Chocolate & Wine CRUISE on San Francisco Bay: Fall 2022 Edition

Join us October 15, 2022 for the Chocolate & Wine CRUISE on San Francisco Bay onboard a luxury yacht, where you will taste wines and chocolates

The day’s adventure takes place onboard a luxury yacht, where you will taste wines from a local winemaker, along with samples from a curated selection of local chocolate, toffee,  and wine.

Walk among the various artisans and experience their latest creations. Explore and luxuriate on the yacht, and enjoy it all during the 2 1/2-hour cruise on the San Francisco Bay.

Then take home some of that great food and wine you’ve discovered and purchased onboard for continued enjoyment.

EXCLUSIVE: The Chocolate & Wine Cruise is Limited to only a 100 attendees

GET TICKETS HERE.

1:00-3:30pm (yacht sets off at 1pm SHARP).

Must be over 21 years of age.

Proof of Prior COVID Vaccination Required.

WATCH THE VIDEO!

 

READ THIS INFORMATION ABOUT HOW TO USE YOUR ADVANCE TICKET

1. Purchase Advance Tickets

2. Your purchased ticket or tickets are reserved for you. Please bring your ticket confirmation sheet with you to Will Call for the Salon, with a Photo ID.

3. If you purchase more than one ticket, all attendees must be present in order to receive the tickets, which are under your name only.

4. Each ticket purchased is good for the day of the event only.

5. Due to the limited capacity for this event, No refunds available within 72 hours of the event (or after Advance Ticket sales are completed, if sold out earlier)

6. For faster check in, bring your confirmation printout (with scanner bar code on it)

First ever Purple Sea Urchin Festival rocks West Coast Tastebuds and Saves the Environment

The United States’ first ever Purple Sea Urchin Festival* took place on the Mendocino Coast recently. Fort Bragg, the largest city on the Mendocino Coast, is one of the biggest producers of sea urchin in California, and with the overabundance of the urchins in the waters these past few years, there is no better time to celebrate this sea delicacy.

Why a focus on urchin now? And why purple urchin? The chefs, educators, and residents of this area are deeply passionate about the interwoven ecological web of the beautiful and mysterious ocean that makes up the landscape of their daily lives on the Mendocino Coast. Abalone has long been a unique part of Mendocino – with local campfire cooking, seasonal tourism boosts, and signature festivals celebrating it as a delicacy. With the collapse of the sea star population, the exponential growth of purple urchin, and the subsequent decimation of the abalone population, residents are constantly looking for eco-friendly ways to resolve these intertwined issues and reduce the impact of this invasive species.

“The current circumstances have given us an opportunity to experience uni from these less-popular but equally-tasty purples,” states Cally Dym, 5th generation owner of Little River Inn. “Fort Bragg has long been a major producer of sea urchin in the United States – but virtually all of the product has been shipped out of the area, and until recently not a single restaurant offered uni on their menu. With a growing understanding of local food sheds and local food webs, we think now is the perfect time to ‘Taste the Place’ and expand our understanding of the purple sea urchin.”

During the three-day festival, some of the most beloved and iconic local hotels and restaurants along the coast, including The Harbor House Inn, Little River Inn, Noyo Harbor Inn, Glendeven Inn & Lodge, The Inn at The Cobbler’s Walk, Elk Cove Inn, Princess Seafood Market & Deli and Izakaya Gama in Point Arena, served urchin-focused menus and specials. Select inns and hotels also offered deals on lodging and other services.

The weekend also had a strong educational component, with the Mendocino Area Parks Association, Watermen’s Alliance, Noyo Science Center and Freedive Shop providing instructional demos and hands-on experiences. Urchinomics,  a restorative seafood company, played a part in the festival by supplying select restaurant partners with purple urchin (‘uni’). Urchinomics is a company dedicated to restoring kelp forests by removing overgrazing barren sea urchins, feeding them on land, and selling them on to distributors and restaurants.

Examples of the weekend’s Urchin tasting activities include:

  • Outdoor demo and 5-course purple urchin tasting menu presented by Urchinomics and Chef Matthew Kammerer at Michelin-starred The Harbor House Inn.
  • Uni demo and educational talk at Van Damme State Beach; sample fresh uni on the beach. Josh Russo from the Waterman’s Alliance and international free dive competitor Greg Fonts of The Freedive Shop demonstrate how to open and clean urchin. Participants  learn how to harvest urchin, the impact purple urchin has on other fisheries and innovative solutions to the problem.
  • Sake Seminar at Little River Inn. Sake expert Kerry Tamura of World Sake Imports walks attendees through the best sakes from seven different Japanese prefectures, highlighting the features of the terroir in the glass. Guests also learn about urchin while sampling uni snacks.

