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Issue 5 Volume 17
US $3.95
Behind the Scenes at
Power of Love® Gala What it takes to put on Las Vegas’ grandest event of the year
Siegfried Fischbacher is awarded inaugural Caregiver Award at Power of Love®, presented by Camille and Larry Ruvo.
May 2017
CONTENTS AND COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLISHER MIKE FRYER
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Cover
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WELCOME BACK TO OUR MAY 2017 ISSUE DEDICATED TO POWER OF LOVE, and with this issue we did our homework and went behind the scenes to see what it really takes to put on a major charity gala event for over 1,500 VIP guests who look forward to this yearly extravaganza as the highlight of the season. This year was no exception with its world class entertainment, Bon Jovi & Jennifer Hudson, an exceptional culinary experience by Wolfgang Puck and Michael Mina, first class service by MGM’s professionals and some of the finest wines chosen by Master Somms from SGWS just for this occasion and its food paring. Join us behind the scenes and see what it takes! PAGE 16 FOOD FOR THOUGHT BY LES KINCAID lets us know once again that according to the doctors, “One or two glasses of wine per day is beneficial to good health,” and, as you know, the doctors can’t be wrong! I know my doctor agrees, and he’s partowner of a winery in Paso. Anyway, you know the French and Italian doctors would always endorse at least two glasses! Read on and CHEERS! PAGE 24 IS A RECAP OF THE PIZZA EXPO AND NCB SHOW held recently at the Las Vegas Convention Center, bringing in food & beverage professionals from around the country and even internationally. Both the Pizza Expo and Nightclub & Bar Show draw the most attendees in each of their fields to be considered the largest dedicated expos in their classification. CHEERS! MIKE FRYER
Page 4 Hot off the Grill!
Page 5 COOK•EAT: Asia Asian Food Character-Ethnicity
Page 14
Page 22
COVER FEATURE Behind the Scenes at Power of Love® What it takes to put on Las Vegas’
Product Spotlight
grandest event of the year
Bob’s Beer Bits and Sips Brews to Help You Ease into Summer Product Review
Page 16 Page 6 Making Good Sourdough: PART I
Food for Thought Doctors Agree One or Two Glasses of Wine Per Day Is Beneficial
Pizza Expo and Nightclub & Bar Rocks the Town During Its Annual Conventions at the
Page17 Page 8 Twinkle Toast Afternoon Picnic? Wine not?
Page 24
Las Vegas Convention Center
Foodie Biz Palm Desert Food & Wine Festival Sees Remarkable Cooking Demos
Page 25 Human Resources Insights Building and Maintaining
Page 10 Brett’s Vegas View
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Page 11 The Bottom Line What Is Content Marketing and How Can It Help Your Restaurant?
Page 18 Wine Talk Wine + AI (Artificial Intelligence) = A different kind of sommelier?
a Strong Team
Page 26 Events
Page 20 Maui Brewing Co Independently Growing Craft Beer Within
Ad Index ACF Chefs of SoCal
Hawaii and Beyond Page 12 What’s Brewing
May 2017 I The SoCal Food & Beverage Professional 3
The Socal Food & Beverage Professional 7442 Grizzly Giant Street Las Vegas, NV 89139
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HOT OFF THE GRILL!
May 2017 Mike Fryer
Sr. Editor/Publisher
Restaurant Editor Benjamin Brown attended the Palm Desert Food & Wine Festival, which featured an array of acclaimed speakers. Top Chef Judge Gail Simmons (left) and Top Chef Finalist Brooke Williamson (right) were among a slew of culinary stars that included Aarti Sequiera, Stuart O’Keeffe, Zac Young and The Beekman Boys. Award-winning wines and extravagant bites rounded out a delightful weekend for palate discovery. Ben’s Foodie Biz column contains a full-page recap of the event.
Thank you for joining us in this issue of The Las Vegas Food & Beverage Professional. For any questions or comments please email mike@socalfnbpro.com
Juanita Fryer
Assistant To Sr. Editor ACF Chefs Liasion/Journalist juanita.fryer@socalfnbpro.com
Bob Barnes
Editorial Director bob@socalfnbpro.com
Restaurant Editor Benjamin Brown had the pleasure of speaking at this year’s FoodTrekking World Conference in Portland, Oregon. Ben’s talk outlined the significance of content strategy in the hospitality sector, as well as best practices in content production, social media and measurement. An audience of restaurant owners, tour operators and destination executives walked away with clear next steps to maximize their marketing reach. Ben is an active hospitality consultant and publishes monthly business tips in his Bottom Line column.
Ben Brown
Restaurant Editor ben@socalfnbpro.com
On recent trip covering the Central Coast wine region, we were able to take a few minutes to enjoy the wine and scenery of the rolling hills of Santa Maria, with its many freshly planted grape vines. Pinots are the rage here, but there are some fine Cabs coming up as well!
Juanita Aiello
Adam Rains
Creative Director juanita@socalfnbpro.com
Beverage Editor adam.rains@socalfnbpro.com
Advertising sales@socalfnbpro.com
Article Submissions/Suggestions articles@socalfnbpro.com
Calendar Submissions calendar@socalfnbpro.com
Website webmaster@socalfnbpro.com
Press Relase Submissions news@socalfnbpro.com
General Information info@socalfnbpro.com
@socalfnbpro
The SoCal Food & Beverage Professional
CONTRIBUTING STAFF
Legal Editorial Advisor Andrew Matney
Journalist Apryl Bruso
Accounting Manager Michelle San Juan
Journalist Brett’s Vegas View Jackie Brett
Journalist What’s Brewing David Mulvihill
Journalist Food for Thought Les Kincaid
Journalist Hungry for PR Jen Morris
Journalist John Rockwell
Pre-Press Technician Brandon Yan
Journalist Good for Spooning LeAnne Notabartolo
Journalist East Eats West K. Mike Masuyama Ph.D.
Photographer Audrey Dempsey
Journalist Chef Talk Allen Asch
Journalist Linda Duke
Journalist Heidi Rains
Journalist HR Insights Linda Bernstein
Journalist Green Restaurant Association Michael Oshman
Journalist Wine Talk Alice Swift
Journalist Lisa Matney
Journalists Elaine & Scott Harris
Photographer Bill Bokelmann
Photographer Joe Urcioli
Journalists The Cork Dorks Erin Cooper & Christine Vanover
Master Sommelier Joe Phillips
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COOK•EAT: Asia Asian Food Character-Ethnicity
By K. Mike Masuyama Ph.D. Mike Masuyama is a bi-cultural science-technologybusiness consultant. He earned a Ph.D. in Food Science at Cornell University, is involved in teaching, research and business in major-beer, micro-beer, soft drinks, sake, sea salt, rice, white soy sauce and other areas both in Japan and the US., and has published several books and dozens of articles. “Ask Doctor Sake” was his last series in this journal.
Like casting a light from a lighthouse, Chinese civilization has given immense influence to every corner of Asia, including for cooking-eating. The Chinese food culture is based on a theory that medicine and eating are synonymous for attaining an ultimate goal of long life without health and aging issues. Thus, either positive or negative sides of foods were thoroughly determined. In other words, they presumed health issues would be prevented or cured by eating the right foods with medicinal benefits. All Asian people have inherited such an idea, believing it from the bottom of their hearts. In daily eating, everybody pays attention to eating, what is good or what is no good. It was extrapolated into a YinYang theory, which will be talked about in a story of the Zen Macrobiotics later. My interpretation of this theory is to eat wisely to promote health and to minimize unfavorable things by balancing both when options are available. Nothing odd or peculiar, I guess, it may be a wise, convenient way to practice it today. In the real world, though, we eat anything we come by. Thus, Asian food has different ethnicity and character from the west as a matter of comparison. In practice, Asian cooking uses numerous and various vegetables, fish from freshwater or ocean, and other ingredients with respectively unique herbs-spices-source than the west. In another words, Asian cooking is more compound or blended with ingredients, while the western ones are rather mono- or a few combined. For example, stir fries contains lots of different vegetables with a choice of additional chicken, pork, beef or seafood if affordable, all compounded. California roll sushi: cooked rice with avocado, imitation crab meat and Nori for wrapping. For the western ones, fried chicken, roast beef, cheeseburger, used to be, with potatoes or cooked vegetables at the side. Recently fresh vegetables are added to burgers for luring health-conscious customers, though. It may be said that the west is more carnivorous or monotonous while the east omnivorous or varietal. Flavoring is often done by sauces, like fish sauce, soy sauce and other sauces, originated from dripping while preserving foods in salt. A drip from salting fish is fish sauce, while salting vegetables gives respective sauces, particularly often after a fermented process. Soy sauce is a good example representing an Asian condiment. By pouring soy sauce, cooking would become Asian, almost. Oil and fire are also characterized for Chinese cooking, while eating fresh or raw is common in seaboard areas. A wok or similar is a cooking pan to do everything from stir frying, frying a whole fish, and steaming through a bamboo mat. A long time cooking like a stew may not be often seen. Asians may be short tempered, unable to wait too long. Chinese in the north in particular innovated flour foods by making a flat, un-risen dough to cut into noodles (not much extruding through small holes), to cut into smaller squares or to press a small chunk to make round for dumplings. These were transplanted through the Silk Road into the western food culture like pasta or spaghetti, and ravioli or tortilla. So the mother of the Asian culinary is the Chinese food culture and also a kind of motherin-law of the western counterpart. On this planet, despite geological or political divisions among the east, the west, the north and the south, food cultures have been developed by mingling various food sources from all over the place. Typical examples are potatoes and corn from South America. Hot peppers from the south have also spread throughout Asia incorporating into its unique recipes like Korean Kimchee or Chinese hot and sour soup. In these globalizing days, we share the same ingredients or ideas for our own ways of eating and cooking. www.socalfnbpro.com
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www.whitesoysaucefood.com May 2017 I The SoCal Food & Beverage Professional 5
By John Rockwell John Rockwell is a native Southern Californian and career English teacher working in the Riverside area. In his spare time, he rides his bicycle to breweries, restaurants, and cheese shops, and is always looking for culinary delights within riding distance of the vast network of SoCal bicycle trails.
