First lady Michelle Obama encouraged the restaurant industry to lead the effort against childhood obesity in remarks made to the National Restaurant Association’s board of directors last week. Mrs. Obama met with industry leaders to praise them for the work already done and to stress that the fight is far from over.  

“Research shows that kids consume more saturated fat and less fiber and calcium when they eat out, and the meals in restaurants have twice as many calories as the meals they eat at home,” said Mrs. Obama. She added that restaurants are responsible for one-third of the calories kids consume and that the decisions restaurateurs make can have a real impact on the way America’s children eat.

In March of 2010 the first lady launched her “Let’s Move” campaign to knock out childhood obesity within a generation. Many observers have called Mrs. Obama’s goal highly ambitious, as one out of three children in the U.S. are obese.

Photo and video coverage of the First Lady’s remarks is available on www.foodchannelpro.com  .

The Museum of Art, Fort Lauderdale, Nova Southeastern University, continues its wine and food pairings with art during its “Art of Wine and Food” tasting series.

The once-a-month series will be hosted from 6 -7:30 p.m. by Stephanie Miskew,  author of the blog Stephanie Savors the Moment and contributor to wine guru Gary Vaynerchuck’s Web site, Cork’d.  The food will be prepared by Chef John Paul Kline of Delray Beach-based John Paul Custom Cuisine.  

All wine tastings will take place from 6 to 7:30 p.m. The Museum’s galleries are open at 5 p.m. for a complimentary viewing of the exhibitions. The Museum closes at 8 p.m. $30 per person (credit cards accepted).Museum of Art, One East Las Olas Boulevard at Andrews Avenue, Fort Lauderdale. For more information call 954-262-0239  www.moafl.org

On Thursday, October 7,  To celebrate more than 90 years in winemaking, The Mondavi family will auction two special 27 liter bottles of wine (the bottles – blends -  are called Siamo Insieme, which translates as “We are Together”) in benefit of  Make-A-Wish Foundation, at a four-course  interactive dinner  broadcast simultaneously to 54 Morton’s The Steakhouse private dining rooms throughout the US via a state-of-the-art satellite broadcast technology. Tickets cost $175 per person and can be obtained by visiting www.mortons.com/celebratingthelegendaryblend .

Register to win a trip for two to Napa Valley by visiting www.mortons.com/sweepstakes/.  One lucky winner and a guest will enjoy A-list access to Morton's and the Mondavi Families: Celebrating the Legendary Blend event. The winner will be notified the week of September 19, 2010 

During the month of September, Fleming's offers a tasting of 20 unique wines each Thursday evening for $25 as part of the Fleming's 100, an award-winning collection of 100 wines by the glass. The new list features wines from Europe, South America and Australia, as well as notable up-and-coming boutique wines. Space is limited

Fleming's at 2525 Ponce now to reserve. Call 305-569-7995. http://www.flemingssteakhouse.com

On Tuesday, September 21, 2010 from 1:00 PM - 5:30 PM  (an event for Trade and Press)leading food, wine, travel and spirits authority Anthony Dias Blue, the executive director and founder of the San Francisco World Spirits Competition as well as the San Francisco International Wine Competition will host Tasting Panel Tour 2010- Miami, The Tasting Panel Magazine's 4th Annual Tour, featuring a selection of Double Gold Winners from the San Francisco International Wine Competition, followed by the Harlem Shot Competition sanctioned by the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. http://tptour2010mia.eventbrite.com /

Listen to an interview on Food & Wine Talk with Anthony Dias Blue

During the Forty-Seventh National Wine Week™  from September  27 through October 1, more than 200 different wines and over 25,000 glasses of wine will be served over the course of 5 days in 8 locations of The Smith & Wollensky Restaurant Group nationwide, as  patrons sample up to 10 featured daily domestic and international wines for $10, with the purchase of an individual lunch entrée at participating Smith & Wollensky restaurants.

The Smith & Wollensky Restaurant Group is a recipient of the 2010 Wine Spectator Award of Excellence – the Wine Spectator magazine award it has received for twenty-three consecutive years.

 “Since its inception, National Wine Week has always been about wine education and knowledge of particular varietals and regions. Smith & Wollensky has been a huge supporter of domestic and international wineries, and we delight in introducing our guests to as-yet undiscovered gems from emerging independent wineries. If you’ve ever been curious about trying new wines, then you won’t want to miss this event!” said Smith & Wollensky President Michael Feighery.  

