AWFF- 2008 American Wine and Food Festival Wrap Up

w/chefs Nobu Matsuhisa and Wolfgang Puck

Two days ago, I had the pleasure of attending the 2008 American Wine and Food Festival held in the backlot of Universal Studios. The AWFF supports the Puck Lazaroff Charitable Foundation to benefit the Los Angeles chapter of Meals on Wheels. With a sold out event of over 2000 attendees, this was definitely a huge success.

If you appreciate excellent food, wines, and spirits, in a fun and laid back atmosphere, I definitely suggest planning to attend in 2009. I guarantee there is no other food event like this in California. And just like many fine wines, the AWFF seems like it just gets better and better each year.

Unlike previous years, the 2008 AWFF seemed to have a lot more food with chefs not running out of their dishes early. And thank God for that because there were many amazing samplings from this year’s talented and award winning chefs. The weather was perfect too with no need for a jacket. As my friend said, if you get cold, just drink more wine. And there was plenty of that on hand with vintners such as Beringer, Au Bon Climat, Jordan, Etude, Malibu Wines, Dr. Loosen & J.L Wolfe, Iron Horse, Truchard, Cielo, and Silver Oak to name a few delighting guests with their selection of vintages.

Some culinary highlights included samplings from chefs Joachim Splichal of Patina, Kerry Heffernan of South Gate, Rene Mata of Chinois on Main, Cameron Lewark of Spago Maui, Jasper White of Summer Shack, Alessandro Stratta of Alex, and a truffle infused burrata cheese which was absolutely worth making a few trips back for more.

Every day this week, we will be featuring a recipe from the 2008 American Wine and Food Festival Recipe Book.