Making Good Sourdough: PART I
photos by John Rockwell
He is an ardent fan of the waiver theater culture in Los Angeles. He is new to cheesemaking, but has been a homebrewer for over twenty years.
If you serve your own cheese platters, nothing makes it more sublime than using sourdough bread you’ve baked at home.
discard a part and re-feed the starter every day for the first week), and realized I now had the raw materials to make some good bread. Like any food science, I had to experiment, make some bad bread, and eventually break through the mythology to get to the facts. Get ready to toss your expensive bread machine, because if you’re patient, any home cook can make quality sourdough at home with relative ease. Myth: You need a special starter to make sourdough bread. Sourdough is made without baker’s yeast, using natural leaven—a living, active yeast and bacterial culture. While it is true that you need a starter to make sourdough, you do not need to buy a special “San Francisco Sourdough” starter from somebody claiming to have the secret microbes. Yeast and microbes are everywhere, and most of the microbes for your sourdough originate in the flour you use. A mixture of flour and water sitting on your countertop will usually begin to ferment on its own within a week, perhaps sooner if you discard part of it and then feed it (add flour and a little water) daily. Once the starter is going strong, it can be refrigerated, and only needs to be fed a few hours before you make the dough. If you bake less than once a week, then you may still want to feed it weekly to keep it going. Over time, it will get more sour (especially if you’re like me and don’t discard a lot), but
For me, part of the joy of a good cheese platter is good bread. I’ve never been much of a ‘cheese and cracker’ person, even though I understand the idea of the blank canvas to keep the focus on the cheese. But I sometimes serve cheese platters as a light meal, so if I’m going to add a starch at all, I usually serve some variation of sourdough—lightly pan-fried in butter. Although there are a few good artisan bakeries springing up in SoCal, grocery store bread is always hit and miss, and probably filled with additives.
I always wondered about the feasibility of making my own rustic sourdough with a big open crumb and sour flavor. So when I had some leftover buttermilk from making homemade cultured butter, I decided to use it to make sourdough starter. I just mixed it with some allpurpose flour and warm water until it had a thick batter consistency, left it on the counter, and in a week I had a bubbling fermentation going. After the first week, I somewhat successfully made cinnamon rolls with the discard (you should
I baked my first sourdough loaves in a bread pan. They looked like loaves, so I had hope. I brushed them with olive oil and sprinkled with salt to give them a little sheen.
Though pale due to some bad low-temp baking advice, the crumb—the inside of the bread—on my first loaf was a bit dense but definitely edible.
After I learned how to shape and bake at a higher temperature, the crumb improved significantly.
Bannetons—wicker baskets for proofing loaves— are not a requirement for breadmaking, but they do add a certain rustic aesthetic to the results.
In SoCal, a high indoor temperature between 70-80 degrees is perfect for proofing, so instead of using a $200 bread proofer from Amazon.com, I simply use a plastic bag.
There are many methods for scoring bread, and believe it or not, this experiment turned out exactly as I hoped, though not as aesthetically pleasing as I imagined.
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If boules (rounds) are shaped properly, the oven spring will create beautiful tearing patterns on the bread. You can see the residual flour patters from the banneton.
there are ways to manage the fermentation so it does not impart a strongly sour flavor—actually desirable in other naturally leavened breads. Myth: You need special equipment and ingredients to make sourdough bread. Sourdough bread is made with bread flour (bluelabel King Arthur’s Flour is the standard and can be found everywhere, but Smart and Final sells a house-brand bread flour), starter (yeast), water and salt. (The high protein content of bread flour lends itself to a sometimes chewy product; APF reduces the protein content.) You need a bowl for mixing the dough, a rubber spatula, your hands, and a small colander or bowl with some cheesecloth or non-terry dishcloth for proofing. You can bake it in your oven with or without steam—I use a large stainless steel mixing bowl inverted on a pizza stone, but you could simply invert a large metal mixing bowl over any pizza stone, cast-iron, steel or anodizedaluminum pan. If you really get into this, you will definitely want to get one very important (and perhaps the most important) piece of equipment: a grams scale. Because bakers build recipes on the weight of water to flour, kitchen scales weigh 1000g of flour and 700g of water for that perfect 70%-hydration dough (or whatever your preferred hydration might be). It is tough but ultimately freeing to do away with the measuring cups! Myth: You need a lot of time to make sourdough bread. This may seem true but most of the time the dough is resting and you’re ignoring it. The more bread I make, the more I realize the best bread is made around my schedule. Since I work, I will often arrange to make dough for the next batch when I bake. Sourdough bread can take 2-3 days to make, but most of that time it is fermenting in your refrigerator or proofing just before the bake. The most common method of dough development involves stretching and resting the dough in its own mixing bowl over the course of a few hours. If you’re a glutton for punishment, you can knead it and then let it sit for a few hours. The only other significant time commitment is shaping and baking. Proofing may take an hour or two—less if you’ve rested the dough for 2448 hours under refrigeration as I usually have. If you can bake two loaves at a time, baking the bread for the week takes 40-45 minutes. Truth: Sourdough bread is a fermentation. Just like any other fermentation, the process itself changes the chemistry of the flour from something less digestible to something easily digested. As flour ferments, starches are broken down by the yeast, producing gas. As www.socalfnbpro.com
These are called Tartine loaves, and are loaves that have a single score across the top. The shaping method tightens the dough so it has no choice but to expand through the cut.
It’s not pretty, but this the starter begins—flour, water, and natural yeast (it’s on the flour). Discard some and then add equal weights of flour and water to keep it healthy.
This is what you do with your “discard” starter— make a loose dough with it, and voila, English muffins. I let these proof in canning rings, griddle fried them and finished in the oven.
The signature blistered “skin” on sourdough is accomplished by spraying the loaf with water and keeping it under a steam lid at 450 degrees for 20 minutes. The lid is removed to finish the bake.
the acidity increases, the proteins (glutens) are softened. Sourdough bread is not meant to be made in a single, time-consuming afternoon, or in a few hours with a bread machine. Baker’s yeast is a relatively modern invention that, in my opinion, takes away from the joy and experimentation of allowing dough to really ferment. When sourdough is fermented, the chemistry changes—the dough smells sweet, and a proper bake causes the sugars in the loaf to bake to a beautiful auburn with crusty edges. The fragrances produced by baking fermented bread are not unlike the fragrances experienced during beer brewing. Truth: Sourdough bread is really cheap to make. If you use Smart & Final bread flour, an average loaf will cost you about $.30. If you use King Arthur bread flour, the average price goes up to about $.90 each, give or take a few pennies. (One 5-lb bag of flour makes about four loaves, with a couple of cups of flour left over.) Like all food production, part of the reason we homemake food is so we can use better ingredients; therefore, unbleached and untreated flour is a must. Whole wheat and white whole wheat are great flours that aid gluten development and add character to the finished bread. No matter how you slice it, a good loaf of Sourdough will run you $5-6 at the market—a few dollars more from artisan shops—so you’re saving several dollars every time you bake one for yourself. If you insist on spending that extra cash, don’t worry, there are expensive specialty grains and plenty of kitchen tools you can buy to augment your experience. But for goodness sake, don’t use an electric mixer to blend your dough— with some practice and skill, it takes about two to five minutes or less to incorporate dough, starter, and water together. Truth: Breadmaking is about technique. The good news is it is a learnable technique. You
will need to learn how to handle dough while it is developing, when to cold-crash it if you’re doing a long cold-ferment, how to shape and rest the dough, how to proof it, and how to bake it. With a high-hydration dough, the only thing keeping it from being a blob on the counter is how well you develop the gluten and build tension into the dough. My first sourdough loaves were built using the following basic recipe—as you will find out, it’s more about a process than a recipe: 7 cups bread flour 2 ½-2 ¾ cups water 1 tsp salt 1 cup starter Feed starter before work in the morning. Leave starter container in bowl (for overflow) on counter. When you’re home from work, mix salt evenly through bread flour with whisk. Then incorporate all ingredients until all dry flour is in the dough. Let dough rest 30-45 minutes. Then, with wet hands pull corners of dough from side of mixing bowl and stretch over to the opposite corner. Flip dough. Do this every 30-45 minutes until dough has visible bubbles in side or it is rising noticeably, generally about 4-5 hrs. Seal and place in refrigerator until the next afternoon or evening for at least 24 hours. The next evening, let dough rest at room temperature for one hour before working with it. There is an art to shaping and a way to control the hot bake (450-500 degrees for about 30-45 minutes) that will give you superior results in the home—and a great addition to your cheese plates. If I’ve sparked your curiosity, I’ll be writing about that next month.
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Twinkle Toast
Photo courtesty banditwines.com
Photo by Erin Cooper
Afternoon Picnic? Wine not?
