Casa Pacifica Wine, Food & Brew Festival “Behind-the-Scenes” Dinner Brings Together Area's Top Chefs for a Special Culinary Evening

An exciting and special behind-the-scenes dinner hosted by the Cassar Family - The Yummies Top Chef Dinner - will take place on Friday evening, May 30th, as a kick-off to the largest fundraising event for Casa Pacifica Centers for Children and Families each year - the Casa Pacifica Angels Wine, Food & Brew Festival. The one-of-a-kind, fabulous dinner will bring together for the first time ever several of our region's top chefs - all of whom happen to be former Yummies culinary competition winners from previous Festivals - to present an incomparable nine-course feast to 150 fortunate guests. As a perfect complement, many of the courses will be impeccably paired with the sumptuous, full-bodied, or silky flavors of our local winemaker's best wine harvests. One course will be specially paired with the winning handcrafted ale from this year's inaugural "Best in Fest" brew competition taking place one-month prior to the Festival (the winner will be prominently promoted the day of the Festival).

The Yummies Top Chef Dinner will take place in the VIP Lounge tent on the Festival grounds in the midst of the preparations on California State University Channel Island's beautiful campus for the Festival on Sunday. In addition to the delectable dinner, guests will enjoy live music and be treated to a special cocktail stirred up by Twenty88 Restaurant & Bar mixologist, Scott Holder, just for the event. A highlight of the evening and an exclusive treat, each of the chefs participating in the Yummies Top Chef Dinner will be on hand to talk about their recipes and share some professional techniques.

Expert culinary master chefs (and their current affiliations) who will be participating include: Three-time Yummies winner Chef Nic Mannocchio of University Glen at California State University Channel Islands; Chef Jason Collis of Plated Events by Chef Jason; Chef Gabe Garcia of Tierra Sur Restaurant; Chef Tim Kilcoyne with Scratch Food Truck; and Chef Ernie Borjas of The Yacht Club of Channel Islands Harbor. A trio of delicious desserts will be provided by former Yummies Sweet category winners Barry Davis, owner of Coldstone Creamery Camarillo; pastry chef Anastashia Chavez of Barrel House 101; and Yvonne Drayton-Benado, owner of Missy's Cupcake Creations.

If you would like to be a part of this one-of-a-kind extraordinary experience, tickets are on sale for $200 per person or seating for eight (8) guests can be purchased for $2,000. Guests will be seated long-table, family-style and dinner guests must be 21 years of age and older; seating is limited. For more information about the Yummies Top Chef Dinner or to purchase tickets, please contact Amber Landis Stover, Casa Pacifica's Development Manager at (805) 366-4021. All proceeds from the Yummies Top Chef Dinner will support Casa Pacifica's programs serving vulnerable children and families.

The Wine, Food & Brew Festival will take place on Sunday, June 1st, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. at California State University Channel Islands and will feature more than 85 restaurants and 150 wines, brews, and beverages. Live entertainment, an extensive silent auction, and the Yummies culinary competition will round out the exciting events of the day. The Festival is still welcoming sponsors, so it's not too late to sign up and connect your name or business with this "Can't Miss" event by taking advantage of some great sponsorship opportunities! For sponsorship information, contact Casa Pacifica Event Specialist, Kristin Palos at (805) 366-4014, kpalos(at)casapacifica(dot)org or visit the Festival sponsor page at http://www.cpwineandfoodfestival.com.

General Admission and V.I.P tickets can be purchased online at http://www.cpwineandfoodfestival.com! General Admission tickets are on sale for $125 until sold out. Food and beverages are included in the price of admission. V.I.P tickets are available for $225 each until sold out and offer Festival-goers early admission at 12:00 noon. V.I.P. ticket holders will receive V.I.P parking, and exclusive access to the V.I.P. Lounge presented by Wells Fargo. In addition to exclusive entertainment, the Lounge will feature the Anheuser Busch Belgium Beer Garden, Plated Events by Chef Jason, Malibu Family Wines and more! V.I.P. guests will enter through the beautiful and historic CSUCI bell tower where their day will start off being catered to by the world class Mastro's Steakhouse.

Casa Pacifica encourages all Festival-goers to participate responsibly. Roundtrip reservations are available thru the Roadrunner Safe Ride Program by calling (805) 389-8196, or visiting http://www.rrshuttle.com/casapacificawinefestival.

Casa Pacifica Centers for Children and Families is a crisis-care and residential treatment facility for abused, neglected, or at-risk children in Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties. The agency is the largest non-profit provider of children's mental health services in both counties and administers a number of community-based programs which are designed with the intent to strengthen families and keep children in their homes. For more information about Casa Pacifica visit its website http://www.casapacifica.org or call the Development Department at (805) 445-7800.

To post a comment, you must register and login.