program includes demonstrations and classes by some of the world's best and most cutting-edge chefs, sommeliers and beverage producers. Classes focus on several areas, including general culinary arts, baking and pastry, wine, health and wellness, and sustainability and  take place in the Institute's state-of-the-art food and wine demonstration theater. 

Culinarium courses  take place at the Miami Culinary Institute located at 415 NE 2nd Ave Miami, FL 33132. Complimentary parking is available in the garage located on NE 2nd Ave between 5th and 6th Street.  For a full list of upcoming classes and registration go to: http://www.miamidadeculinary.com/culinarium_programs.htm

The Mirazur Restaurant in Menton, South of France is the 28th Best Restaurant in the World.  Argentine-born Chef MauroCollagreco  is one of the youngest chefs/owners in France to obtain a Michelin Star.

The restaurant's seasonal menu is mostly based on local ingredients, some originating no further than the chef's own fruit and vegetable garden adjacent to the restaurant on the hill overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.

Read more...

30, Avenue Aristide Briand 06500 Menton. +33 (0)4 92 41 86 86. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

This year's no. 1 on the list is El Celler de Can Roca in Girona, Spain. Last year's top restaurant, Noma in Copenhagen,  Denmark,  is this year's no.2. Hosteria Francescana in Modena, Italy is no. 3

To find out more about The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, go to http://www.theworlds50best.com/list/1-50-winners/ where you can also purchase  The World’s 50 Best RestaurantsGuide 2013 

Alton Brown and the producer of Top Chef have teamed up for Cutthroat Kitchen, a new cooking show on the Food Network . They are seeking Executive Chefs, Sous Chefs and Private Chefs with a great personality who love winning as much as they love cooking!

The show is a more strategic/mischevious version of Chopped and chefs have the opportuinty to win up to $25,000.  The time commitment is no more than two days in Los Angeles and they will begin shooting in June.

If you are a competitive chef willing to risk it all for a chance to win a big cash prize, send an e-mail to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with your contact information. picture and why you have what it takes to be on the show

On Thursday, May 2,  6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at FIU’s Biscayne Bay Campus, join Master Winemaker Clark Smith at FIU School of Hospitality to explore the amazing world of wine and music.  Cark Smith has  been researching the impact of music on the taste of wine for more than two decades. His work has been the subject of numerous presentations and has appeared on CNN and NPR.  " A winemaker's winemaker, a consultant who knows the industry from all sides and brings curiosity, intelligence and skill to the cuvée"  - Smith is one of California’s most respected winemakers. He is also a consultant who provides high tech services for over a thousand wineries, a teacher at Napa Valley College, UC Davis extension, and CSU Fresno, where he has a reputation for making complex concepts accessible. 
This fascinating event  begins with a meet-the-winemaker reception followed by a very special tasting and lecture in the Southern Wine & Spirits Beverage Management Center, a state-of-the-art facility for the study of wine.  FIU's Chaplin School of Hospitality and Tourism Management Biscayne Bay Campus,3000 NE 151st Street,North Miami, Fla, 33160.  Cost: $55 To register: https://hospitality.fiu.edu/payment/ihter/  305-919-4138   http://hm.fiu.edu/winemusic/

Watch Pilot Episode: Urban Farming on PBS. See more from Food Forward.

The World Chocolate Masters, the world’s premier culinary competition devoted solely to the art of chocolate, has invited Fort Myers-based chocolatier Chef Norman Love to be the head jury member for the 2013 competition to be held Oct. 28 to 30 in Paris.

Love, chef/owner of Norman Love Confections, will oversee a group of 10 international jury members that will be judging assignments related to artistic and technical skills of the contestants. His role will include briefing the jury members at the beginning of each assignment focusing on the different points that should be considered, interviews with moderators and international journalists, and tasting but not voting except in the case of a tie.

“I am humbled by this appointment,” said Love who was a jury member at the 2011 World Chocolate Masters event.. “The World Chocolate Masters is recognized as the world’s most prestigious chocolate competition.”

The Fort Myers Chocolate Salon, at 11380 Lindbergh Blvd., is open Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Saturday from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Naples Chocolate Salon, which also serves artisan gelato, at 3747 Tamiami Trail North in Parkshore Centre, is open during the holidays on Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.

Artisan Gelato by Norman Love, at 11300 Lindbergh Blvd., Suite 112, off Daniels Parkway in Fort Myers, east of I-75, is open Monday through Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. For more information, visit www.normanloveconfections.com.