By Erin Cooper & Christine Vanover Erin Cooper and Christine Vanover have been residents of Las Vegas since 2007. Vanover is also a UNLV Alumnus. Both women are Territory Managers for the Resort Wine Team at Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits, members of Women Gone Wine and the founders of Twinkle Toast. info@twinkletoast.com • www.twinkletoast.com Facebook: @TwinkleToast Twitter: TwinkleToastLV Instagram: TwinkleToastLV
Hooray for picnic season! Ok, we realize that there is not an official “picnic season” but when you’ve been in Las Vegas as long as we have, you deeply cherish the pre-summer seventy and eighty degree days. So grab a blanket and pack yourself a lunch; we are about to explore the many park-friendly, glass-free containers that wine suppliers have to offer. Bag-in-box wine was first patented in 1965 by South Australian winemaker Thomas Angove. With bag-in-box production costs being less than that of traditional glass bottles, other producers of budget wines also began using this new system of packaging. Fast forward to 2003, and the Central Coast-based winery Black Box Wines broke the stereotype that only lower quality wines are offered in alternative packing. We are happy to report that the wine industry now has stellar options in both bag-in-box format and its mini-version, TetraPak. Winemaker Joel Gott created his newest lineup of California wines under the brand name Bandit, and they are exclusively offered in TetraPak. The official Bandit Wines website states that “because we’re able to save money on glass and cork, we have more cash to pour into the quality of our wine.” The 500mL and 1 liter sizes come in Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Grigio and Merlot, and you can find these picnic-ready Paks at your local CVS or Smith’s.
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In this same vein, Delicato’s Bota Box wines are packaged in 3 liter boxes and TetraPaks. The plastic liner of their 3 liter box is completely BPA free, and the container is printed on post-consumer fiber. Bota Box produces 14 different varietals with Rosé being the newest to hit the market. Domestic winemakers aren’t the only ones to have hopped on the eco-friendly packaging bandwagon. French Rabbit wines, from the sunny Pays d’Oc region of Southern France, are sourced from sustainably farmed vineyards, and are ONLY featured in picnic-friendly TetraPaks. Their Chardonnay has recently been released into the Las Vegas market. Picnic for one? We’ve got you covered. Staples like Sutter Home, Beringer and Woodbridge all produce single serving size, plastic 187mL bottles. Missing your wine glass? Steelhead from Sonoma County has created a 187mL that is even packaged with its own plastic cup. Not only is Steelhead offered in convenient packaging for one, but the wine is dedicated to creating a better world, and donates a portion of its sales to environmental projects. Alright our fellow picnic lovers, go forth and not only enjoy the great outdoors but also toast it with a great glass of wine. Cheers! www.socalfnbpro.com
Brett’s
By Jackie Brett Jackie is a freelance public relations specialist and writer specializing in the Las Vegas entertainment and travel scene. Her writings have appeared in magazines and newspapers nationwide and on numerous websites. She is also an instructor covering Special Events at CSN- College of Southern Nevada.
Email: jackiebrett@cox.net
Spotlighting Entertainment
Britney Spears has announced her final 18 dates from Sept. 3-Dec. 31 for her four-year run at The AXIS at Planet Hollywood. Céline Dion has added 37 more show dates to her residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace including New Year’s Eve. Sir Rod Stewart, who opened his residency seven years ago at The Colosseum, added nine more shows to his summer schedule Aug. 15 Sept. 3. Enrique Iglesias will return to The Colosseum for his third year celebrating Mexican Independence Day weekend Sept. 15 and 16. Comedy impressionist Gordie Brown opened his show May 9 inside The Cabaret at Planet Hollywood. Boyz II Men have dates through 2017 at The Mirage. The trio will resume their residency after touring with New Kids On The Block and Paula Abdul and stopping at T-Mobile Arena on May 28.
Remaining open, The Mob Museum’s improvement project this year affects the basement and first level adding exhibits and a Prohibition Era history experience with a working distillery and speakeasy. The Luxor’s closed LAX nightclub is being converted into the Strip’s first multi-level e-sports arena opening next year with capacity to host 1,000 people.
Longtime collaborators and Fleetwood Mac members, Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie, will visit the Park Theater at Monte Carlo with The Wallflowers Saturday, July 22. Gary Clark Jr., whose “Live / North America 2016” album was released in March, is returning to Brooklyn Bowl Tuesday, June 20. The 15th Annual Summer of Fun Kick Off, a concert and festival event at the Cannery, will feature The Vogues, The Diamonds, The Outsiders and Shades of Blue Saturday, May 27. The Night Jams concert series on Sundays at the Flamingo GO Pool will feature Sugar Ray on June 25. Everclear will appear on Sunday, July 16. The Mandalay Beach Concert Series has booked Randy Houser on June 2 and Ziggy Marley on June 17.
Restaurant Mentions
Mel Brooks will headline at Wynn June 30 and July 1 in the Encore Theater providing a look into his extraordinary life and career. Jarrett & Raja, magician and pianist on Season 7 of NBC’s America’s Got Talent, opened their own show with a dinner option at Hooters. The Paul Lynde Show starring impersonator Michael Airington opened in the Windows Showroom at Bally’s. Bob Saget, who was Dad on TV’s Full House, will bring his signature off-color comedy style to Brooklyn Bowl Friday, May 26. Tyson Beckford is bumping and grinding again in the Chippendales show at the Rio for a couple more months. Divas Las Vegas starring Frank Marino as Joan Rivers, and a cast of female impersonators has introduced an all-new 9:30 p.m. show at The LINQ Theater. Keith Sweat will return for an additional run of his limited engagement in the Flamingo showroom July 5-22.
Proof Tavern is a new upscale gaming and dining establishment in the MonteLago Village at Lake Las Vegas serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. As part of Wynn’s Master Class Series, on Friday, June 9, you can learn behind-the-bar secrets from Wynn’s resort mixologist Damian Cross at 2 p.m. for $125. On Thursday, June 15, it’s grilling with David Walzog, executive chef of SW Steakhouse and Lakeside at 1 p.m. for $150. At Caesars Palace, Stripside Café & Bar with Strip views opened and has a Grab & Go counter. The ‘Healthy’ and ‘Happy’ split-menu-concept restaurant SkinnyFATS will open a fourth Valley location at Downtown Summerlin this summer.
Evolving News
Renovation at Palace Station is dismantling its train theme and this spring producing a new “mid-century modern meets contemporary” façade and a new 362-seat bingo room. The current bingo room will be turned into new restaurants.
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Enclave Las Vegas is a new $15 million, hightech 75,000-square-foot, 22-room venue suited to a wide range of events near McCarran Airport. The Gold Spike downtown has unveiled its newest amenity “The Sugar Shack.” Vegas’ only Traveler XL Tiny Home nestled in the backyard can be booked with sleeping space for five. The Nerd created by the owner of the Voodoo Zip Line attraction at Rio is a new nightlife concept at Neonopolis downtown with a 12lane bowling alley and dance floor. The 16-foot Blue Angel statue with the halo that stood 61 years over a motel on Fremont Street is being refurbished and will be re-installed on the median near Fremont Street and Charleston Boulevard. The Neon Museum demolished the adjacent L.A. Street Market building to expand and house 30 more signs in a new outdoor exhibit area opening later this year. Previously known as the “Private Study,” Hyde Bellagio, the nightlife venue overlooking the Fountains of Bellagio, is transforming the space into a glamorous “Selfie Studio” with a larger-than-life backlit tile mosaic mural. Wet Republic at MGM Grand is holding its 16-week “Hot 100” bikini contest again on select Fridays ending Aug. 18. The Aquatic Club is a new weekend day-club pool experience debuting at The Palazzo and offering poolside fare from Wolfgang Puck. The sixth annual Health, Healing & Happiness conference at the Tuscany Friday-Sunday, June 9-11 is Nevada’s largest nutrition and natural solutions event. Casa De Shenandoah, Wayne Newton’s home is introducing new kid-friendly animal adventure tours. www.socalfnbpro.com
By Ben Brown
What Is Content Marketing and How Can It Help Your Restaurant? Content marketing joins the ranks of digital, social media and influencer marketing—terms so often thrown around without too many people knowing how to actually use them as intended. Look past the buzzword-inspired skepticism, though, and you’ll find that content marketing can and should be a valuable asset in your repertoire. In short, content marketing is sharing material [blogs, posts, etc.] that does not explicitly promote your brand but is intended to stimulate interest in a way not typically achievable through conventional marketing methods. Think of content marketing as product placement that you create—instead of a TV show that strikes a deal with Coca Cola to have characters drinking coke on air, it’s Coca Cola that makes a video series depicting amazing moments where people just happen to have cans of Coke in their hands. Content marketing is more subtle than conventional marketing, putting the article, photo, video, etc. before the brand itself. This less ‘in your face’ style is aimed at higher conversion—more people are willing to watch a great video that happens to mention Coca Cola than to watch a Coke commercial. So how can this approach help a restaurant? Restaurants and the greater hospitality sector are actually a mecca for content marketing. This business is what people daydream about consuming on a regular basis, and naturally want to gravitate toward when it comes to reading articles and watching videos. Restaurants have a slew of natural assets that fit nicely into the content marketing landscape. One of the lowest-hanging fruits you can leverage are howto videos: How-to videos ‘How to’ is a very popular search topic across Google and YouTube, with cooking videos performing very well in this category. Chances are you’ve got a lot of fun recipes in your restaurant that people would love to try out for themselves, so why not film the preparation process? Choose a visually-appealing item off your menu that’s simple enough for the average home cook to prepare. Drinks work as well if you have a good cocktail selection. Use a mise en place approach to keep things easy. You can film from the front, as typically seen on TV, or from the top, which is a very popular method online. ‘Tasty’ is a great YouTube channel that showcases the overhead filming method. To add your branding, simply add it in the intro and conclusion [think ‘How to Make XYZ, presented by Restaurant Name Here’], as well as a link to your website in the video description. Also make sure to post the actual recipe in the video description. You can also do a how-to photo series, though expect to get out what you put in. People are much more likely to browse through videos than step-by-step photo instructions. Before you go out and make a how-to video, however, it’s best to fully understand the risks and rewards that come with content marketing. Videos like these require a lot of time, and in many cases money, to produce and distribute. Be sure that you’re in line with the main risks and benefits below before proceeding. While content marketing may not be as direct as more conventional marketing methods, it’s a great way to create—well, content—that people actually want to see. And as with all marketing methods, content marketing is best done as part of a holistic program rather than as a one-off piece. A how-to video published alongside a Facebook ad, a new menu announcement on your website and a special on your property will do much better than a how-to video alone. www.socalfnbpro.com
SoCal Food & Beverage Professional. A seasoned writer and consultant, Ben works with Fortune 500 companies and mom & pop shops alike in Marketing, Analytics, Consumer Insights, PR and Business Development. Contact Ben at Ben@lvfnb.com or follow him @Foodie_Biz.