 National Wine Week is available to Smith & Wollensky diners anywhere à la carte dining is offered within the restaurant. Lunch service is between 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. in all participating units. 

To learn more about The Forty-Seventh National Wine Week at Smith & Wollensky, visit www.nationalwineweek.com  Visit www.smithandwollensky.com , click on the National Wine Week banner to access the wine lists, or click on the reservations link to reserve a table.  

October 21-25, The eighth International Salone del Gusto will be held in Turin, Italy, at the Lingotto Fiere exhibition center  together with Terra Madre, the world meeting of food communities. These two biennial events, though different in character, have by now become two inseparable and interconnected halves, in constant dialog with each other.

Taste Workshops, educational exploration and deeper engagement with the food production process, Theaters of Taste and Dinner Dates where artisan producers, academics and chefs, wine connoisseurs and novice food lovers can come together in a spirit of exchange and friendship.

 Great chefs from across the globe will participate, including: Alain Ducasse, the grand master of France, Kylie Kwong of Billy Kwong in Sydney (Australia), Petter Nilsson of La Gazzetta in Paris and Michel Bras of Bras in Laguiole (France), Shin Ichiro Takagi of Zeniya in Kanazawa (Japan), Alex Gares of Soneva Fushi on Kunfunadhoo Island (Maldives), Oriol Rovira of Rural Els Casals in Sagas, Catalonia (Spain). The great names of Italian cuisine will also be present, including Massimo Bottura, Moreno Cedroni, Chicco Cerea, Gennaro Esposito, Davide Oldani and the Santini family. And not least the best of the Osterie d'Italia, and the restaurants involved in the Alliance between Chefs and Slow Food Presidia.

Food products that are at risk of extinction and are within the international Presidia will be showcased, including the Basque Euskal Txerria pig and amphora wines of Georgia.

Wine tastings Agronomists, enologists and biologists will also be present to explain wine across different areas of provenance and different styles in the vineyard and the cellar. The winemakers of the Vignerons d'Europe will explain the sense of limit and the concept of authenticity by discussing the results in the glass. There will also be classic vertical tastings of wines through their various vintages, excursions into faraway or little-explored territories like New Zealand or Istria, and the tried and tested happy pairings of food and wine, full expression of a terroir, like Comté cheese and the wines of the French Jura. Similarly, top bartenders from around the world will host several cocktail events.

As part of the Slow Food movement’s work on food waste, Salone del Gusto will be hosting its first Dinner of Leftovers. When the doors of the Salone 2010 close on Monday, October 25, a group of chefs from Michelin-starred restaurants as well as humble osterias, will use all the creativity and technical know-how at their disposal to create a meal using the ingredients leftovers from the kitchens of the Theatres of Taste and the Taste Workshops, as well as products from the Italian and international Presidia and the Earth Markets that cannot be kept or brought back home.

The aperitivo will be organized by Davide Scabin (Combal.Zero, Rivoli), veteran of five days Sala Slow Wine. The dishes (in limited amounts and irregular order) will be prepared by chefs such as Alexandre Gauthier (La Grenouillère, Montreuil-sur-Mer), Enrico Crippa (Piazza Duomo, Alba), Luigi Taglienti (Antiche Contrade, Cuneo) Michele Buri (Porcorosso, Torino), Wam Kat (cook-activist for Greenpeace), Masayuki Okuda (Al-Chè-Cciano, Japan), and others.

The program of the Salone del Gusto, online in Italian, English, French, German and Spanish at www.salonedelgusto.it , provides further details on the many activities. Advance booking is also possible online, to ensure an opportunity to partake in this fascinating and multifaceted world.

The 6th Annual Oregon Truffle Festival will be held in and around Eugene Oregon over three brisk winter days from January 28-30, 2011. Created to celebrate the magnificent Oregon truffles as they reach the peak of ripeness in their native soil, it is the first festival of its kind in North America, dedicated to sharing the experience of the chefs, foragers and fans of Oregon's wild truffles, from their hidden source in the forest to their glory on the table.

For more information and registration: www.oregontrufflefestival.com

Whole Foods Market (NASDAQ: WFMI)  and Chef Ann Cooper, the nation’s “Renegade Lunch Lady,” have joined forces for a second year of Salad Bar Project to help bring fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains and healthy proteins to school lunch programs and raise awareness around healthier school food through a project that will fund 300 salad bars for public schools across the country.