“As a chef in today’s world, it is my job to choose more sustainable ingredients and showcase them to the public,” states Matthew Kammerer, Executive Chef at Harbor House Inn. “Chefs have more of a role in today’s food scene, where education about products, including why and how to use them can help shape the public’s dining perspective and have a positive outcome on future generations. Purple sea urchin has been on our menu since day one.  We are proud to serve all local products but this one has extra meaning for us. Not just its flavor, but to help remove some urchin numbers from the ecosystem that is on the verge of collapsing.”

Continues Dym, “Urchin is delicious and that in itself is a reason to create an urchin festival. What fascinates me is the role purple urchin plays in the ecosystem of the Northwest Pacific Ocean and telling that story to festival goers.”

The Bamboo Room adds ambiance to SoCal’s Craft Cocktail Lounge Scene

Opened in June of 2021, Bamboo Room is a cocktail lounge set in the heart of the Westlake Village community outside of Los Angeles, and has a menu that includes craft cocktails, beer, sake, wine and bottle service. Their wide range of signature cocktails are crafted with high quality and fresh ingredients, as designed by the Michelin Star chef co-founder Chef Anthony Alaimo and partnerJeffrey S. Helfer.

The lounge’s interior ambiance focuses on earth tones and not surprisingly bamboo accents. Guests are able to relax on comfortable furniture or enjoy the dimmed lighting in the Bamboo Room’s library section. They can also sit outside around modern firepits. Depending on the night, guests can also listen to live music or a wide range of visiting DJs.

Bamboo Room was inspired and created with an international perspective, incorporating various global influences from co-owners Alaimo and Helfer, who met over 10 years ago when they both resided and worked in Macau, China. Influenced by their experiences abroad, they decided to share part of their journey with the local Westlake Village community and create a space that is unique and reflective of a worldly trend and vibe.

Locals consider it an escape where they can unwind, enjoy a drink, listen to music, and mingle with friends (and potential new friends). For them it helps replace the urge to take a long drive into the City of Los Angeles for a night out. Convenient and comfortable.

Bamboo Room
www.bambooroomwlv.com

30760 Russell Ranch Road, STE C
Westlake Village, California

San Francisco Chocolate Salon Returns on April 2nd as the Premiere West Coast Artisan Chocolate Festival

The 14th Annual San Francisco International Chocolate Salon takes place this Spring on April 2, 2022. The Chocolate Salon has long been known as the original artisan chocolate festival on the West Coast.

Chocolate aficionados, fanatics, lovers and addicts can taste & experience a wide range of artisan, gourmet & premium chocolate in one of the world’s most famous culinary metropolitan areas.

Chocolate Salon participants include chocolatiers, confectioners, and other culinary artisans, such as Amano Artisan Chocolate, Z. Cioccolato, LetterPress Chocolate, Michael’s Chocolates, Formosa Chocolates, Goufrais, Siamaya Chocolate, CocoTutti Chocolates, Fookie, R & J Toffees, Brigadeiro Sprinkles, The Good Chocolate, p.o.p. candy co., flying noir, the Wishing Well Workshop, Fabula Tea, and more.

For more information or tickets, visit www.SFChocolateSalon.com or HERE.

The San Francisco Chocolate Salon, Los Angeles Chocolate Salon, Sacramento Chocolate Salon, Seattle Chocolate Salon and International Chocolate Salon are produced by TasteTV, which originally created the first Chocolate Salon event in San Francisco in 2007, inspired by its cultural cookbook on chocolate, entitled “French Chocolate.” French Chocolate is available on Amazon.com and on www.FrenchChocolateCookbook.com.

Local and State COVID Guidelines apply.

Chocolate & Wine CRUISE on San Francisco Bay: Spring 2022 Edition

Join us April 23rd, 2022 for the Chocolate & Wine CRUISE on San Francisco Bay onboard a luxury yacht, where you will taste wines and chocolates

The day’s adventure takes place onboard a luxury yacht, where you will taste wines from a local winemaker, along with samples from a curated selection of local chocolate, toffee,  and wine.

Walk among the various artisans and experience their latest creations. Explore and luxuriate on the yacht, and enjoy it all during the 2 1/2-hour cruise on the San Francisco Bay.

Then take home some of that great food and wine you’ve discovered and purchased onboard for continued enjoyment.

EXCLUSIVE: The Chocolate & Wine Cruise is Limited to only a 100 attendees

GET TICKETS HERE.

1:00-3:30pm (yacht sets off at 1pm SHARP).