photo courtesy Ben Brown
The Bottom Line
Benjamin Brown, MBA is Restaurant Editor of The
The Risks • Less brand exposure—your brand takes a backseat to the marketing piece itself • Less brand recall—the audience may recognize your brand in the marketing piece, but may not remember it afterwards • Less direct association—those who do remember your brand may not necessarily associate it with the message that the marketing piece conveyed The Benefits • Greater click-through rate—headlines that appeal to educating and entertaining people rather than selling to them will garner much more attention • Greater share value—people are much more likely to share a howto video than they are to share a commercial • Larger audience appeal—both of the above points allow you to cast a wider net May 2017 I The SoCal Food & Beverage Professional 11
By David Mulvihill
what’s
photos by David Mulvihill
BREWING
David Mulvihill strives to experience and write about the ever-evolving face of SoCal craft beer. He also covers Orange County for Celebrator Beer News as well as Southern California for Southwest Brewing News. Contact him at dbrewhill@gmail.com.
Yorkshire Square Head Brewer Andy Black (l) with Owner Gary Croft.
Yorkshire Square Torrance’s newest craft brewery is offering the thirsty public an alternative to the norm. No, we aren’t talking about the latest in the hazy/ juicy IPA realm. Instead, what Yorkshire Square Brewery offers is a true opportunity for beer drinkers to appreciate the roots of English-style cask conditioned ale at its best. Owner Gary Croft hails from Leeds in the heart of Yorkshire. He was successful in teaming with brewer Andy Black, who, along with Croft’s son Sam, will bring traditional-style cask conditioned hand-pulled ales to Southern California. The decision to open the brewery was in part stimulated by Sam Croft’s desire to become a brewer. Black gained local notoriety a few years back as the premier brewer for MacLeod’s Ale Brewery, when that brewery opened in Van Nuys. Many consider him to be one of the most talented real ale brewers on this side of the pond. His ales,
while more sessionable on the lower end of the ABV scale, still possess an amazing amount of complexity, balance and flavor, with just the right amount of carbonation. Black is back and once again producing the gems we have thirsted for in his absence. Black grew up on the East Coast, where he developed an affinity for British-style ales while attending college. That led to homebrewing and eventually to developing professional aspirations. Unlike most contemporary brewers, his interest was in brewing real ales, traditional UK-style naturally carbonated cask conditioned ales. He moved to England to study the craft and hooked up with MacLeod’s after returning to the US. He fine-tuned and developed his techniques during that run. After MacLeod’s, he brewed for a time at El Segundo Brewing Co and consulted with other brewery startups, most recently two real-ale startups, Inland Wharf Brewing in Murrieta and Yorkshire Square.
12 The SoCal Food & Beverage Professional I May 2017
Gary Croft spoke about Black’s previous consulting role and the time he wrote the job description to assist with hiring a talented pro-brewer. “He wrote the job description for me and it was great.” Croft recounted getting home that night and thinking that Black’s job description was more of a self-description. “So I called him up and said, “You’ve just written that job description for yourself. Do you want to work here?” Black initially turned him down, hesitant to take on all of the work involved with a startup. He had also been considering returning to the East Coast. Croft surmised that declining the position was likely more related to the necessity to commit long-term to assisting with the success of the business without much to show for it in the end. So, he offered Black a piece of the equity and they were able to reach an agreement. As an equity partner, Black and Croft now share the common goal of making Yorkshire Square a destination. “We are just going to do it right. We are going to brew the beer and hopefully will have enough people to drink it so we can keep brewing it. We will listen to feedback and will try and develop a great beer program. I think Andy has an incredible ability to make terrifically good beer.” As you enter the pub section of the brewery, the rustic wood for the bar top and bar front came from repurposed lumber taken from the 1947 era sub-ceiling taken down during the remodel. The 22-foot-long picnic table on the patio was also crafted from those ceiling beams. The space imparts the flavor of an English pub. The stonework on the bar and fireplace has that flair. At the bar, Yorkshire Square has opened with eight half-pull beer engines. These beer engines are used to dispense cask conditioned beer. Unlike typical CO2 infused taps, beer engines are used to pump the beer into the glass while introducing a proper aeration. The pump cylinder and lever arm handle deliver one halfpint per pull through a swan-necked spout. Pints served will more closely equate to imperial pints in size, and, unlike many pubs and breweries, a half will be a true half at half the price of a pint. Yorkshire’s number of beer engines will likely grow to 15 so that a large variety of ales can be offered, including guest beers from time to time. Since this establishment will also offer food, licensing allows beer from other breweries to be sourced and served. The starting lineup included Early Doors, a traditional pub bitter; The Tenant, a Britishstyle pale ale; and Wuthering Stout, an oat stout. These were offered during pre-opening sessions and would soon be joined by Little Nipper, a golden ale; Hurley Burley, an American brown; and The Drift, a traditional dark mild. Yorkshire Square had its soft opening on April 19, with initial opening hours Wed. through Sun. www.socalfnbpro.com
Beer board at Three Weavers.
The beers are being brewed on a brand new 10-barrel Rocky Mountain Vessels brewhouse. A local pig farmer picks up the spent grain from the brewing process. Croft looks forward to eventually serving products produced by that same grain, sausages made from pork that has eaten Yorkshire’s spent grain and gravy made from its beer. For now there are no Yorkshire Squares employed in the brewing process, but there may come a time when they are added to the process. In deciding on location, Croft’s desire was for accessibility and to provide a feeling that was a bit more upscale that just an industrial space. The location at 1109 Van Ness Ave. possesses adequate parking, is in the vicinity of Old Downtown Torrance and is situated right across the street from Honda (with its 3,000 employees). The nearby Toyota headquarters will soon be vacated by its staff of 4,700 moving to Dallas, but word has it that Google may be moving in. Brewery hopping in the area is very easy. Monkish and Smog City breweries are just about a mile north. Longstanding Red Car Brewery and Restaurant is just a couple of blocks south on the opposite side of Torrance Blvd.
On the day this reporter visited Three Weavers was releasing Magnificent Voices Collective Gose, its International Women’s Collaboration Brew Day/Pink Boots Society Big Brew. Proceeds from this well-made gose-style beer went to assist funding of Pink Boots Society scholarships. Nowell began her professional brewing career in the San Francisco Bay area, first at Novato’s Moylan’s Brewing Company in 2010. She moved on to Drake’s Brewing Company in San Leandro where she stayed until April of 2013. As Drake’s lead brewer she was recruited to join Southern California’s Kinetic Brewing
Company. During her brief time at Kinetic she was successful in earning two bronze medals at the 2013 Great American Beer Festival for Potential Blonde, German-style Kolsch, and for Torque in the Session Beer category. In late 2013 Weaver was successful in having Nowell join her team and assist with the building and opening Three Weavers. World class honors would once again be forthcoming for Nowell with the 2016 World Beer Cup competition. WBC gold was awarded for Blood Junkie in the Imperial Red Ale category. Seafarer Kolsch is on tap as one of Three Weavers’ core beers. On the hoppy side of the spectrum you can expect to be satiated by a number of IPAs and other hoppy brews. Two collaborative IPAs were on the board during this visit, Young Grasshopper, a hop satisfying session IPA brewed with Chapman Crafted of Orange, and The Messenger, an American IPA recipe that incorporates Bhudda’s Hand fruit for an extra citrus pop. Nowell originally brewed this beer with Noble Ale Works’ Evan Price prior to Three Weavers opening for business. It has become a seasonal collaboration with Noble since that time. This year’s version incorporated fresh yuzu and was dry hopped with Citra, El Dorado and Galaxy. The dark side was also well-represented. The approachable Hounslow Porter at 5.5% ABV provides a full flavor dimension in a mild overall package. Southbounder Coffee Stout, at 7.1% ABV, wakes things up via integration of Northbounder Coffee Roasters coffee. Three Weavers core imperial stout, Midnight Flight, is also available for those wishing to take the 9.5% plunge.
