Boca Raton Prepares For South Florida’s Largest Outdoor Culinary Festival
Preparations are well underway for the production of the 5th Annual Celebration of the Boca Raton Wine & Food Festival, A Culinary Affair!. This year’s festival will take place on November 14, 15 and 16 and moves to a brand new location on the Florida Atlantic University Campus in Boca Raton. There is much anticipation with the inaugural Craft Brew Battle, A Hoppy Affair! event being added to the schedule this year. It will not be your typical beer pong party! It will cater to enthusiasts who appreciate the chemistry of craft brew making and the skills of a Brew master. Guests will also be treated to a varietal of cheeses in the new Craft Brew & Artisanal Cheese Village and the Specialty Foods Village. These two new Villages will also be showcased during the Vineyard Party and the Grand Tasting and will include Fine Wines.
The Festival features four special events, each with a unique theme. Choose from two exciting events on Friday; VIP Dinner Under The Stars, A Four-Course Food & Wine Affair! on November 14, beginning at 7 p.m. is an intimate four-course wine and food pairing dinner where VIP’s have their own chef preparing culinary delights tableside from Ruth’s Chris Steak House who will host you at the American Table and Casa D’Angelo who will host you at the Italian Table. The VIP Chefs will prepare each course perfectly with a special wine chosen by the festival sommeliers. Friday night also kicks-off the weekends festivities wit the Vineyard Party, A Vine to Glass Affair! starting at 7 p.m.. While walking through the vineyard this year, the sights, sounds and aromas transport guests from Napa Valley, Oregon, Washington State all the way to Australia while smelling flavors coming from The Bites! Tasting Village where some of south Florida’s finest will be serving up their love of food. Enjoy the tastes of Ethos Greek Bistro, The New Vegan, New York Prime, Cabo Flats, La Stella’s, Blue Martini, and the new Boca Landing in the renovated Waterstone Resort & Marina among many others.
The Grand Tasting, A Culinary Affair! this year is Presented by WineEvents.com on Saturday, November 15 at 6 p.m.. Attendees will travel through a variety of Regions; a Welcome Reception, Italy, America, Mediterranean, Asia Pacific, Sweet Endings Village, Farmers Market, Sensory Garden, The Vineyard, IKEA Kitchen Alley, Live Entertainment Stage and IKEA Lounge, Spirits and the new Craft Brew, Fine Wine & Artisanal Cheese Village and the Specialty Foods Village, Spirits & BBQ Village, Retail and Business Shopping Bazaar and the Wine Store sponsored by WineEvents.com. Now you can buy your favorite wines at the Festival and go home with them! Here is a taste of the Grand Tasting chefs; Potions In Motion, Oceans 234, Tomasso’s Pizza, Aladdins Eatery, Vic & Angelo’s, Macaroni Grill, Buca di Beppo, Green Spot Kitchen, Chez Marie French Bistro, Tamarind Asian Grill and Sushi Bar, Salt Fusion Cuisine, Chima Brazilian Steakhouse and many other south Florida chefs who have made their lives – their craft. For a complete list of Chefs please visit the Festival website.
The Craft Brew Battle is celebrating its inaugural A Hoppy Affair! during the 5th Annual Boca Raton Wine & Food Festival Sunday, November 16th at the Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton Campus. Get ready to experience an awesome variety of brews from around the world – A Hoppy Affair! is the quintessential celebration of craft brew! On a sun soaked November afternoon, there’s no better place to sip suds amongst friends. Whether you prefer Belgians or Blondes, Pales or Pilsners, Saisons or Wits – come and see for yourself why we will be one of the best loved Craft Brew Festivals in South Florida. Rich Educational Seminars with knowledgeable Brew masters, Cheese Makers (or fromagere, the French term for cheese maker) and learn about harvesting from south Florida Farmers themselves in IKEA Kitchen Alley. You have to be wondering by now where the ‘BATTLE’ comes into play, right? We invite men and women to participate in the Consumer Challenge for the ‘Craft Brew Master’ award. Blindfolded guests will taste one ounce pours of different craft brews with the goal of identifying the hops and naming of the brew. The consumer who gets the most correct receives the “Craft Brew Master” trophy and of course bragging rights! Now for you food lovers, the Brew master experts say the best way to pair craft beer and a prepared dish is to have them both battle it out with equal strength so that one does not over power the other. These chefs say they are up for the challenge and are pairing their dish with what ‘they’ think is the best craft beer and you get to vote for the “Best Craft Beer Pairing”. Here are a few that are On-Tap for Sunday’s Hoppy Affair!; TAP 42, PF Chang’s, Steve’s Wood Fired Pizza, Meatball Room, M.E.A.T. Eatery & Taproom, The Sybarite Pig to name a few to get your taste buds ready. Say CHEESE!, you will be smiling ear to ear after you get to play with the artisanal cheeses in the Craft Brew & Artisanal Cheese Village joined by the experts. And, if that’s not enough…wait until you try the varieties in the Specialty Foods Village! We’re looking forward to seeing you at A Hoppy Affair!
“The last four Boca Raton Wine and Food Festivals have truly been remarkable,” said Russell Spadaccini who is the President and Founder of the Festival. “We continue to build successful Community Partnerships that help bring the larger community together while teaching and inspiring culinary aficionados attending our destination event. This year’s festival has been completely revamped for the new FAU location and we have introduced new Villages and added an International Italian purveyor this year in the newly expanded Italian Region of the Festival. We would like to thank our media partner iHeartRadio.com for their continued support of PROPEL; People Reaching Out to Provide Education and Leadership, a Boca Raton 501c3 not- for-profit.
For additional information visit www.BocaWineAndFoodFestival.com/Tribune.html or call 561.338.7594.
