The Eighth Annual St. Louis Food & Wine Experience Comes to the Chase Park Plaza 1/30-31

The Eighth Annual St. Louis Food & Wine Experience, the region's largest international wine tasting and a delicious journey through the sensual pleasures of wine and fine foods, transforms the elegant Chase Park Plaza Hotel, 212 N. Kingshighway, St. Louis, into a spectacular culinary crossroads January 30 - 31, 2010.

Presented by Schnucks Markets with major sponsorship by US Bank, the event welcomes guest chefs, exhibitors and winemakers from around the world.

Rahman "Rock" Harper, winner of Fox television's Hell's Kitchen; St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa; Fr. Dominic Garramone, former host of public television's Breaking Bread with Father Dominic; Chase Park Plaza Hotel Executive Chef Brian Hale; Chef Julius Russell, Executive Chef, Kehe Food Distributors; and Schnucks Executive Chef Scott Drake will make special appearances on the Mainstage at this unique event, proceeds from which benefit the extensive educational and community service programs and outstanding productions of The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis.

Show hours are Saturday, January 30 from 11 am-6 pm, and Sunday, January 31 from noon-5 pm.

For more information about The St. Louis Food & Wine Experience or to purchase advance tickets, call The Rep at (314) 968-4925 or visit www.repstl.org. General single-day admission tickets and VIP admission tickets are also available at local Schnucks Markets.

Advance purchase tickets to The St. Louis Food & Wine Experience are $45 per person for regular single-day admissions. Single-day VIP admissions, which include access to the VIP Reserve Room (featuring exclusive sampling of premium wines and prepared foods) and a complimentary 18 oz. Riedel stem, are $95 per person.

Single-day general admission at the door will be $50 per person. VIP admission at the door will be $100 per person. A special "designated driver" admission will be offered at the door only for $25. Absolutely no one under the age of 21 will be admitted to any Food & Wine Experience event.

Guests entering the St. Louis Food & Wine Experience receive a complimentary wine glass and valet plate, the perfect way to sample over 700 exquisite selections from more than 100 winemakers as local and celebrity guest chefs share the latest tips for cooking and entertaining made easy on the Mainstage.

Guest chefs on the Mainstage include:

Chef Rock Harper: Rahman, affectionately known as "Rock" Harper, discovered his love of cooking when he was in his early teens and it has stuck with him ever since. He soon became obsessed with the challenge of running a restaurant kitchen, and decided that this would be his career. Rock's talent and determination propelled him to be an award-winning honors graduate from the Culinary School of Johnson & Wales University. Rock has held several positions throughout his career at award winning restaurants such as Cafˆ© Calliope, Burke Station Restaurant, Planet Hollywood, BET on Jazz Restaurant, and B. Smith's Restaurant in New York City where he was Executive Chef. Most notably, Rock was the winner on season three of the Fox reality television cooking show, Hell's Kitchen.

Tony La Russa: In 2006, Tony La Russa led the St. Louis Cardinals to the 10th world championship by beating the Detroit Tigers in the 2006 World Series. By doing so, he became only the second manager in Major League Baseball history to win World Series championships in both the National and American Leagues. Tony's At The Plate Dressings and Marinades are a home run in every kitchen and benefit this St. Louis legends' charity, the Animal Rescue Foundation (ARF). Don't miss this rare opportunity to see this Skipper turn in his baseball hat and uniform for a chef's hat and apron to create one of his favorite recipes. With the aid of Schnucks' own culinary expert, Kathy Gottacker, "Chef" La Russa will tempt your palate and show you the many ways you can use his At The Plate Balsamic Dressing and help animals in need.

Father Dominic Garramone OSB: Father Dominic Garramone entered Saint Bede Abbey in Peru, Illinois in 1983, took his solemn vows in 1989 and was ordained in 1992. He is the head of the Religion department at Saint Bede Academy and teaches church history and Christian doctrine. He is also the drama director and has published two plays. He was the host of the PBS cooking show Breaking Bread with Father Dominic from 1999 to 2001, and has written five cookbooks. He will be releasing the first of a series of children's books in September: Brother Jerome and the Angels in the Bakery, published by Reedy Press. Fr. Dom says he got his culinary education "between my mother's kitchen and public television" and when not baking or teaching can usually be found in the abbey herb garden.