Three Weavers Three Weavers Brewing Company has experienced tremendous growth in its three years in business. Founded by Lynne Weaver, she teamed early with award-winning Brewmaster Alexandra Nowell in crafting their shared vision of bringing impeccable beers to the public. This all takes place in an unassuming industrial warehouse in Inglewood (1031 W. Manchester Blvd.). Three Weavers already graduated from a 15-barrel brewhouse, doubling to 30 barrels, and has been utilizing a centrifuge for quite some time. Coupled with a talented brewer, a centrifuge can assist in improving efficiencies and beer consistency across the board. A large adjacent space has been procured and will soon house a new Innofill DVD 30 canning line from KHS. It will fill 250 cans/minute and supplement Three Weavers’ GAI bottling line, which fills 50 bottles/minute. Space additions in progress will increase Three Weavers total size to 33,000 square feet (including brewery, cellar, warehouse, tasting room, offices and packaging). www.socalfnbpro.com
from l-r: Three Weavers Brewing Company team members, Tasting Room Manager Nick Bachman, Brewmaster Alexandra Nowell, and Joseph Isaac (marketing Proteus Minor).
May 2017 I The SoCal Food & Beverage Professional 13
Behind the Scenes at Power of Love
®
What it takes to put on Las Vegas’ grandest event of the year By Bob Barnes | Photos by Denise Truscello & Ethan Miller/Getty Images for Keep Memory Alive
Imagine
presenting a gourmet meal for 1,500 of your best friends, prepared by some of the top celebrity chefs in the world and paired with is world-class wines selected by Master Sommeliers. What I’ve just described year this ® Garden, Grand MGM the at 27 April on Held gala. Love of the Power was the 21st rendition of this celebration of life that was created to raise money for Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health’s programs and services. The annual event is arguably the most respected and revered extravaganza taking place in Las Vegas each year. To pull such a feat off, year after year, quite a bit of planning and resources are required. Here we take a look at this year’s event and the extraordinary efforts by the food and beverage team and what takes place behind the scenes.
The World Class Wine
Great cuisine should be accompanied by outstanding wine and cocktails and for this year’s event the ultimate in fine libations were served. “The Power of Love ® gala is a one-of-a-kind experience with an exquisite menu that is exclusive to the event, so when pairing wine we considered
the bold flavors that are signature to both Wolfgang Puck and Michael Mina. To complement each course, our team of Master Sommeliers chose four selections of wine that would enhance the flavors found in each dish without overpowering the palate,” said Joseph Phillips, Master Sommelier and Director of Wine Education at Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits of Nevada. “For the first course, we selected
Perrier-Jouët Blason Rosé Champagne and the 2014 Inception Chardonnay from Santa Barbara to harmonize with the fresh flavors of the spring mezze. For the steak and braised beef short rib, we paired the 2014 Holdredge Pinot Noir ‘Selection Massale’ from the Russian River Valley and the 2012 Mazzei ‘Philip,’ a Cabernet Sauvignon from Tuscany, to suit the rich flavors of the dish.”
The One-of-a-Kind Dinner Crafted by Celebrity Chefs Wolfgang Puck and Michael Mina Continuing its 20-year history, the Power of Love® gala showcased a dinner prepared by superstar chefs Wolfgang Puck (Chef Puck has participated in every gala since its inception) and Michael Mina. Chef Mina was quite gracious to spend some time with journalists just a mere hour before dinner service would begin. In this interview Chef Mina provides us with many insights to both what preparation is involved, but also why he chooses to participate in this worthy event each year. How did you first become involved in Power of Love® and what motivated you to become an intricate part of this worthy event? I became involved in it through Larry Ruvo. He first started talking to us about what his mission was and what he wanted to accomplish, and when you know Larry, you know if he sets out to accomplish something, he’s going to accomplish it. And then you start to understand how big of an issue it is and how it affects so many people. My wife’s grandmother was going through Alzheimer’s at about the same time I became involved and just seeing how it affected her made me realize that anything that can be done to improve their life when they get to that stage is something we should all be aware of. I love the fact that he wants the chefs to be involved in this and from day one it’s been about this amazing community that we have here in Las Vegas and how they support causes that are important, and obviously not just here, but all over the world, so I’m just blessed to be part of it.
What are you preparing for this year’s menu and what inspired you to make it? My dish is very true to my heart this year because my partner in all my restaurants is Andre Agassi, who’s being honored this year, so I have a little insight on what Andre loves to cook and what he loves to eat. Andre is a fanatic about cooking steak. When I first met him and got to know him, he invited me over to his house for dinner; he put tape around the kitchen and wouldn’t even let me enter the kitchen. He said, “I’m cooking you steak and I want your honest opinion about it.” So we’ve always had this running joke about cooking meat, and tonight I’m doing an Australian wagyu in two preparations: a braised short rib and a roasted poivre of the beef with a bit of tomato jam and caramelized onion tartare. I just went and saw some of the canapes they are serving from Chef (Joël) Robuchon’s L’Atelier and they are amazing. When you walk through this event and see the level of detail for this many people, it’s very impressive. I’ve done a lot of events and have rarely seen any at this level, so it’s great.
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Can you give us an idea of the enormity of the ingredients you had to procure and how much you needed to make the wagyu dishes? The dinner is for 1,500 people so you always have to prep a little extra. We started with about 1,900 pounds of wagyu beef and then it was butchered down and you get about a 50% yield out of it. We prep for about 1,600 people just to be on the safe side. When did the preparation for tonight’s dinner begin and where did it take place? Four months ago we started planning the menu and sourcing all of the product, conceptualizing and thinking about how we were going to orchestrate it and be able to execute it. So hopefully it works. For preparing the dinner we started three days ago with serious prep, making the braising liquid and things of that nature. We did some of the prep off property and some here. www.socalfnbpro.com
The Honorees One aspect of this tremendous yearly event is the acknowledgement of members of the community whose actions show testament to the “power of love.” This year’s Gala Honoree was Ronald O. Perelman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of MacAndrews & Forbes Incorporated; the Community Leadership Award Recipient was professional tennis superstar and Las Vegas local, Andre Agassi; and this year a new award was instituted to honor the helping of someone in need: The Caregiver Award, with the first recipient being Siegfried Fischbacher of Siegfired & Roy, for his unwavering support of his partner Roy Horn. Below is a list of what attendees enjoyed and which organizations and individual donors generously provided them. Moët & Chandon Dom Pérignon Brut, Champagne, France, 2004 Courtesy of: Moët Hennessy USA Ferrari-Carano Fumé Blanc, Sonoma County, California, 2015 Courtesy of: Rhonda and Don Carano Landmark Overlook Chardonnay, Sonoma County, California, 2014 Courtesy of: Justin Winery
Simi Cabernet Sauvignon, Alexander Valley, California, 2013 Courtesy of: Constellation Brands Perrier-Jouët Brut, Blason Rosé, Champagne, France, NV Courtesy of: Pernod Ricard USA Inception Chardonnay, Santa Barbara County, California, 2014 Courtesy of: Jonathan Hirsh
How many participate in the execution of the dinner and where do they come from? In the kitchen alone, we have over 300 people that have taken part in this. They are a combination of this amazing staff here at MGM Grand, and they are great because they are so used to hosting events like this; chefs like myself, and there’s not that many times that we are working an event for 1,500 people at a plated dinner, so we rely on the team here; and we also brought in a big part of our team as well, bringing all of our head chefs and sous chefs from all of our restaurants here in Las Vegas. How do you like working with Wolfgang Puck? I love working with Wolfgang (chuckles)! Wolfgang Puck has been an inspiration to me since I started cooking school and he was one of the first chefs that I really absolutely idolized. The thing that I respect the most about Chef Wolfgang is his food, first and foremost, but also that he really gets it and understands the hospitality side of what we do and I think nobody has done that better than him. No matter what, he’s always had that passion for people, and that comes through in the food and I think it’ll come through tonight. Had you participated in Power of Love® before this year? Yes, I participate every year in some shape or form, whether it’s an entrée item, an auction item or canapes, but the last time I did a full course of the dinner was really special; it was for Muhammad Ali’s 70th birthday (in 2012). Anything you’d like to add? Just that I’m very blessed to be here and very excited to see Bon Jovi.
