Sweet Spots for Chef Sightings

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Best bets for rubbing elbows with local culinary luminaries

Written by Susan D. Rock

It’s a bit of a celebrity sighting, catching a glimpse of the man or woman wielding the cleaver behind the culinary curtain of a well-known restaurant kitchen. One way to see several local chefs in action, all in one tasty go, is to hit some of Tahoe’s annual fun and festive food and wine events.

 

Truckee

Best of Tahoe Chefs

Ritz-Carlton Lake Tahoe, Truckee

Sponsored by the Tahoe Forest Hospital, with all proceeds benefitting Truckee’s Gene Upshaw Memorial Tahoe Forest Cancer Center, this May dinner-dance gala is the Oscars of the North Shore culinary world, starring the A-list of the area’s restaurant staffs. After a night of slicing and sautéing a multi-course meal for a glammed-up crowd, these top chefs then put themselves up on the live auction block for, say, a fully catered private dinner party atop a Squaw Valley peak. www.bestoftahoechefs.org,

May 18

 

Lake Tahoe Autumn Food & Wine Festival

Village at Northstar California, Truckee

This long-running, three-day gathering includes cooking classes, wine seminars, hiking, cycling and art outings paired with wine and beer tastings. The Blazing Pans Cook-off is always a crowd-pleaser, and other showcase gatherings include events like the Long Table Harvest Dinner at the Ritz-Carlton. Put on by the North Lake Tahoe Resort Association, the September event culminates with the formally judged Grand Tasting in which some area chefs create a signature dish to pair with a wine, spirit or brew of their choice.

www.northstarcalifornia.com, September 5–7

 

North Lake Tahoe Tahoe City Wine Walk

Downtown Tahoe City

A fundraiser for the Tahoe City Downtown Association, this summer event along Tahoe Boulevard guides strollers to samplings from Tahoe City restaurants and catering companies teamed with a list of familiar West Coast wineries. Local merchants throw open their doors with all sorts of specials, and there’s live music at Heritage Square, Boatworks Mall and Tahoe Arts Center.

www.tahoecitywinewalk.com, June 21

 

Wine on the Water

Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe Resort, Spa & Casino, Incline Village

More than a dozen local restaurants, including the Hyatt’s Lone Eagle Grille, and more than 25 notable Northern California wineries are in the lineup for this Sunday afternoon event at the resort’s lovely lakeside Cottage Green. Enjoy live music and a silent auction along with the food and wine tasting at this affair now in its fifth year.

All proceeds benefit the Boys and Girls Club of North Lake Tahoe.

www.laketahoe.hyatt.com, August 17

 

South Lake Tahoe Sample the Sierra

Various locations, South Lake Tahoe

This Labor Day weekend festival put on by the Lake Tahoe Chamber of Commerce and El Dorado County features events like SUP and Sip from South Tahoe Standup Paddle and Picchetti Winery, a farm-to-fork winemaker dinner, an Iron Chef–style cook-off and a marketplace selling locally made products as well as arts and crafts. On Sunday, Ski Run Boulevard is turned into a tasting area, complete with live entertainment, where participating restaurants are teamed up with a winery, brewery or distillery.

www.samplethesierra.com, August 29–31

Tags: featured

Category: Wine & Dine