Every two years, the bodegas of Jerez, Spain, join together to host the International Copa Jerez Competition, where chef and sommelier teams representing eight nations compete to see who can create the perfect food and Sherry matches.

Now accepting submissions from chef and sommelier teams nationwide to earn the right to represent the USA at the International Competition in Jerez, Spain, in October of 2013! All submissions must be received at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it by no later than May 7th, 2013

Now in its fifth year, Copa Jerez has become a world renowned event that crowns the chef / sommelier team who create the best food and Sherry pairings.  The competition attracts the best chefs and sommeliers from Spain, the United Kingdom, Holland, Germany, the United States, Denmark, Belgium, and Japan, with each participating country sending their national team to compete at the 5th International Copa Jerez Competition in October of this year.

Participants must be a chef/sommelier team from a working restaurant, who are challenged to create the perfect food and Sherry match for each of three courses — a starter, main course, and dessert.  Teams may select any style of Sherry to match with each course, but no more than two wines can be from a single bodega.

During the live finals, an elite judging panel with experience and expertise in Sherry, wine pairing, and the culinary arts, will evaluate the dishes based on presentation, marriage of Sherry and food, and the most articulate description and knowledgeable explanation of the match.  Past judges have included Juan Mari Arzak, Juli Soler, Jancis Robinson, MW, Pontus Elofsson, Jordi Roca, Heston Blumenthal, and our own Julian Serrano, Michael Franz, and Doug Frost MS, MW.

Past sommelier /chef teams from the USA, who have competed at the highest level and made us all very proud, include:  Seamus Mullen and Roger Kugler of New York, Andy Nusser and Nancy Selzer of New York, Tim Fitzgerald and Curt Herrmann of Tulsa, and last year's US National competition winners and international representatives, from the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs, Bertrand Bouquin and Tim Baldwin.

For more information about the competition and for the complete rules and regulations please contact Kate Burgess at  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Buena Suerte!

Starting on Thursday, April 25^th 7:00 p.m. – 9:30 p.m Joey’s Italian Café in Wynwood  offers a series of al fresco wine tastings to showcase a rotating roster of wines from around the globe, paired with light bites prepared by Veneto-born Executive Chef Ivo Mazzon.

This week features tastings from Argentina’s Ferllen Winery and importer of premium Italian wines Vinifera Imports hosted by representatives from both companies as well as a buffet with sausage braised with red wine, assorted canapés, Italian meats and cheeses and more. Space is limited and reservations are required. $30 per person. Joey’s Italian Café,   2506 N.W. 2^nd Avenue in Wynwood (305) 438-0488 www.joeyswynwood.com.

www.PiattelliVineyards.com

Now open to the public is Piattelli Vineyards’ new, state-of-the-art winery and vineyards located in the town of Cafayate, Argentina.   

This new winery  owned by  Minnesota natives Jon and Arlene Malinski adds an 80 thousand case capacity to the 40 thousand produced by Piattelli's Luján de Cuyo, Mendoza estate. Piattelli currently produces Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay, Torrontés, Rosé, and two wines which blend Malbec, Cabernet, and Merlot grapes: Capriccio on the Premium Reserve level ($10-$20), and Trinitá on the Grand Reserve level ($20-$30). Piattelli owner Jon Malinski is not a Napa Valley native with a legacy in the wine industry, but hails instead from Minnesota with a legacy in the office equipment business. He and wife of nearly 50 years, Arlene, discovered a deep affection for Argentina after visiting in 2001.

With less than 2% of the vineyards in Argentina located in Salta, this initiative reinforces local efforts to establish Cafayate as an up-and-coming wine production region and prime tourism destination. Presently Piattelli is one of the few US companies to have invested so heavily in the Cafayate Valley.   

The new winery uses its hillside location to drive one of Argentina’s few gravity-flow vinification systems, which maximizes flavor by preventing grapes from breaking prematurely, seeds from being crushed, and juice from being oxygenated and heated. What’s more, Piattelli uses innovative concrete egg wine fermenters whose curved shape optimizes circulation and increases quality by forcing the juice, pulp, and skins into more constant contact.