For a gallery of more pictures from this year’s event and for more info on Keep Memory Alive, visit www.keepmemoryalive.org. www.socalfnbpro.com
Holdredge Selection “Massale” Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley, California, 2014 Courtesy of: John Holdredge Mazzei “Philip” Rosso Toscana IGT, Tuscany, Italy, 2012 Courtesy of: Palm Bay International Dessert Cocktail—Some Like It Hot—A slightly spicy, silkysmooth frozen blend of Patrón XO Cafe Incendio and Hennessy Black with flavors of almond and coconut Courtesy of: Patrón Spirits and Moët Hennessy USA
Highlights
Highlights from the night included a surprise $1 million donation from Community Achievement Award recipient and tennis super star, Andre Agassi and wife Stefanie Graf. When presenting the donation, Agassi said, “I spent a lot of years realizing my dreams and goals. It’s now time for me to help Larry (Ruvo) make his dreams my goals, too.” World-renowned rock star Jon Bon Jovi kicked off the night with a performance of legendary hits “Who Says You Can’t Go Home,” “You Give Love A Bad Name” and “Livin’ On A Prayer.” GRAMMY-Award winning artist Jennifer Hudson surprised the crowd and stepped in for Gwen Stefani who was unable to attend due to doctor’s orders. Hudson brought down the house with high-energy performances of “Hallelujah,” “Remember Me” and a Whitney Houston mash-up of “I’m Every Woman” and “I Wanna Dance with Somebody.” Celebrity supporters who also attended the event included Steve Schirripa, Kenneth “Baby Face” Edmonds, Larry King and John Paul DeJoria. Once again Robin Leach was the “voice of Power of Love®” as he once again served as the MC of the proceedings. Other notables in attendance included two longtime supporters of Power of Love®: philanthropist John Paul Dejoria, founder/owner of The Patron Spirits Company; and famed film director and producer Brett Ratner, partner of Hilhaven Lodge Whiskey. In addition to enjoying the finest cuisine, wine and spirits, guests bid on one-of-a-kind experiences during the event’s signature live and silent auction. Items auctioned included a week-long vacation sailing off the coast of Australia aboard the ultra-luxurious MY Texas super yacht, a private meet and greet with GRAMMY Award-winning songstress Lady Gaga, a once-in-a-lifetime Italian vacation complete with an exclusive event at the world famous Roman Coliseum headlined by Andrea Bocelli, and a trip to the Kentucky Derby with Bruce Zoldan, owner of Phantom Fireworks and part owner of 2011 Kentucky Derby champion Animal Kingdom. May 2017 I The SoCal Food & Beverage Professional 15
FOOD FOR THOUGHT Doctors Agree One or Two Glasses of Wine Per Day Is Beneficial
I’ve always been told that this is a vice, that alcohol is not good for you and has no nutritional benefits. But I beg to differ, especially since you can use wine to deep condition your hair, smooth skin, and heal bruises! If wine can help the outside of your body in so many ways, shouldn’t it be able to do the same for the inside as well? Doctors have done multiple studies that have proven that one or two glasses of wine a day
By Les Kincaid Les Kincaid is a food, wine, and golf expert and cookbook author. He hosts the nationally syndicated wine radio show Wines Du Jour each Thursday from 7 to 8 pm. You can enjoy his website or his broadcast at www.leskincaid.com les@leskincaid.com www.facebook.com/leskincaid www.twitter.com/leskincaid
has tons of great medical and health benefits, as we outline for you in this exclusive below. They also recommend you have it with your dinner meal for best results as it also increases better digestion. But unlike beer and spirits, wine enjoys a more nuanced profile: It’s celebrated as a sophisticated meal enhancer, often with the ringing endorsement of the health and food worlds. Those associations make wine incredibly easy to love—and just as easy to abuse.
However, as in all things, moderation is everything; studies have also proven that too much wine can be detrimental to your health — so limiting yourself to just one or two glasses a day is key. I’ve heard the “heart healthy” effects of light drinking, especially when it comes to red wine over white. Among researchers and the medical community, this is called the J curve or the hockey stick effect of alcohol on heart and diabetic health, whereby light drinkers (one or two glasses per day) have lower risk than teetotalers, but alcohol of any kind becomes toxic and unhealthy very fast beyond the two drinks per day. What do you think of the following wine-related health benefits? It freshens breath, it can help you lose weight, it helps your heart, it helps with allergies, it preserves memory, it lowers bad cholesterol, it builds strong bones, it boosts your immune system. These are all medical reasons to enjoy if you are a healthy individual. Remember, despite the many wonderful health benefits of wine, it’s always important to drink moderately and responsibly. But remember: moderation is everything — so limiting yourself to just one or two glasses a day is important.
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www.marketing-cookbook.com 16 The SoCal Food & Beverage Professional I May 2017
“Recipes for Restaurateurs is an incredible resource for not only those looking to enter the restaurant business, but for those that have been running restaurants for years.”
www.socalfnbpro.com
| Foodie Biz | The 7th annual Palm Desert Food & Wine Festival brought together culinary celebrities, home cooks and foodie enthusiasts over a beautiful weekend, from March 24–26. Two days of grand tastings were marked by extravagant food and drink, along with live demonstrations from celebrity chefs, TV personalities and kitchen masterminds alike. Set in the El Paseo shopping district, the Palm Desert Food & Wine Festival embodied the fun-yet-relaxed feel of the Coachella Valley and region’s surprisingly diverse culinary talent. So what made this year’s Palm Desert Food & Wine Festival stand out? In a nutshell, the cooking demonstrations blew it out of the park, there was more wine and champagne than you knew what to do with, and the food offerings featured some remarkable dishes not seen in years past. In some cases guests were forced to pick and choose among simultaneous performances…first-world problem indeed. Highlights below:
Benjamin Brown, MBA is Restaurant Editor of The SoCal Food & Beverage Professional. A seasoned writer and consultant, Ben works with Fortune 500 companies and mom & pop shops alike in Marketing, Analytics, Consumer Insights, PR and Business Development. Contact Ben at Ben@socalfnbpro.com or follow him @Foodie_Biz.
photos by Ben Brown
Palm Desert Food & Wine Festival Sees Remarkable Cooking Demos
By Ben Brown
Beekman Boys: Brent Ridge & Josh Kilmer Purcell
Gail Simmons & Brooke Williamson
Stuart O’Keeffe
Zac Young
Saturday Grand Tasting
Sunday Grand Tasting
Talent and Demonstrations • The Beekman Boys: Brent Ridge and Josh Kilmer-Purcell are simply hilarious. Bruschetta three ways almost took a back seat to the amazing antics that left audience members in stitches. • Gail Simmons and Brook Williamson: Simmons, the festival’s official host and famed Top Chef judge, paired up with local Chef/ Owner Brooke Williamson for made-for-TV banter, as well as great tips on making biscuits and curd. • Zac Young: Rated as one of America’s top-10 pastry chefs in 2015, Chef Young churned out one of the most ridiculous chocolate caramel candy bars, with peanut butter cookie dough nougat layers. Does it get any sweeter? • Melissa King: The Top Chef Finalist and Whole Foods Ambassador made the idea of carving poultry approachable for the home cook. Culinary • The Steakhouse at Agua Caliente Casino Resort Spa’s ahi and guacamole cones, as well as ribeye and mashed potatoes, highlighted both grand tastings. • La Quinta Cliff House hopped on the cone train as well, with seafood piped into a crunchy sesame seed cone. • Mad Mike’s Gourmet Food Company guided guests through a ‘sausage tour,’ with their cheddar bratwurst a true standout. • The Venue’s sushi boat was a blessing for sushi lovers.
Talent and Demonstrations • Aarti Sequiera: The Food Network star brought ‘Aarti Party’ to the festival’s stage. • Stuart O’Keefe: The Irish celebrity chef shared one of his ‘Quick 6 Fix’ recipes, focusing on six or fewer ingredients and six or fewer minutes of prep, cooking and cleanup. • Drew Davis: Executive Chef of local restaurant Catalan, the ever-entertaining Davis demonstrated how to make homemade mozzarella, where yours truly failed massively on stage, for the second year in a row, and owes Chef Davis a wood spoon that he broke in the process. Culinary • Chi Chi Restaurant at the Avalon Hotel’s octopus tacos were a definite crowd favorite, made with chorizo and squid ink tortillas. • Brandini Toffee was back for another year with impressive toffee popcorn and milkshakes. • Workshop Kitchen + Bar’s creative juices came out through an excellent duck confit with lentil and potato. Wineries present included labels from France, Canada, New York, Virginia, Washington and of course California, including Napa and Sonoma as well as across Southern California; beer standouts included Babe’s Brewhouse and Bootlegger’s Brewery; and cider was well represented by Ace Cider. And while there was no shortage of festivities that took place, it is necessary to note that a significant number of food vendors wrapped things up well before the event ended each day.
Many booths ran out of food and closed down by 2:30, when the festival was set to last until 4 p.m. There were also noticeably fewer food vendors on Sunday’s grand tasting compared to Saturday, with some never showing up in the first place. While this didn’t significantly take away from the overall experience, one would hope that these scenarios would be more the exception than the trend leading into next year. The 2018 Palm Desert Food & Wine Festival is already highly anticipated. For more information, visit PalmDesertFoodAndWine.com.
www.socalfnbpro.com
May 2017 I The SoCal Food & Beverage Professional 17
Wine Talk with Alice Swift
By Alice Swift Alice Swift has been a resident of Las Vegas since July, 2011, and is currently an instructor as well as a Ph.D. student at UNLV’s William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration. She also works as Learning Design & Development Business Partner for MGM Resorts University. Check out her website at www. aliceswift.com for the dish on wine, technology, or even both! She is happy to take suggestions for article topics or inquiries.
Wine + AI (Artificial Intelligence) = A different kind of sommelier?
Last month, I decided to focus on technology in the wine industry, and wrote about “no touch vineyard practices,” touching upon some technology innovations that are streamlining the viticulture industry. Curious to see what other new innovations have sprung up since my last indepth-research into wine technology a few years ago, I decided to do a little digging. So, here’s a question for you – What does a sommelier and a streaming service like Netflix or Amazon Video have in common? Believe it or not, it’s more than just the wine documentaries on the streaming service. Many of you probably have a subscription to some type of video or music streaming service, like Netflix, Amazon Video, Pandora, Spotify, etc. With these services, you can rate and/or rank the items based on your preferences. As the streaming service starts to learn your tastes, it begins to recommend other songs/ videos based on your similarly liked items. These services “read your mind” by collecting and analyzing your data. Every song, album, video, movie, TV show, etc., the companies are looking at your individual selections and analyzing your behaviors in order make educated guesses on what else you might like. I’ve see other instances of analytics in use, such as digital advertisements online that strategically show up based on my shopping habits, or receiving promotions from hotel/F&B establishments based on my guest profile. With all this data available for companies to analyze, should we really be surprised that analytics and artificial intelligence has branched into the wine world? As of several years ago, there have been numerous app developers who have developed mobile applications that compile tasting notes and ratings of users based on their inputs. However, these applications are based on other user preferences, not the individual’s own preferences. Enter Wine Ring, a mobile application that makes recommendations based on your own personal preferences! The app was launched in August of 2014, and has had a number of articles and press releases since then, including The Washington Post, CNBC and LA Times.