Must be over 21 years of age.

Proof of Prior COVID Vaccination Required.

WATCH THE VIDEO!

 

READ THIS INFORMATION ABOUT HOW TO USE YOUR ADVANCE TICKET

1. Purchase Advance Tickets

2. Your purchased ticket or tickets are reserved for you. Please bring your ticket confirmation sheet with you to Will Call for the Salon, with a Photo ID.

3. If you purchase more than one ticket, all attendees must be present in order to receive the tickets, which are under your name only.

4. Each ticket purchased is good for the day of the event only.

5. Due to the limited capacity for this event, No refunds available within 72 hours of the event (or after Advance Ticket sales are completed, if sold out earlier)

6. For faster check in, bring your confirmation printout (with scanner bar code on it)

Air France Serves New Menus Signed By Chefs Régis Marcon and Mathieu Viannay

Air France has teamed up with French Michelin-starred chefs Régis Marcon and Mathieu Viannay to sign its La Première and Business long-haul menus. With vegetarian dishes, meat, poultry and fish, the chefs have created haute couture dishes for the airline’s customers to enjoy over the coming months on departure from Paris.

Three Michelin-star gastronomy in the La Première cabin

In the airline’s exclusive La Première cabin, three Michelin-starred chef Régis Marcon has come up with six new tasty dishes. Accompanied by the expertise of the Servair Culinary Studio, of which he is president, Régis Marcon revisits the seasonal products that are close to his heart:

  • – Vegetable lasagna, with tangy chive cream;
  • – Braised veal shank, sage sauce, potato gratin with porcini mushrooms;
  • – Beef tenderloin in red wine, sautéed potato and morel cake;
  • – Pike and shrimp cake with lobster sauce, sautéed girolle mushrooms with tarragon, spinach;
  • – Mixed scallops and scampi with truffles, reduced jus and julienne vegetables;
  • – Confit pigeon, apricot sauce, lemon bulgur, mushrooms and butternut.

Fine dining in the Business cabin

In the Business cabin, Air France has, for the first time, entrusted its menu to two Michelin-starred chef Mathieu Viannay, with 8 original dishes combining delicate flavours and local produce to be enjoyed on board:

  • – Penne pasta, arugula and spinach gratin, ricotta cream with lovage;
  • – Risotto verde, vegetable Bolognese;
  • – Beef tenderloin, macaire potato patties, roasted beet and smoked meat juices;
  • – Poultry fillet with morel mushrooms, spelt and butternut squash risotto;
  • – Poached cod fillet with baby vegetables and taggiasca olives;
  • – Pike perch fillet, armorican sauce, yellow carrots and herb semolina;
  • – Braised veal shank with sweet spices, split pea puree, mange tout and hazelnuts;
  • – Roasted guinea fowl in coffee, celery confit and stewed autumn vegetables.

About Régis Marcon

Bocuse d’Or in 1995 and acclaimed with three Michelin stars, Régis Marcon embodies an entire story of fine French dining. More than a style or a period, his cuisine symbolizes his own story. In the department of Ardèche, in the region of Auvergne, between Velay and Vivarais, Régis Marcon found the roots of his cuisine in a familiar and family territory. Since taking over the family-run hotel restaurant in 1979, and never leaving his cocoon in Saint-Bonnet-le-Froid, Régis Marcon became one of the greatest chefs of our time, by highlighting his regional products such as mushrooms and green Puy lentils.

About Mathieu Viannay

Two Michelin-starred chef Mathieu Viannay has always been a gourmet. A lover of delicate flavours, he handles local products with success. Winner of the Meilleur Ouvrier de France award in 2004, he revisits traditional recipes in a contemporary twist. So it was only natural, that, like a spiritual son, he took over Eugenie Brazier’s cult restaurant “la Mère Brazier”, which celebrates its 100th anniversary this year. Mathieu Viannay also signs the menu of the “Trente et Un” restaurant at the hotel Portopia in Kobe, Japan, giving it an inimitable French touch. He also coordinates the 12 catering outlets of the travel department at the Samaritaine store in Paris.

About Air France

Since 1933, Air France has been promoting and highlighting France throughout the world. With an activity divided between passenger transport, cargo transport and aeronautical maintenance, Air France is a major air transport player. A workforce of more than 45,000 staff are committed on a daily basis to offering each customer a unique travel experience. Air France, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Transavia make up the Air France-KLM Group. The Group relies on its powerful hubs at Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Amsterdam-Schiphol to offer a vast international network. Its Flying Blue frequent flyer program has over 17 million members. Air France and KLM are members of the SkyTeam alliance which has a total of 19 member airlines.