Pebble Beach Food and Wine Festival Lures Gourmands to the Coast

Starting March 27, more than 50 award-winning chefs will be demonstrating their culinary skills in front of some very lucky guests for a four day event along the gorgeous Central California coast. The inaugural Pebble Beach Food and Wine Festival will host over 2,500 food and wine enthusiasts, offering them the opportunity to enjoy the finest delicacies of top chefs and wineries from around the globe; the festival replaces the famed Masters of Food and Wine, which ended its 21 year run last year. The event will open on Thursday the 27th with a charity golf tournament, followed immediately by a reception gala.  Festivities continue into the weekend with culinary demonstrations, luncheons, and private tastings, including the Lexus Grand Tasting events where attendees can taste morsels whipped up by chef participants in close proximity.  Presented by American Express Publishing, the Pebble Beach Food and Wine affair will also feature dinners arranged with Michelin star chefs.

The guest chef list is impressive and quite extensive.   Bay Area local Thomas Keller of French Laundry will be on hand to display his mouthwatering treats, as will Michael Mina, Gary Danko, and Todd English, who recently opened the LA-area restaurant 'Beso' with Eva Longoria. Tom Colicchio of Bravo's Top Chef fame, as well as series regular Ted Allen, and Iron Chef's Cat Cora will also be exhibiting their gourmet techniques and epicurean treats, along with world renowned chefs Jacques Pepin, Mark Miller, and Ming Tsai.

Over 200 of the world's prestigious wineries will be in attendance, serving samples of their majestic wines and offering pairings with the chefs' delectable creations.The finest wineries will be hosting genre-focused events: Peter Michael will present a Chardonnay session, Chateau Margaux will host "A Tasting Spanning Five Decades of Seduction", and Chateau St. Jean Cinq Cepages will offer a blending seminar to wine connoisseurs. Other distinguished wineries on hand include Plumbjack, Silver Oak, Harlan and Shafer, in addition to famed champagne producer Dom Perignon. A rare wine auction will also take place, with proceeds of the event benefiting the Monterey Wine Education Foundation, the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Monterey Peninsula and CASA of Monterey County.