Food & Wine Reserve Dinners????

[nasmith]

Has anyone out there ever done the Reserve dinners offered on Sundays at The Food and WIne Festival?? I don't think I've ever seen a single review. Just wondering- they are about $100 each, so, should be on par with Victoria and Alberts- but it would be nice to have some reviews! Thanks! Jill

 

[ghidorah97]

I posted a review of two dinners from last year:

1. Signature Dinner held at Jiko featuring wines from South Africa;
2. Reserve Dinner featuring Great Reserve Wines of the Pacific Northwest

I'd post a link to them but search is disabled right now. I'll add them once search is back up. We did a third dinner, another Signature Dinner featuring Sonoma County wines at California Grill, which I never got around to posting a review. I'd be happy to do a quickie if any one is interested.

You can also find a review of the Ultimate Tour of Italy Signature Dinner from last year at:

http://wdwig.com/fw2002_sig.htm

Enjoy! And let me know if you have any questions.

 

[betterlatethannever]

Originally posted by ghidorah97
... We did a third dinner, another Signature Dinner featuring Sonoma County wines at California Grill, which I never got around to posting a review. I'd be happy to do a quickie if any one is interested...

I've been patiently waiting since November

 

[ghidorah97]

Okay then...just for you betterlate

(and sorry about the looooonnnggg wait)

California Cuisine Showcases "The Best of Sonoma" at California Grill, Sunday, November 3rd, 2002

Of the three special dinners we did, I'd have to say that this was the least "special" of them. Perhaps it was because we had simply eaten too much good food, and drank too much good wine. Perhaps after 11 days, both DW and I were just ready to go home. Or perhaps it was the bickering between the two winery representatives and the somewhat snooty couples we were dining with, but we just didn't have the same feeling here as we had at Jiko or the Reserve dinner.

The meal started, of course, with a wonderful fireworks show on the viewing deck atop the Contemporary Resort, with the following appetizers served throughout:
Smoked Salmon with Crispy Potatoes
Oyster Profiterole with Madeira Cream
Osetra Caviar with Potato Blini
Maki Sushi
paired with Kalin Cellars, Cuvee Blanche, 1988

Each of the appetizers were very good (the caviar was outstanding), but you really had to fight to get your "fair share" as greedy hands definitely prevailed in this crowd. The sparkling wine was good, but not outstanding (I was comparing it to the remarkable sparkling wine served at our Reserve dinner).

We then moved inside for the meal. It was at this point that we were hit with two additional disappointments. First, CG's executive chef was unable to attend due to an impending new baby (so that was good news for him, bad for us). Second, as mentioned above, the two winery representatives began a series of bickering snipes aimed at each other which would continue throughout the meal. This was a clearly different approach than our prior dinners (which featured different wineries working together to promote their specific regions). Here, the competition between the two seemed to be paramount, trying to sell us on their specific winery rather than selling us simply on Sonoma as a region.

Course 1:
Sonoma Goat Cheese Napolean with Pears, Apples, Arugula and Almonds paired with Chalk Hill Estate Sauvignon Blanc 1999

Course 2:
Nantucket Scallops with Root Vegetable Risotto and Tangerine Broth paired with Kalin Cellars Chardonnay LD 1993 (really enjoyed this pairing -- verrrry well thought out)

Course 3:
Oak Grilled Moularde Duck Breast with Wild Mushroom Hash, Confit and Cipollini Puree paired with Kalin Cellars Pinot Noir 1995

Course 4:
Mezzo Secco Cheese Custard with Dried Fig Terrine, Brioche and Merlot Syrup paired with Chalk Hill Estate "Peter's Vineyard" Merlot 1997 (a very nice Merlot)

Course 5:
Yogurt Cream with Apricot Two Ways and Honey-Vanilla Gelee paired with Chalk Hill Estate Vineyard Selection, Botrytised Semillon 1997 (my favorite wine of the evening)

Course 6:
"Turkish Coffee" Chocolate

Petit Fours:
Rose Opera Cake and Handmade Assorted Chocolates

The Dessert courses were made by guest Pastry Chefs Steve Klc and Colleen Apte (husband and wife team), and were quite tasty.

Ask away if any questions!

 

[betterlatethannever]

Thank you for the review.

You probably have the menus and took good notes, but you must have a very good memory to remember such details.

Isn't it amaizing that when you pair the right wine with the right food, both seem to taste better.

Too bad the winery representatives set a bad tone for the evening. A few years ago at one of the old winemakers dinners, we had two reps who were making jokes at each others expense. But, it seemed to be friendly, and I got the feeling it was almost a ccomedy routine whcih they developed as they toured the country.

I miss those winemakers dinners. They seemed more informal, and since you were sitting at tables for 8 or 10, one snooty couple would not spoil the atmosphere.

Now, getting tired of eating and drinking after 11 days at the W&F festival - that's an experiment I would like to be involved in myself..

For this year's festival, are you going again for 11 days? Would you turn down the chance to go to the CG if that was one of the restaurnats during your trip?

If I was calling today for reservations for a signature dinner, and they told me the dinner would be at the Bistro de Paris in France again, I would be hard pressed to sign up.

Thanks again for the reviews.

Ed

 

[nasmith]

Thanks for the reviews! I went and looked at your old reviews too- and sure wished I had gone to the Jiko dinner last year! Looking forward to this year!! Jill

 

[ghidorah97]

You're both very welcome -- I love sharing our experiences and hope that others from this board have the chance to enjoy some of these dinners too!

We are going back this year, but only for 7 days (hello FairyTale Package!), 10/30 through 11/6. To be honest, while I admittedly am hoping that we won't be going back to CG for a Signature dinner this year, I would probably give it a second shot. We would definitely hope to see different winery representatives though! As opposed to the "friendly rivalry" type of banter you mention below, these two were always trying to one-up the other.

Ah well...here's hoping that I can actually book one of the dinners!

Are you going this year Ed?

 

[betterlatethannever]

Yes, we are arriving 11/7.

Disney is going to have the Bordeaux(sp?) school again this year. So, if it is scheduled for the same time as last year, with the same teachers/reps, the signature dinner will be at Bistro de Paris. And, since I am a master of the obvious , I would predict that Bordeaux wines will be served again. Hopefully different ones.

Ed

 

[Dee & Greg]

We attended a Sunday night dinner held at Epcot in the Odessy (sp?) Center a few years ago... our theme was South Africa. This was before AKL was open, but I believe one of the chefs was going to be at Jiko... anyway... all of the guests at our table were so interesting, including a chef from V&A... one of the nicest folks I have ever met! He gave us his business card and said to call him directly if we wanted to eat at V&A. We never did get to eat there, but I was so surprised at how nice he was!

 

[betterlatethannever]

ghidorah97

On Steve Soares site, he as some details on the W&F festival. Looks like the Bordeaux School will be on your weekend there. So the signature dinner will probably be at Bistro de Paris.

There is the Banfi Italian wine school the following weekend. The signature dinner should be at L’Originale Alfredo di Roma Ristorante.

Ed

 

[SamSam]

Ed, could you point me to Steve Soares site? I'm not sure I have that one 'marked'; if I don't I'm sure I need it.

 

[betterlatethannever]

Originally posted by SamSam
Ed, could you point me to Steve Soares site? I'm not sure I have that one 'marked'; if I don't I'm sure I need it.

Here is a link to his main page. Click on Epcot.

link

Ed