Founders Pam Dillon and Andrew Sussman also worked with sommeliers, like Sally Mohr MS, Sheri Morano MW and Amy Christine MW, amongst many others. According to the Wine Ring website, “We build a Preference Profile™ for you and update it every time you rate a wine. The more wines you rate, the better your profile will be.” So, like the other streaming services, the more you consume, the better the system will get to know you, starting with as few as 12 ratings. You can start building your Preference Profile by adding wines that you’ve had before and “love.” You can rate wines with four ratings: love, like, soso-, or dislike, and your profile is built solely on your own ratings. If a wine does not exist in the system yet, you can add it by taking a photo of the label and inputting the vintage. The wine experts of Wine Ring work to taste numerous wines in order to input the proper descriptors in for each wine, allowing for the proper algorithms to work. The wine will then be added to the system and will be updated in your Preference Profile. You might be wondering, how much does this Wine Ring app cost? Why, it is free as of now! Wine Ring’s business model generates profit from extended services such as technology licensing, and from selling its cumulated data to industry professionals. The mobile application is available in the iOS App Store as well as the Android Play Store. While an app certainly cannot replace the years of training a sommerlier goes through, it’s great to have this technology alternative for when a sommelier is not around to help you with your wine-purchasing decisions. Join the Wine Ring community and test our this app that gets to know you and your preferences as if you were a friend! For more information, go to https://www.winering.com Until next month, Cheers~! Alice
18 The SoCal Food & Beverage Professional I May 2017
www.socalfnbpro.com
By David Mulvihill
photos courtesy Maui Brewing Company
Maui Brewing Co Independently Growing Craft Beer Within Hawaii and Beyond
David Mulvihill strives to experience and write about the ever-evolving face of SoCal craft beer. He also covers Orange County for Celebrator Beer News as well as Southern California for Southwest Brewing News. Contact him at dbrewhill@gmail.com.
Maui Brewing Company owner Garrett Marrero.
The US Small Business Administration (SBA) has bestowed Maui Brewing Company’s Garrett Marrero and Melanie Oxley with the 2017 Small Business Persons of the Year for the Nation. After first being honored with the State of Hawaii award, husband-and-wife owners Garrett Marrero and Melanie Oxley went on to also receive the national award. Maui Brewing Company has achieved a great deal since its humble beginning in 2005 as a small brewpub in Kahana. Still very much independently owned and operated under the direction of owners Garrett Marrero and Melanie Oxley, Maui has gone on to open a large production facility with tasting room in Kihei and has also expanded on the restaurant side to the island of Oahu; MBC Waikiki opened in January. MBC Kailua is in the works and expected to open in Kailua in 2018. Maui Brewing Company possesses a very talented brewing staff masterly directed by two award-winning brewers, Jesse Hauck (Director of Brewing Operations) and Kim Brisson-Lutz (Brewmaster). Houck’s brewing lineage includes California breweries Speakeasy, Gordon Biersch, 21st Amendment, Drakes and Golden Road, along with multiple awards. Brisson-Lutz returned to MBC as its new Brewmaster in late 2016. She began her professional brewing career in 2008 at Maui prior to being recruited for the Head Brewer position at Saint Archer Brewing Company in San Diego. At Saint Archer, her Saint Archer White Ale earned a 2014 GABF gold medal in the Belgian-style Witbier category. During her previous stint at MBC, her La Perous White scored 2010 GABF silver and a 2012 World Beer Cup bronze medal in the Witbier category. Since 2005, MBC has been awarded 8 GABF and 6 WBC medals. Maui’s independently-owned island brewed handcrafted ales and lagers are currently “served with aloha in 20 states and 10 countries.” 20 The SoCal Food & Beverage Professional I May 2017
Maui Brewing Company owners & SBA Small Business Persons of the Year Garrett Marrero and Melanie Oxley.
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SAVE the DATE T
MAY 25, 2017, PALAZZO POOLS
he Las Vegas Epicurean Affair is the gourmet event of the year.
Set in a lush poolside paradise, the Las Vegas Epicurean Affair will take your senses on a wild ride. From savory cuisine and succulent cocktails to the stunning sights and sounds of sultry surroundings, this is truly an event that offers its guests the best of everything. Join us for a night of divine indulgence!
FOOD AND WINE BY THE BEST CHEFS IN THE WORLD GET TICKETS AT ANY VENETIAN OR PALAZZO BOX OFFICE FOR MORE INFORMATION EMAIL: SAYACHE@NVRESTAURANTS.COM
FEAST FOR A GOOD CAUSE PROCEEDS OF THE EVENT GO TOWARDS FUNDING THE NEVADA RESTAURANT ASSOCIATIONS EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS
PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT | There is no confusion when it comes to Major Pan-Asian Infusions! More than just a broth, Major’s PAN-ASIAN BASE range is the perfect way to add an exotic twist to any dish. Create healthy, fun, on-trend street-worthy recipes in seconds. It’s OH so SIMPLE and versatile: • use in casseroles, stir-fries, pasta dishes, noodles and soups • create seasonings and dressings • brush onto protein, vegetables or fish as a marinade • stir directly into sauces Making the chef’s life that little bit easier, Major Products blends the ingredients so you don’t have to. From coconut to lemongrass, cilantro, chili pepper, ginger, herbs and spices, and available in four mouthwatering flavors: Beef, Chicken, Pork and Vegetable, you can not only maximize on flavor but stay on budget and save on time. www.majorproducts.com
Bob’s Beer Bits and Sips
Brews to Help You Ease into Summer By Bob Barnes Australian Brewery When I think of Australian beer, Foster’s usually comes to mind. Now that I’ve discovered the handcrafted beers from the aptly named Australian Brewery, that is about to change, for after trying their beers I will likely think of this brewery in the future. I certainly love their motto, “Crikey, that’s a good drop,” and to save you time looking it up, crikey, is an Australian slang for an utterance of surprise. New to the United States market, the Sydney, Australia-based brewery now is sending us its signature Saison Ale, New World Pilsner and Pale Ale. The Saison D’Heretique is best described as a delicate light beer featuring French and Belgian yeast with a balanced flavor, with a hint of white pepper and a touch of clove; the New World Pilsner has a German feel with a down under spin, for it uses the palest of Australian malts and the spicy New Zealand Motueka hops, with the end result being a Pilsner that is crisp, bitter and refreshing; and the Australian-style Pale Ale is a cloudy pale beer exuding rich aromas of passionfruit and a citrusy base and its use of Australian Galaxy and New Zealand Cascade hops creates a tropically flavored beer.
Maine/Stone DaySlayer India Pale Lager Stone Brewing is known to be on the edgy side but also for a slew of collaborations with other breweries. Now it has unveiled its second riff in an ongoing heavy metal collaboration series. Brewers Dan Kleban and Cole Corbin from Maine Beer Company and Stone Brewing teamed up to unleash this India Pale Lager. It’s heavily hopped and boldly malted and its intense bready character turns sharply bitter with hints of pink peppercorns, ending in a clean, dry finish. It’s hopped with a mélange of Perle, Saphir, Aramis, Amarillo and Motueka hops and is deceptively easy to put away, and at 7.5% ABV it may sneak up on you.
Big Dog’s Las Vegas Craft Lager I love when I can drink something tasty and at the same time support a good cause. In 2015, Big Dog’s Brewery and Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits partnered to launch this locally made classic American-style lager of which a portion of the proceeds are donated to the local charity Keep Memory Alive supporting the Cleveland Clinic’s Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health. This organization based in Las Vegas provides care to patients with memory and movement disorders, and since this beer’s launch, more than $14,000 has been donated to this worthy cause. Recently I’ve seen a surge in the popularity of easy-drinking session beers that are not too high in alcohol. This one fits the bill, as it is 5% ABV, lightly hopped, crisp, and clean, but still with plenty of flavor due to its use of quality two row malt. And, unlike the macro-brewed lagers, although it’s not a hop monster like an IPA, you can still taste the hops, which nicely balance the malt, making this a great thirst quencher for the upcoming summer months, or really any time of the year.
Product Review By Bob Barnes
49th Parallel Vodka Admittedly I’ve never been a big fan of vodka, but after tasting 49th Parallel Vodka that has changed. Truthfully, I’d never tried a vodka this smooth and as flavorful as this product named for its location in Canada, which brings absolutely no burn in the nose or down the throat. It’s five times distilled, which results in the aforementioned incredible smoothness. But don’t just take my word for it, for it has been rated 92 points by Anthony Bias Blue of The Tasting Panel Magazine and was also a Double Gold Medal Winner at the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America competition in 2015. It’s also worth noting that 49th Parallel is the first vodka in North America to carry a “Certified Gluten-Free” designation and it is also “GMO free.” 49th Parallel Vodka is 40% ABV and the SRP for a 750 ml bottle is $26.99 in Southern Nevada (distributed by Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits) and $27.99 in California (distributed by Park Street).
