Iron
Chefs, Rebellious Chefs, Island Chefs Support
St. Croix Food & Wine Experience
Tim
Love, Kevin Rathbun, Gabriel Rucker, Roberto Treviño
to Judge Island Wide Competition, Prepare Fundraising Dinners
and Face-Off in Fun Competition
St.
Croix, US Virgin Islands - 2010 - Celebrated American chefs
have signed up to support The St. Croix Food & Wine Experience,
an annual series of events that support the community programs
of the St. Croix Foundation. The four-day fundraising fete will
take place April 13-17, 2010 on St. Croix, US Virgin Islands.
Participating
celebrated chefs for the 2010 St. Croix Food & Wine Experience
include:
Tim
Love Ft. Worth, Texas Tim Love has become a nationally recognized
culinary personality. He has appeared on Paula Deen, Rachael
Ray, on Top Chef Masters, and Iron Chef America. As chef/owner
of The Lonesome Dove Western Bistro and The Love Shack in Fort
Worth, his innovative dishes have earned critical and popular
acclaim. The Love Shack earned three stars from The Dallas Morning
News, being singled out as having the "most perfect burger
on the planet" by The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, and was
named by Condé Nast Traveler as a 2008 Hot List restaurant.
Kevin
Rathbun Atlanta, Georgia Chef Kevin Rathbun is the award-winning
visionary owner of three of Atlanta's acclaimed restaurants
Rathbun's, Krog Bar, and Kevin Rathbun Steak. Nicknamed the
"Sultan of Steak" by the Atlanta Journal Constitution,
Rathbun was selected as the 2007 Rising Star Chef and he and
his brother, Chef Kent Rathbun, took down Bobby Flay on Food
Network's "Iron Chef." Rathbun, a supporter of the
NFL's Taste of the NFL charity, has worked with celebrity chefs
and restaurateurs such as Bradley Ogden, Emeril Lagasse, Stephen
Pyles, Ella Brennan and Pano Karratossos, is a native of Kansas
City, Missouri.
Gabriel
Rucker Portland, Oregon Gabriel Rucker, the chef/owner of Le
Pigeon in Portland, which he opened in 2006 at the age of 25,
is rebellious with his bistro offerings and the "darling
of the culinary world." A self-taught cook, Rucker has
won multiple awards, including Food & Wine magazine's Best
New Chefs of 2007, Portland Monthly's Chef of the Year 2006,
The Oregonian's Rising Star Chef 2006, Restaurant and Hospitality
Magazine's Rising Star of 2007. He earned a nomination for the
James Beard "Rising Star" award in 2009 and he has
been selected as a Food Ambassador for the state of Oregon.
Men's Journal magazine selected him as a chef-model for the
October 2009 issue. With all the acclaim, Rucker remains truly
modest, states "No chef does it alone."
Roberto
Treviño Puerto Rico As a contender in Food Network's
Iron Chef America, Roberto Treviño, a leader in Nuevo
Latino cuisine, exhibited his talents as he battled Mario Batali.
His warmth and charm along with his skilful Asian fusion can
be experienced at Budatai, his restaurant in Puerto Rico. Chef
Treviño has been featured in Condé Nast Traveler,
Coastal Living, The New York Times, Bon Appétit and Gourmet.
He has been honored to cook a dinner at the James Beard House
in New York, and at their awards events. Each guest chef will
be guest judge at Taste of St. Croix, the island's culinary
competition, will each host a Cork & Fork dinner, intimate
fundraising dinners paired with a top winery, and will face-off
in a friendly competition with local island chefs. Tickets to
the St. Croix Food & Wine
Experience go on sale in March 2010 and will be available at
www.StCroixFoodandWine.com.
Patrons wanting access to all events can purchase the "Platinum
Patron" package for $5000, which includes two tickets to
each event and a choice of one Cork & Fork dinner. Sponsorship
packages are also available. For more information on sponsorship
opportunities or Patron packages, please contact Roger Dewey
at 340-773-9898.
About
the St. Croix Food & Wine Experience
The St. Croix Food & Wine Experience, named one on the Ten
Best International Food and Wine Festivals by Forbes Travel,
showcases the diverse cuisine and wine available on St. Croix,
US Virgin Islands. The multi-day event includes gourmet dinners,
wine seminars, wine auctions, and the annual culinary competition,
A Taste of St. Croix. The event benefits the St. Croix Foundation
(www.stxfoundation.org),
a non-profit community foundation that administers a number
of local programs. The event was started in 2001 by restaurant
owners Katherine Pugliese of Eat@CaneBay, and Kelly Odom of
Tutto Bene, and is recognized as the pre-eminent food and wine
event in the Caribbean. For more information visit www.stcroixfoodandwine.com
or www.tasteofstcroix.com.
Past
participating vintners have included Chris Benziger of Benziger
Wineries, Bill Blaisof Kendall Jackson Estates, Bob Foley from
Foley Wines, Paul Hoffman of Medusa Wines, Julianna Martinelli
of Martinelli Vineyards, Joel Peterson from Ravenswood, Maria
Ponzi of Ponzi Vineyards, Carroll Kemp of Red Car Wines, and
Kent Rosenblum from Rosenblum Cellars. Guest chefs have included
Rocco DiSpirito (in photo), Antonia Lofaso, Kevin Rathbun, Robbin
Haas, Gerry Klaskala, Wayne Nish, Richard Reddington and Johnny
Vinczencz.
About
The St. Croix Foundation
Proceeds from The St. Croix Food & Wine Experience are donated
to The St. Croix Foundation, a non-profit organization focused
on community revitalization, economic development, youth programs,
education and additional needs in the community. The culinary
event has raised more than $750,000 for The St. Croix Foundation
over the past nine years. For more information visit www.stxfoundation.org.