“With childhood obesity levels at an all-time high, everyone has a stake in this fight and must take action to help change the way our children eat both at home and school,” said Walter Robb, co-chief executive officer for Whole Foods Market.   

From now until Sept. 29, shoppers may donate to the project at the check-out or make a donation online on  www.saladbarproject.org . Salad bar training tools and videos for school nutrition staff will also be available on www.LunchBox.org  

For more information about The Salad Bar Project as well as solutions for affordable, healthy lunches and recipe ideas visit Whole Foods Market’s Web site at: http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/backtoschool/ .

The Calendar is heating up for this Fall. Registration is now open for the following events:...  Find out more in Calendar, Hot Events for:

Tuesday, September 21, 2010 from 1:00 PM - 5:30 PM  (an event for Trade and Press)  Tasting Panel Tour 2010- Miami, The Tasting Panel Magazine's 4th Annual Tour, featuring a selection of Double Gold Winners from the San Francisco International Wine Competition and the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. http://tptour2010mia.eventbrite.com /

Wednesday, October 13, the 17^th Annual Great Match, The Wines of Spain. A day of trade, press and consumer tasting. The Biltmore,  Coral Gables. For addition information call 888-772-4694 or go to www.greatmatch.org   

Tuesday – Wednesday, October 26 – 27, The 14^th Americas Food & Beverage Show, Miami Beach Convention Center. This trade event expects to attract 6,300 buyers for 63 countries who will come to sample the largest selection of foods and beverages from over 350 exhibitors from over 27 countries.  For additional information and early registyration: www.americasfoodandbeverage.com

Monday, August 23, 2010, 5:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. The first Appleton Estate Rum 2010 Remixology Bartender’s Challenge . The Remixology Challenge will take place in four U.S. Markets: New York, Boston, San Francisco, and Miami.  Participants are challenged to create a beautifully balanced original Appleton Estate Reserve cocktail with a harmony of ingredients inspired by their favorite published song.  Each Appleton Estate Reserve cocktail will be judged not only on taste and originality, but presentation, creativity and inspiration from song to cocktail.

Participants must currently be bartenders at a bar or restaurant in Miami.  

One contestant from each market will head to the finals in New York City on August 30 – 31, 2010. The crowned champion from the finals will win a trip to Jamaica on October 20 – 26, 2010 to represent the United States in the Bartenders Challenge Global Showcase. Viceroy Miami, 485 Brickell Avenue, Miami, FL 33131. For more information on Appleton Estate Rum’s Bartender’s Challenge:  www.appletonreservemixologychallenge.com  .

Caviar farms spawn across Florida

by Nirvi Shah, The Miami Herald

Raising sturgeon for meat, leather, oil, fins and, of course, eggs, is a fledgling Florida industry that developed after a 1996 law made it possible to farm only exotic species of the fish.    Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/08/10/1769806/caviar-farms-spawn-across-florida.html#ixzz0whb9dzso

Photos: South Florida Gourmet

Hillbilly Truffle

by Alan Richman, GQ Magazine,  Photograph by François Halard

In France, they call them Périgords—and they’re known as the diamonds of the kitchen. You probably know them as black truffles, those baseball-sized fungi that are sniffed out of the earth by pigs or dogs, get sold for thousands of dollars, and transform any meal into a luxury item. So what happens when—sacrée merde!—an obsessed Yankee learns to grow them in the scrub woods of Davy Crockett’s Tennessee? 

Read More http://www.gq.com/food-travel/alan-richman/200908/alan-richman-perigord-black-truffles-tennessee?currentPage=1#ixzz0whRO8uUS

Vintage Liquors and Wine Bar, a 2,400 square foot space in Midtown is Mr. Nick Barrios' second location for  Vintage Liquors and Wine Bar, the first is in Pinecrest.  There is a wine tasting room with a local wine guide and a variety of fresh tapas.  Besides its extensive wine selection, it offers weekend tastings; cigar humidor; hard to find old and rare wines; great gifts & wine accessories; and a large selection of single malts and tequilas. The grand opening is on August 20.  

Midtown Vintage Liquors and Wine Bar is located at 3301 NE 1st Ave, Ste 105, Miami, FL, 33137. Pinecrest Vintage Liquors and Wine Bar,  11753 South Dixie Hwy, Pinecrest, FL, 33156.