22 The SoCal Food & Beverage Professional I May 2017
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Pizza Expo and Nightclub & Bar Rocks the Town During Its Annual Conventions at the Las Vegas Convention Center
photos by Joe Urcioli
By Bob Barnes
photo courtesy Cakebites
These two conventions are one of the highlights of the year for the food and beverage industry and this year both took place during the same week. The Pizza Expo, as it does each year, featured a trade show with all things needed to make America’s favorite food, as well as items to complement pizza or innovations crucial to a pizza business owner. Impressive was a pizza dough making machine from the GP Bakery Group that at top speed can produce 5,800 pieces per hour. Those looking to provide options for those that can’t eat gluten should be interested in the CauliPower pizza which uses a crust made from cauliflower. A possible innovation for the future (or possibly the present) is the 24/7 Pizza Box vending machine that stores refrigerated slices which after purchasing sends the pizza through a conveyor oven. Walking the aisles for hours can lead to tired feet and bodies, so having two sit down options was quite a welcome relief. As it does every year, Stanislaus Food Products offered dishes made with its products along with tables, chairs, wine and good company with other weary conventioneers. Piancone had the same very smart idea to showcase its products by setting up its booth like a restaurant with tables, chairs, food menu made with its products, wine and even servers to take your order and deliver it to your table. Hopefully one has room for dessert after indulging in a pizza pie, and we enjoyed the convenient individually-wrapped Classic Italian Rainbow Cakebites from Cookies United composed of almond flavored cake, raspberry jelly, dark chocolate coating and chocolate sprinkles which were not only delicious but quite eye-catching with the colors of red, yellow and green that reminded me of the shades in spumoni.
The 32nd annual Nightclub & Bar Show was yet another record-breaking gathering that attracted nearly 40,000 people from around the US and from nearly 50 countries. One of the main attractions is the trade show, at which exhibitors displayed their products including beverages, glasswear, food, lighting and social media applications. One of my favorites was Travis Hasse Distilling Company’s Cow Pie, a chocolate/caramel/vanilla liqueur made with Wisconsin dairy cream and rum; although the name doesn’t conjure up an image of something delectable, it turned out to be one of the tastiest drinks I’ve ever experienced. I especially enjoyed meeting Travis Hasse, whose business card identifies him as President and Head Goat Keeper. Abe Stevens, Founder and Distiller of Humboldt Distillery from Fontina in Humboldt County, CA had an interesting vodka infused with locallygrown legal food-grade hemp seed (Cannabis Sativa L.), which not only has a unique herbal aroma but is very tasty and enjoyable. It’s legal in all 50 states and has a taste comparable to gin. Bitters seem to be gaining in popularity and Raj Beri was offering samples of bitters from the Australian Bitters Company. The small batch bitters are made ‘down under’ and crafted by hand using old world techniques with natural botanical herbs and spices. A new innovation that intrigued me was the Growler Werks, a growler carbonation system with changeable CO2 cartridges that will keep the beer fresh and carbonated for up to two weeks. Another new innovation was Beyond Zero, a product that I wrote about in our February issue that has the potential to be a landmark breakthrough in the beverage industry. Inventor Jason Sherman was demonstrating his invention that quickly freezes liquor into spirit cubes, eliminating watered down drinks. A few aisles over was a similar product, the Ufrost instant freezing machine, named for its U-shaped design, which uses liquid carbon dioxide to freeze any type of liquor up to 40% in less than two minutes. Owner/ inventor Julien Michalk, an engineer by trade, was demonstrating his product and serving frozen liquor-infused popsicles made with juice and spirits. As usual, one of the most heavily trafficked areas was the Craft Beer Pavilion. The first booth I encountered was Wetten Importers, which had some of my favorites. On the table were the likes of De Troch Oude Beersel Gueze, Samichlaus and Delirium Tremens. Some new beers to me I enjoyed were the Steven’s Point Casper White Stout and Casper Pineapple Hefe; Dogfish Sea Quench Ale (a session sour) and Flesh Blood IPA with lemon flesh, blood orange juice, orange and lemon peel; Sam Adams Rebel Juiced IPA made with mango puree and Fresh As Helles with orange blossom; and Garage Brewing’s peanut dunkelweizen and Hatch Chile IPA. Mark your calendars now for next year’s Pizzo Expo slated for March 1922, 2018; and the Nightclub & Bar March 26-28, 2018, both being held again at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
24 The SoCal Food & Beverage Professional I May 2017
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By Linda Westcott-Bernstein
Human Resources Insights
Linda Westcott-Bernstein has provided sound human resources advice and guidance to Fortune 500 companies and others for over 25 years. Linda has recently re-published her self-help book entitled It All Comes Down to WE! This book offers guidelines for building a solid and enduring personal work ethic. You can find her book on Amazon or Google Books. Phone: 702-326-4040 Email: Vegaslinda89129@yahoo.com
Building and Maintaining a Strong Team
The key to success in life and in your chosen career is to be a good leader – a good role model. People only follow those whom they can trust and believe in, and that exhibit sound judgment. To do this, it is essential that first you be a good person: someone with good values and the skills, as well as the confidence to lead others. To maintain a strong team you must be able to get others to support your goals for them and the organization. A sound leader will share their vision with the team and work to gain everyone’s support. To ensure shared goals you must be willing to give information and insights you’ve gained, and offer assistance when they struggle or falter. Having a good group of individuals around you – your team – can be achieved and maintained by doing the following things and displaying these characteristics: • Be honest and truthful in what you do, say and expect. • Share information, experiences and give some insight. • Lead by demonstrating the behaviors you expect. • Respect others and what they bring to the team.
It is also critical that you build and maintain trust with others and that you are able to get and keep confidences. There are a few key attributes which will help you to achieve this goal, and they include, 1) eliminate (or reduce) gossip – there is no place or value for gossip at work, 2) keep your promises – do what you say, say what you’ll do, and 3) be a good listener and available – people need to know you’ll listen (and thus that you care) – so keep your door and ears open. A final thought. Based upon what you’ve learned in your life and career, and those that you’ve considered good role models, what was it in those persons that inspired you to follow and believe in them? For me, it was openness, a willingness to listen and displaying a genuine interest in me. Sometimes I think back and wonder… where would I be if it wasn’t for those key persons in my life? In closing, remember this… find the good in others, capitalize on it, and leverage each individual’s best qualities to build and maintain a strong team – one that will support not only you but your team’s goals and objectives.
HR Question of the month:
Please send your HR questions and concerns, or share your thoughts on your human resources challenges via email to the following address. Send input to vegaslinda89129@yahoo.com. Your comments, questions or concerns will help determine the direction for my next month’s column and earn you a copy of my book. Include your mailing address when sending your responses.
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May 2017 I The SoCal Food & Beverage Professional 25
EVENTS
AD INDEX
Here’s a list of some of the upcoming Food & Beverage related shows, expos and events we know you might want to attend. All are great events in which you can learn something new and meet fellow associates in the industry.
Chefs for Kids Dinner and Auction donations@chefsforkids.org 702-333-2338
May 20-23 the NRA National Restaurant Association rolls into Chicago for its annual food & beverage extravaganza featuring all things related to the F&B Industry from the US and around the world. The largest show of its kind, it covers four convention halls, with food products, beverages, including an alcoholic beverage section, with additional foodservice products and services. A must see show if you are in the foodservice industry! show.restaurant.org
Deep Eddy Vodka www.deepeddyvodka.com
June 4-6 the International Dairy Deli Bakery Association will hold its annual IDDBA 17 show in Anaheim, CA bringing together more than 9,000 buyers, merchandisers and executives and exhibitors with more than 1,900 booths. www.iddba.org June 13-15 the World Tea Expo at the Las Vegas Convention Center will bring everything from the world of tea, with previews of new products and newly launched innovations. www.worldteaexpo.com
Major Foods www.majorproducts.com 702-838-4698
page 23
Recipes for Restauranteurs www.marketing-cookbook.com
page 16
Hawaiian Frost page 19 Frozen Dairy Treat www.samurai-inc.com/hawaiian-frost
White Soy Sauce www.whitesoysaucefood.com
page 5
Las Vegas Epicurean Affair sayache@nvrestaurants.com
World Tea Expo worldteaexpo.com
page 27
page 9
page 21
page 28
Keep Memory Alive Event Center page 2 702-263-9797 kmaeventcenterlasvegas.com
July 28-29 PMA Produce Marketing Association holds its annual Foodservice Show dedicated to produce going into restaurants and foodservice facilities. Great place to see what’s new in the produce industry and what to expect for the seasons to come. Also a nice summer get-away since it’s held in Monterey, CA. Hope to see you there… www.pma.com/events/foodservice www.worldteaexpo.com
To advertise email sales@socalfnbpro.com
American Culinary Federation Chefs of SoCal
The SoCal Food & Beverage Professional is proud to be associated with these fine organizations: ACF-American Culinary Federation Chef de Cuisine Association of California Chapter Culinarians of San Diego Chapter Chefs de Cuisine Association of San Diego Chapter 26 The SoCal Food & Beverage Professional I May 2017
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26th Annual Chefs for Kids Dinner and Auction South Point Hotel, Casino, Spa | May 13. 2017
Honoring
Michael Severino and Binion Family Foundation Featuring a night of delectable food, dancing, and bidding wars for live auction packages featuring private chef dinners, tasting experiences and getaways.
More information, donations@chefsforkids.org or (725) 333-BEET. Binion Family Foundation
Pre-Conference: June 12, 2017
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Conference & Expo: June 13-15, 2017
Las Vegas Convention Center, North Hall
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worldteaexpo.com
Advancing the Business of Tea
World Tea Expo 2017 is just around the corner! Enter the code TEAM5 for $200 off the Premium Conference Pass. Register today at worldteaexpo.com/register!
World Tea Expo is the largest tradeshow and conference in North America focused 100% on premium teas and related products. Join us to blend fresh ideas, discover the latest trends and new distribution channels through three days of focused buying, selling and education. World Tea Expo is your chance to capitalize on this growing category to the fullest.