For the eighth year in a row, celebrity chef Charlie Palmer will host the annual Pigs and Pinot Weekend in California’s wine country. Taking place on Saturday March 23rd, the event will be held at the Dry Creek Kitchen at the Hotel Healdsburg, showcasing wine and food from over 60 wineries and more than 20 chefs. The star-studded roster for this year’s Pigs and Pinot include Elizabeth Falkner, owner of Krescendo in Brooklyn; Dean Fearing chef and partner of Fearing’s Restaurant in Dallas; Jose Garces chef and owner of Garces Restaurant Group and featured guest on Food Network Iron Chef; and Craig Stoll, chef and owner of Delfina Restaurant Group in San Francisco.
The event is held each year in order to raise money for the Share Our Strength’s, No Kid Hungry campaign, which seeks to end childhood hunger in America. Proceeds also benefit local Sonoma County scholarship programs and charities. “As we lead into our eighth year of Pigs & Pinot, I am amazed by the overwhelming support of our professionals, guests and sponsors who eagerly travel from near and far to be a part of this wine and food celebration,” says Chef Palmer. Palmer may be best known for his “Progressive American” style of cooking and for his wildly popular restaurant Aureole, which now has locations in both Times Square New York and Las Vegas, however his participation in this annual, charitable event has made his efforts towards helping his community an equally bright contribution.
The weekend will include an “iron-chef” style competition deemed, Tournament of the Pig from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm on Saturday, during which Chef Palmer and Mario Cantone will host. Teams will be given a whole pig to use to create two separate dishes, and the winning team will be determined by a panel while the audience will also get a chance to sample. Later in the day, Master Sommeliers Keith Goldston, Fred Dame, Drew Hendricks, and Michael Jordan will lead a March Madness inspired wine seminar, and at 6:30 a five-course dinner will be served during the Pigs & Pinot Gala Dinner. Each course will feature a culinary creation from Chef Palmer and the events guest chefs while also being paried with two limited-edition Pinot Noirs from wineries including De Loach, Domaine A.F Gros, Kosta Browne, Martinelli and Sea Smoke.
Sunday, Spoonbar’s Swine & Wine Dinner will feature a spread by Executive chef Louis Maldonado and artisanal cocktails from Spoonbar’s mixologist Daniel “Cappy” Sorentino. Following dinner, guests can satisfy their sweet tooth with after-dinner drinks and dessert during Pigs & Pinot Late Night inside the Hotel Healdsburg fireside lounge.
