March 20, 2011 - Chef John Besh Launches PBS Cooking Show
News about one of our
favorite celebrity chefs: John Besh, who recently opened Lüke San Antonio River Walk and will kick off
the four-day culinary showdown at the Texas Hill
Country Wine & Food Festival - headlining the Stars Across Texas Classic, on Thursday, March 31st,
that supreme tasting event showcasing 25 top chefs from the
Lone Star State - will debut his new television show, "Chef John Besh's New Orleans," in April on PBS.
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Besh will pay homage to the
Big Easy in the new cooking series, celebrating the food he
loved as a boy growing up on the bayous, refined in his years
of study in America and Europe, and brought back home - where
his six New Orleans-based restaurants are indelible parts of
Louisiana's culinary landscape. No local air dates have
been announced, so in the meantime - click the graphic above for a preview of his new series.
February 20, 2011 - Texas Hill Country Wine & Food Festival Preview
One of our favorite
annual events - the Texas Hill Country Wine & Food Festival, celebrates its
26th anniversary this year with a new look, larger program of
events, and a few changes. The state's premier
celebration of wine, food, brews and spirits will run March
31st
to April 3rd.
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As in the past, this
year's festival infuses the celebration with new creativity,
rising-star chefs, quality winemakers, contemporary flair and a
healthy dollop of Austin's unique urban edge. The
always-sold-out food gala The Stars
Across Texas Classic and other
favorites - such as Savor the Hill
Country Winery Luncheons and Big Dog Reds -
return in 2010. New this year are cutting-edge events
dedicated to beef, fire and chefs - including tastings
featuring Texas charcuterie with Texas wine, and top chefs from
Texas and leading-edge culinary epicenters that include New
York, Portland, Los Angeles, and even the Australian Outback.
The festival features a
wine dinner with Hollywood star Kyle Maclachlan with meat-centric fare of Los Angeles chefs Vinny Dotolo and Jon Shook of Animal Restaurant - named one of the very
top restaurants in the U.S. - teaming with local celebrity
chefs David Bull of Congress and Josh Watkins of The Carillon on April 2nd at the AT&T Executive
Education & Conference Center.
One event we are eager to
experience is the showcase Live
Fire! Beef Supremacy Over Flames
at the Texas Disposal Systems
Exotic Game Ranch on April 1st. The chef congress,
featuring protein royalties in the world capital of beef, chef Brad Farmerie of New
York City's James Beard-winning Public
Restaurant, Australian Outback chef Andrew Dwyer, Aaron Franklin of Austin's white hot Franklin BBQ, pastry ace Rebecca Rather, Andy Ricker of Portland's Pok Pok, and more.
And the festival closing Sunday Fair goes
urban this year with its new location at the Mexican American Cultural Center in downtown Austin.
No more stomping through the mud - yeah! Billed as an "Eclectic Urban Celebration of Food, Wine
& Spirits," local
breweries, restaurants, and purveyors will throw the city's
biggest food party of the year along the shores of Austin's
Lady Bird Lake on April 3rd.
You can sample a complete
list of the events in PDF form here. And be sure
to purchase tickets now at www.TexasWineAndFood.org - these events are
guaranteed to sell out.
January 22, 2011 - "I Art Congress" Launching Feb. 10th
An informal
collective of Congress Avenue museums and galleries - led by Austin Details Art + Photo and with promotional
support by the Downtown Austin Alliance - are creating a new
monthly series of themed, open house experiences called "I Art Congress." The free monthly series launches
on February 10th with the Valentine's-themed "Love
101."
The evening includes
artwork
about love and loss, a poetry experience,
and shopping and exhibitions. The Austin
Museum of Art will host poet Jena
Gessaman and special guests for
the spoken word event "Red" from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m., to
explore the intense emotions and fine lines between love,
anger, and passion. Following the performance, Gessaman
will serves as "Poet for Hire" and create
personalized poems on the spot, using her 1970 Olivetti Studio
45 typewriter. CONTINUED >
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(Images courtesy Austin CVB)
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