Chef Brian Hale: Chef Hale started his culinary career in Milan, but has been a part of St. Louis dining for more than 15 years. His work has added to the tastes of several area restaurants including Al Baker's, Harry's Downtown, Sqwires and Monarch. As executive chef for Sqwires and Monarch, Hale's efforts helped each restaurant earn various honors including Best New Restaurant in St. Louis. He is currently the executive chef at The Chase Park Plaza where he oversees the Culinary Team and is responsible for the creative culinary direction in Eau Bistro, Cafˆ© Eau and the hotel's Catering Division. In 2006, Chef Hale was voted by the Sauce Magazine Readers Poll as "Best Chef in St. Louis," and also named "Favorite Chef in St. Louis" by the Riverfront Times. He has placed in the St. Louis Culinary Competition and was the winner of the area's first annual "Iron Fork" competition in 2007.

Chef Julius Russell: Chef Julius Russell serves as owner of A TALE OF TWO CHEFS, Executive Chef for Kehe Food Distributors and TV Host on the Big Ten Network. Chef Julius' culinary training began at the age of eight under the careful guidance of his mother. After college, he began to build a corporate career, while continuing to hone his culinary skills. After successfully climbing the ranks, Mr. Russell left his Executive Sales Management position to pursue his passion as a Private Chef. Over the past decade Chef Julius has continued his culinary education stateside at the New Orleans School of Cooking and in Paris with Princess Marie Blanche de Broglie at La Cuisine Marie Blanche and Patrick Terrien at Le Cordon Bleu Academie d'Art Culinaire de Paris.

Chef Scott Drake:Schnucks Executive Chef Scott Drake has been cooking for more than 40 years and now lends his expertise to Schnucks Prepared Foods, one of the company's fastest growing departments. In addition to studying at some of the world's top culinary institutes, Drake has also taught cooking at Paper Pantry, Kitchen Conservatory and at Forest Park Community College. Despite his wide range of experiences, Drake had always wanted to run a restaurant and through Schnucks Chef Express, he helps to operate 102 restaurants serving millions of customers each day.

Acting as Master of Ceremonies on the Mainstage will be KEZK Morning Show Host, Ed Goodman. In addition to waking up St. Louisans with his daily radio show, Ed is heavily involved with many local charities and schools as an emcee and auctioneer for their fundraising events. He has been honored for his efforts on behalf of many different charitable organizations in the metro area. Ed's main hobby, and passion, is cooking and has taught cooking classes at The Kitchen Conservatory.

Mainstage presentations are open to any guest holding general or VIP admission tickets to the Food & Wine Experience.

Food & Wine guests enjoy amazing discounts on case-orders placed with Schnucks at the event.

The VIP Reserve Room, located off the main floor and open to attendees bearing VIP admission tickets, will be devoted exclusively to tasting and learning about premium wines and will offer an opportunity to step away from the crowd and relax while sampling the best from international vineyards and prepared foods from Schnucks

The St. Louis Food & Wine Experience is presented by Schnucks Markets, with major sponsorship support from US Bank. Supporters include Missouri Wine & Grape Board, Mount Pleasant Winery and Kehe Food Distributors, Moet & Chandon and Rosemount Estate. The Chase Park Plaza is the host hotel of the St. Louis Food & Wine Experience.

Proceeds from this event benefit The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis' mission to produce quality programming both on its stages and in its educational outreach. Each year, The Rep brings the power of live, professionally-produced theatre to over 200,000 people in the St. Louis region, including nearly 50,000 bi-state area students who participate in an array of theatrical activities, introducing them to the magic of theatre and making the arts an important part of their lives.

For more information about or tickets to the Eighth Annual St. Louis Food & Wine Experience, call The Rep Box Office at (314) 968-4925 or visit www.repstl.org.

A complete schedule of Mainstage chef presentations and pouring lists for the mainfloor, VIP Reserve Room and Premier Tasting events may be seen at www.repstl.org.

The Premier Tasting, Friday, January 29

On the eve of the St. Louis Food & Wine Experience, The Premier Tasting: A Cellar-Maker's Dream will be presented in the Lindell Ballroom of the Chase on Friday, January 29 from 7-10 pm. This special added event brings fine wine connoisseurs the rare gift of sampling an international selection of hard-to-find and library wines, special magnums and vertical tastings.

The Premier Tasting begins with a Moet & Chandon champagne greeting, and includes a dazzling array of wines not available at any other point in the Food & Wine Experience. Sumptuous hors d'oeuvres will be served, and guests will thrill to an exciting live auction of trips, sports memorabilia and rare vintages. Admission to The Premier Tasting is $250 per person and includes VIP Reserve Room admission to the St. Louis Food & Wine Experience to be enjoyed on either January 30 or January 31, as well as complimentary valet parking for the January 29 event. For tickets or information, call (314) 968-4925.

 

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