The 2007 Culinary Demonstration Program

A highlight of the public tasting is the Smart & Final Culinary Concepts Stage where nationally renowned chefs Mario Martinoli, Charlie Palmer and John Ash will create fabulous dishes paired with Sweepstakes Award-winning wines from the recently completed competition. Relish Culinary School from Sonoma County will finish off the afternoon by providing dessert. Of course, all of the dishes will be sampled alongside the fabulous wines that inspired them.

Mario Martinoli is the emcee and one of the featured celebrity chefs of the Smart & Final Culinary Concepts Stage. Mario is a professional chef and radio and television personality with twenty-five years of culinary experience in the Los Angeles area including being the official caterer for television shows like Seinfeld, Cheers, Wings, and the Arsenio Hall Show. Currently Mario’s entertaining food & dining features are heard daily on KFWB News 980, L.A.’s oldest all-news radio station.

John Ash

John Ash came to national prominence in 1985 when he was selected by Food & Wine magazine as one of America’s “Hot New Chefs.” He founded his restaurant, John Ash & Company, in Northern California’s wine country, in 1980 and it continues to be nationally renowned as a wine and food educator more than 25 years later. In addition to performing a chef demonstration, John will also be signing copies of the completely revised and updated version of his critically acclaimed cookbook, From the Earth to the Table: John Ash’s Wine Country Cuisine, which was awarded the IACP awards for Best American Cookbook and the Julia Child Cookbook of the Year and also was nominated for the James Beard Foundation Best American Cookbook. Copies will be available for sale.

Charlie Palmer

One of the most highly regarded chefs in America today, hospitality entrepreneur Charlie Palmer has received critical acclaim for his signature “Progressive American” cuisine, a style built on rambunctious, intense flavors and unexpected combinations with a deep and lasting infusion of classical French cuisine. The legendary chef will be signing copies of his innovative new cookbook, Charlie Palmer’s Practical Guide to the New American Kitchen, the first entirely waterproof, spill proof, and cleanable cookbook. Copies will be available for sale.

Relish Culinary School from Sonoma County in the heart of wine country. Relish combines talented chefs, fabulous cuisine, and captivating wine country locations to create one-of-a-kind wine country cooking classes and other culinary events for individuals, groups, and businesses. Relish offers demonstration and hands-on classes that cover a wide range of topics and is the perfect complement to your wine country visit. For a current schedule of classes, please visit their website at www.relishculinary.com or call 877-759-1004 to request a catalog.