A significant challenge Malinski faced by locating in Cafayate was the extremely rocky land. Thousands of boulders were removed before the vineyards could be planted and the winery built. Despite these obstacles, the valley is ideal with soil that’s perfect for grapevine cultivation and a position on the valley’s slope that avoids both frost and hail—forces that ruin vintages. “With its arid–clean air, crystal–clear water, and nutrient–rich soil,” proclaims principal winemaker Valeria Antolin, “our vineyards are perfect for cultivating some of the most desirable grapes in the world.” Piattelli has 477 acres in the valley, which is divided into two farms at an altitude of 5,577 feet above sea level.

Featuring spectacular vistas, stunning scenery, and a variety of colorful terrains to explore, Cafayate Valley is a desirable tourist destination. There are many activities to enjoy including wine tours, horse-trail rides, bike tours, and shopping. Piattelli itself offers wine industry summits, art exhibitions, cultural programs, and other activities throughout the year. Piattelli’s restaurant, the area’s largest led by top chef, Facundo Belardinelli, features progressive fusions of flavors as well as unique food-wine pairings.

Current sell states: WA, TX, OR, NY, NM, NV, MO, MN, MA, MD, LA, KT, IN, IL, GA, FL, DC, DE, CO, AZ  www.PiattelliVineyards.com

Arriving in Miami on Sunday, April 21, 4 p.m. (VIP); 5 p.m. (general admission) at the Four Seasons Hotel Miami, Cochon 555, a traveling culinary competition and tasting tour created to promote sustainable farming of heritage breed pigs, gathers together five chefs, five pigs and five wineries at each event.

The competing chefs are Aaron Brooks (Four Season Hotel Miami); Timon Balloo (Sugarcane); Jeffrey McInnis (Yardbird); David Thomas (The Bazaar) and Cesar Zapata (The Federal).  Guests will be treated to an epic pork feast alongside wines from five small family-owned wineries including Elk Cove Vineyards, Bethel Heights, Hamacher, Montinore, and Alloro plus special tastings from Vibrant Rioja, Anchor Brewing, Eminent Domaine, Crispin Ciders, and Illegal Mezcal. Twenty judges and 400 guests help decide the winning chef, who is crowned the Prince of Pork and will compete against other regional winners at the finale Grand Cochon event at the FOOD & WINE Classic in Aspen on Sunday, June 16.

VIP guests receive early access to the event and special offerings including a special tasting with three competing chefs, access to "Punch Kings" - a new cocktail competition featuring Breckenridge Bourbon and six local bartenders, a VIP-only gift bag, the all-new Tartare Bar, Rappahannock River Oysters, and reserve wines and spirits.  Four Seasons Hotel Miami - Official Host of Cochon 555, 1435 Brickell Ave  Miami, FL 33131 Tickets:    $125 (general admission) and $200 (VIP); to purchase tickets, visit www.cochon555.com

Your friendly "neighborhood" sommelier Charlie Arturaola returns, with a superman's palate in "The duel of Wine". This is a sequel to his first film " Caminos del Vino", in which he loses his palate. The wine trailer below was aired in this year's Vinitaly Expo which took place in Verona.

Check, Please! South Florida returns to WPBT2 on Monday, May 20 at 7:30 p.m. with the Viewer’s Choice episode with host Michelle Bernstein and  Radio Personality/Vineyard Owner, Paul Castronovo, Actress and Celebrity Interviewer Miss Finesse and Local Legend/Business Owner, Don Bailey.

Leading up to the premiere, Check, Please! South Florida Tasting Tour of Coconut Grove, on Tuesday, May 14, begins at Whole Foods Market, where host Michelle Bernstein and guests will feast on a special appetizer from Michy’s before heading to  Happy Wine The Grove, El Carajo, Le Bouchon Du Grove and Berries in the Grove. Tickets are limited and will be available to the public on April 15.  For more information on Season 10 or the tasting tour, visit www.checkpleasefl.com.

 Listen to an interview with Movies/TV Actor Kyle MacLachlan,winemaker of Pursued by Bear, Walla Walla, Washington State on FOOD & WINE TALK

Motion picture and TV actor Kyle MacLachlan — Sex and the City and Desperate Housewives — poured tastings of his 2008 Pursued by Bear Cabernet Sauvignon and Baby Bear Syrah, new vintages from his Walla Walla-based wine partnership with Eric Dunham at ByWines’ headquarters in Miami.

By Wines’ addition of Pursued by Bear, a Dunham MacLachlan Cabernet Sauvignon and Baby Bear Syrah from Walla Walla, Columbia Valley, to its portfolio of fine wines reflects an exclusive marketing and sales agreement to represent Kyle MacLachlan’s wines in Florida.

