Truffles plus gourmet cuisine by star chefs plus a stunning Napa location. A magic formula? That would be the inaugural Napa Truffle Festival coming next month (Dec 10-12) to the Westin Verasa Napa.
Billed as North America’s premier truffle event, the festival will showcase the black Périgord truffle (Tuber melanosporum) and the black summer Burgundy truffle (Tuber aestivum/uncinatum) through a variety of cooking demonstration classes and truffle cultivation seminars, culminating in a 13-Michelin Star six-course Truffle Dinner, with each course created and expertly prepared by a Michelin star celebrity chef.
David Kinch, one of six star chefs featured at the Napa Truffle Festival
Star chefs on hand will include Josiah Citrin of Mélisse, Santa Monica, CA, Ken Frank, La Toque – Napa, CA, David Kinch, Manresa – Los Gatos, CA, Gabriel Kreuther, The Modern – New York, NY, Nancy Oakes, Boulevard – San Francisco, CA, Sylvain Portay of Le Louis XV (Monte Carlo), Mix (Las Vegas) and Adour (NY).
Truffles have been collected for nearly 4,000 years and are believed to be inducers of romance. Some would say they even achieved the pinnacle of haute cuisine when the ancients attributed them with magical powers.
Turning to science for a moment, Tuber melanosporum is the product of a symbiotic marriage between a subterranean mushroom and the roots of a tree. The truffle itself is the fruiting body of a fungal colony and usually grows beneath the drip line of the outermost branches of hazels and oaks. Because it cannot produce its own food, the fungus unites with a tree’s hair-like rootlets to develop symbiotic organs, called mycorrhizae, through which it feeds on carbohydrates and other nutrients photosynthesized in the tree canopy.
Unique to the Festival are the Michelin Star team of six chefs, who will lead culinary demonstration classes, spend quality time with Festival guests and showcase their unique skills and talents in the Michelin Star Truffle Dinner on Saturday evening.
At the Festival, the best truffle chefs in the world are complemented by the best truffle scientists in the world. Two of the most respected truffle scientists and some of the most knowledgeable experts on truffle cultivation will lead the scientific track of the festival.
The Napa Truffle Festival
December 10–12, 2010
White Peidmont and Black Perigord Truffles
The festival kicks off Friday evening with an opening reception at The Westin Verasa and organized dinners at select Napa restaurants.
Saturday includes cultivation and culinary seminars, cooking classes, a truffle orchard tour excursion and the Michelin Star Truffle Dinner.
Sunday concludes the Festival with a Champagne Truffle Brunch, followed by an Epicurean Marketplace.
The highlight of the Festival will be Saturday night’s Michelin Star Truffle Dinner, hosted by Michelin Star Chef Ken Frank of La Toque restaurant and featuring a multi-course truffle menu (each course prepared by a Michelin Star chef) and wine pairing.
Prices
The Epicurean Grower Scientist: $850 per person
Welcome Reception and Truffle Prix Fixe Dinners at Napa restaurants including
Bardessono, La Toque and Martini House
Saturday Continental Breakfast
Keynote
Truffle Lunch at La Toque
Truffle Seminars 1, 2, 3
Robert Sinskey Vineyards Truffle Orchard Tour
The Gourmet: $950 per person
Welcome Reception and Truffle Prix Fixe Dinner
Saturday Continental Breakfast
Keynote
Gourmet Lunch at Greystone
The Art of Wine-Truffle Pairing: Cooking Classes 1 & 2
Champagne Brunch
Epicurean Marketplace
The Truffle Gourmand: $1,325 per person
Three-day pass to all events including Michelin Star Truffle Dinner
Michelin Star Truffle Dinner: $475 person
Order Tickets online: www.napatrufflefestival.com
Truffle Festival Schedule
Friday, December 10, 2010
Welcome reception at The Westin Verasa
Truffle Prix Fixe Dinners at select Napa restaurants
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Continental Breakfast
Truffle Seminars
Science-based Truffle Cultivation – with world-renowned truffle scientists Dr. Paul Thomas and Dr. Alexander Urban
The Economics of Truffle Cultivation – with ATC Robert Chang and Dr. Paul Thomas
Proprietary Truffle Science – by invitation only (for existing ATC client-partners)• The Art of Wine-Truffle Pairing: Cooking Classes 1 & 2 – each session taught by a Michelin Star chef
Robert Sinskey Vineyards Truffle Orchard Tour in the Carneros Region – see what an
operating truffle orchard looks like!
Michelin Star Truffle Dinner
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Champagne Truffle Brunch
Epicurean Marketplace – fresh black truffles for sale along with local organic farmers and artisanal gourmet vendors on hand to show and sell their fresh produce and specialty
food products.
Truffle Festival Schedule
