ATLANTIC CITY WINE AND FOOD
FESTIVAL
Article: by
Gloria T. Cressler
Photograph by: Bob Heimbecker
I recently
attended the WINE and FOOD
Festival in Atlantic City
which was held from July 28 to
July 31, 2011.
We stayed at a beautiful and
luxurious suite courtesy of
Tropicana Hotel,
www.tropicana.biz .
The Tropicana’s National Sales
Manager Patty Laveglia, CMP was
our hostess. Patty was a very
nice lady who made sure the
staff took care of us.
I really enjoyed the place. It
reminded me of the hotels in
Honolulu Hawaii where I was
born.
Besides the Casino, the Hotel
has many stores, bars and
restaurants. Some of the bars
have live entertainment. They
also have an Irish themed bar ,
tango bar and so on. There is
also a place to buy groceries on
the premises
Tropicana is composed of several
buildings with an open courtyard
in the middle. When you look up
you can see the beautiful sky
above. At the back of the Hotel
is a beautiful beach where you
can walk or relax
on the sand.
The employees are well dressed
and our constantly asking guests
if they need any help. I really
enjoyed my stay.
Next we
went to the Wine and Food
Festival. It was held in
several Hotels from Bally's
Hotel to Harrahs, Showboat,
Harrah's Resort Hotel and other
Restaurants around the area.
Eugene Engel and Duane Little
www.WinePixie.net are Independent
Business Partners in the Food
and Beverage business who
arrange wine, premium beverage
and premium food tasting events. They organized
the Italian VIP room (Sponsored
by www.QualityGourmetEveryday.com)
and planned and organized the
Italian Pavilion as well. They
did a great job
To know more about the other
participants of the event please
click on their site .
First we went
to Bally's Italian Village. At
the VIP LOUNGE, we were greeted
by Bob Heimbecker of
www.PureHealthyFood.com
Bob is a very
nice gentlemen and also present
was Zina Mashin the President of
Emperor's Brand (looking great)
that represents
Giorgio G Cognac
(by Designer
Giorgio Gucci) & Emperor Vodka
www.emperorsbrand.com
The Cognac and Vodka were huge
hits. All the famous Chefs,
Restaurant owners and VIP GUESTS
stopped by and tasted the Cognac
and Vodka. Everyone loved it.
They said that the Giorgio G
Cognac
(by designer Giorgio Gucci). is
very smooth with a good taste,
especially for a 50 year old
Cognac. I agree because I had
some myself. I always love it.
They also have a 30 year old
Cognac.
Emperors Brand has 4 types of
Vodka. Those who love
Vodka will love the
Emperors Vodka. Everyone who
tasted it said that it
was delicious. I have a friend
who tried the Emperors Vodka and
she told me that she is dreaming
about it all the time. Chef
Delilah Winder of Southern Style
Cooking (One of the Celebrity
Chefs) tried the Winter Palace
Vodka and she was hooked. She
said this is my drink …I love it
I love it. White House
chef tour Celebrity Chef
Guy Mitchell loves the
Cognac. Everybody loved the way
David Mashin of Emperors Brand
was dressed in a Napoleon
Costume. Guests took pictures
with him.
So far, we have only talked
about the wonderful spirits.
However.there was amazing food
as well. We started with a very
good Caviar presented by Graham
C. Gaspard President/CEO of BLACK
RIVER
CAVIAR
www.BlackRiverCaviar.com,
Besides, the caviar, there was
delicious seafood, steaks and
other foods from around the
world. Some of the best spreads
were presented by the President
of Rastelli Food Groups Ray
Rastelli (a very
charming men) and
Tony Luke Jr. co-owner of
Rastelli of Tony Lukes, a
Philadelphia Cheesesteak Company
.
Next we went to The Italian
Village where you
can find lots of products from
RASTELLI DIRECT
(you can order directly from
their website)
WWW.RASTELLIS.COM
There was a good selection of
Wines, Sparkling Wines from
different regions of Italy and
California. There were different
types of food from macaroni and
cheese to Black Angus Beef, Milk
Fed Veal, Pureland Prime Pork,
All Natural Lamb and seafood.
They had prepared foods as well.
There were
several booths. One of the
booths belonged to the
THE WHITE HOUSE CHEF TOUR. www.TheWhiteHouseChefs.com
Chef Guy Mitchell and
his charming wife Karen Mitchell
were in charge of the booth.
Other Chefs present at the booth
were Chef Michael "Woody Raber, Chef
Julianne M. Koshi and Chef Sam
Morgante. They were some of most
wonderful people that you would
ever meet. In their booth were
many souvenirs and photographs
from the White House that could
be ordered by the general
public. Other booths contained
people promoting their products
or books.
Celebrity guest Vince Papile,
the former Philadelphia Eagles
player who was the inspiration
for the movie "Invincible"
(starring Marc Wahlberg) was
present for a book signing.
There was also an area for live
chef demonstrations and culinary
presentations with the pairing
of wines and food.
Several of the Celebrity Chefs
including Chef Tony Clark & Chef
Delilah Winder of Southern Style
Cooking took part in these
demonstrations or presentations.
Chef Guy Mitchell of The
White
House Chef Tour emceed this part
of the event.
It
was really great and
interesting. We loved the steak,
seafood, organic wines and other
food that was served.
Then we moved to the ballroom,
where there was more food, wines
and spirits such as Chocolate,
cakes and of course
Shrimp Cocktails, Crab Cakes,
Lobster Bisque. These are all my
favorites besides the good steak
and other seafood. There were
long lines to sample these foods
but it was worth it.
Robert Mondavi, had a very large
booth with a wine tasting area.
Everyone seemed to be enjoying
themselves at his booth. I tried
some of their sparkling wines
which I liked very much. There
were several places where Chefs
were having cooking
demonstrations. Another
Celebrity Chef, Chef Luke
Palladino was having
demonstration called the Viking
Cooking School. At Harrahs
Resort, there were several
Celebrity Chefs in attendance
including local Chef Michael
Green, Divya Gugnani, Celebrity
Chefs Guy Fieri, Pat and Gina
Neely, Robert Irvine
and Sunny Anderson.
There were several interesting
activities & seminars as well.
The wine and food festival was
well attended and fun for all.
This is Gloria T.
Cressler signing off I hope you
enjoyed