Kyle MacLachlan’s interest in wine started early on in the 1970’s (he didn't like beer), and when director David Lynch, who cast MacLachlan in the movie Dune in his early 20s, discovered that the famed Chateau Lynch-Bages was a Bordeaux Grand cru, he began exchanging bottles with the actor.

But it is on the occasion of his wedding to Desiree Gruber in Miami in 2002 that he came across Dunham Cellars and befriended winemaker Eric Dunham.

Shortly after, he approached him with the idea of collaborating, and the partners decided to produce Pursued by Bear, a Cabernet Sauvignon, made at Dunham Cellars, in Walla Walla, soon followed by a hearty Syrah.

The name, suggested over dinner by fellow actor Fred Savage, comes from a quirky stage direction ("Exit, pursued by a bear") in Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale. MacLachlan says his foray into winemaking was a labor of love that he dreamed about for years.

2008 Pursued by Bear Cabernet Sauvignon, Columbia Valley $75   . 78% Cab Sauv; 11% Merlot, 11% Syrah. alcohol 14.2%  A creative collaboration between Dunham Cellars Senior Winemaker, Eric Dunham, and actor Kyle MacLachlan. sourced from the Lewis Estate Vineyard and the Phinny Hill Vineyard, the highly structured Bordeaux blend delivers an opulent nose of roasted coffee, black cherries,  plums, hints of anise and herbs leading to a fruit forward, layered wine with an interesting mineral element and well-balanced  tannins with a persistent finish. 411 cases. Wine should keep for at least 15 years.

2008 Baby Bear  Syrah, Columbia Valley $45. This  100% Syrah from  Lewis Estate and Phinny Hill vineyards spent 24 months in 100% French oak. 14.2% alchohol. It is an inky Syrah, rich and opulent, redolent with earthy aromas and hints of mountain berries, licorice and spice.

By Wines Manager Victor Passalacqua is responsible for the strategic direction and exclusive distribution of this brand in Florida. For additional information: www.bywines.com

Pierrette Trichet, Cellar Master of the House of Rémy Martin in Cognac, France, and her deputy Cellar Master Baptiste Loiseau were among selected guests from 17 countries gathered in the splendid setting of Udaipur, ‘the City of Sunrise,’ in Rajasthan, the capital of the ancient kingdom of Mewar, home to the world’s most ancient surviving royal dynasty,  to launch the LOUIS XIII RARE CASK 42,6, the second in the history of the House of Remy Martin.

A “Rare Cask” is a single, extremely rare barrel among the hundreds of century-old tierçons that will one day go to make LOUIS XIII Cognac. This Rare Cask is sufficient for just 738 decanters and takes its name from its unique 42,6 degrees of alcohol.

LOUIS XIII RARE CASK 42,6 blends 1,200 eau-de-vies, 100 years in the making, here featuring salient aromas that are unique to this one precious cask – notes of plum and dates, mingling with flavors of gingerbread, prune stone and ginger, punctuated by a final touch of tobacco leaf.

LOUIS XIII RARE CASK 42,6 - all decanters will be serial numbered from 001 to 738, available from LOUIS XIII certified retailers, best palaces, hotels and restaurants (LOUIS XIII Fortress network). Suggested retail price, 18 000 € (US$ 23,151.30, but who’s counting?)

Press Release -- Cheerwine, www.cheerwine.com,  the legendary soft drink of the South, kicks off its third annual search for Miss Cheerwine by making it the company’s largest search to date.

Females between the ages of 21 and 29,  residents of Alabama, Delaware, Kentucky, West Virginia and Washington D.C. will be eligible to enter, as well as those from North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Maryland, Virginia, Florida and Georgia, are encouraged to apply for the year-long position, which will include representing the iconic brand and making appearances at select sporting events, concerts and media opportunities.

The contest will open on March 4, and the deadline for final submissions is April 5. Cheerwine judges will choose three finalists, who will each create a video introducing themselves to fans via the brand’s Facebook page. Public voting will determine which applicant best embodies Cheerwine’s signature effervescence and individuality. Miss Cheerwine 2013 will be announced on or about June 5.

For more information on Miss Cheerwine, to vote, apply or view program guidelines and requirements, visit the Miss Cheerwine Search tab on Cheerwine’s Facebook page at Facebook.com/Cheerwine .

Owned and distributed by the Carolina Beverage Corporation and Cheerwine Bottling Company in Salisbury, N.C., the 96-year-old company is still privately owned and managed by the same founding family.