The World Gourmet Summit Las Vegas 2004 at the MGM Grand celebrated
“Artistry on the Table” for the benefit ofYoung Hospitality Students
from November 19 – 24, 2004
Las Vegas, December 14, 2004. The first North American World Gourmet Summit organized by WGS America LLC under the guidance of Kurt H. Fischer in cooperation with the International Food & Beverage Forum and the World Gourmet Club was held at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas from November 19th to the 24th, 2004. Las Vegas was selected in view of its position as a world-class gastronomic center of North America.
The five-day festivities showcased a stellar cast of 8 Master Chefs with 6 Michelin-stars and 7 internationally-acclaimed Guest Chefs. The noble grape, so revered by gastronomes, also played a major role as 40 distinguished wineries participated in this celebration.
To please hospitality professionals and epicureans alike, the organizers and their primary partner Le Cordon Bleu Paris were proud to present two Gala Dinner events along with the Culinary, Wine, Port and Single Malt Master Classes and Vintner Dinners.
During the opening reception on Friday, November 19th, all the participating Chefs presented their favorite creations and sold their cookbooks for the benefit of the International Food & Beverage Forum’s Endowment Fund. At this event, Jeremy Wilkinson from Great Wines International showcased a selection of outstanding South African wines and Gary Sehnert surprised everybody with some wonderful Mexican wines.
Saturday, November 20th, started off with the first Culinary Master Class. Formatted for serious culinarians and gourmet enthusiasts, the first Culinary Master Class featured Reto Mathis from the Corviglia Restaurants in St. Moritz, Switzerland and Hans-Henrik Välimäki from the 2-star Michelin “Chez Dominique” restaurant in Helsinki, Finland. On Sunday the second Culinary Master Class paired long-time Michelin Star-rated Chef Gérard Vié of Les Trois Marches, Versailles, France with the only female Bocuse d’Or winner and Michelin Star-rated Léa Linster from Luxembourg. On Monday Frédéric Filliodeau from Le Cordon Bleu Ottawa, Canada and Pastry Chef Nicholas Bernardé, Le Cordon Bleu Paris gave a superb presentation of Le Cordon Bleu techniques and what the title “Meilleur Ouvrier de France” stands for. The final Culinary Master Class paired award-winning Sam Leong from Tung Lok Restaurant in Singapore with the famous Kenny Kong from Raffles International to provide an insight into Chinese cooking techniques. A detailed list of dishes presented is available on our website www.worldgourmetsummitlasvegas.com
Saturday afternoon, the Beverage Master Classes started with Gerry Tosh, Highland Parks first global Single Malt Ambassador, presenting 8 Single Malts during the Single Malt Master Class. The highlight of this tasting was the 1958 Highland Park Single Malt, which received rave reviews. The second Beverage Master Class featured Bartholomew Broadbent, one of the world’s foremost authorities on Port wine and Madeira. His spellbinding presentation of Ports and Madeiras was well received by all present. Next was Felicia Sherbert, the famous journalist and writer, presenting her favorite subject “Wines from South America”. Her wines included samples from Chile’s and Argentina’s finest vineyards. Mathew J. Lane, Manager of Wine Education for Southcorp Wines, Trent Fraser, Regional Manager of Southcorp, and Felicia Sherbert teamed up to give an in-depth presentation of Australian Wines from Penfolds, Lindemans and Rosemount. Their presentation even included samples of the world-famous Grange Hermitage from Penfolds. To round up the review of New World wines, Gary Sehnert surprised all with his presentation of upscale Mexican wines. The Chateau Camou Gran Vino Tinto 2001 was particularly cherished.
Saturday evening, guests from 17 countries and 5 continents gathered for the Hall of Fame Auction and the Cordon Bleu Gala Dinner. The auction was entirely for scholarships of young culinary and hospitality students enrolled at UNLV, the Culinary Institute of Las Vegas and the Cordon Bleu Schools of North America. All auction items were contributed by the members of the International Food & Beverage Forum and their business associates. That evening, over US $ 50,000 were raised for those scholarships. André Cointreau, President of Le Cordon Bleu International, mentioned in his Welcome Address the importance of professionals in fostering the development of young students, and he congratulated the organizers of the World Gourmet Summit on their vision and support for this cause.
During the Gala dinner, the following personalities were inducted into the International Food & Beverage Forum Hall of Fame:
o Agustin Huneeus – Vintner & Owner of Quintessa
o Horst H. Schulze – Former Vice Chairman of the Ritz Carlton Hotel Company
o Jiggs Kalra – Author and Journalist
o Max Schubert – Winemaker at Penfolds
After the main course, Michael Mina - Creator and Managing Chef of the Michael Mina Group, was honored as Restaurateur of the year 2004. Having traveled from Seattle to Las Vegas for this event Craig Kinzer wrote: “Thank you, Thank you!! What a wonderful event! So high class and elegant! So well done!”
On Sunday, November 21, the first two Vintner’s dinners featured food prepared by the visiting Master Chefs and the respective Restaurant Chefs of the Nobhill and Fiamma Restaurants of the MGM Grand. At Nobhill, the food items prepared by Gérard Vié, Léa Linster and Michael Mina were paired with various vintages of Quintessa and the 2001 Franciscan Cuvée Sauvage. All wines were presented by Agustin Huneeus. At Fiamma, the Cordon Bleu Chefs teamed up with Anthony Amoroso to prepare a Mediterranean Menu which was paired with wines from Chateau Ste. Michelle.
The program of Monday, November 22nd, included another “World First”, the official induction of the first 60 members of the World Gourmet Club. Two of the four founding Managing Partners, Reto Mathis – Europe and Kurt H. Fischer – The Americas, were present to officiate at this ceremony. Members from 5 continents traveled to Las Vegas to participate in this inauguration. During the Gala Dinner following the induction, the International Food & Beverage 2004 Wine awards were distributed to the award-winning wineries. An international tasting panel under the guidance of Felicia Sherbert and Kurt H. Fischer selected the award winners. A list of the winners is attached.
The musical highlight of the evening was set by Prof. Carlos Montane, Philip Zawisza, Jasmina Halimic, Rebecca Davis and Shiuchi Umeyama at the piano. They performed well-known songs from American Musicals. At the Hall of Fame Dinner, they sang famous Opera arias. Prof. Carlos Montane from the Indiana University School of Music has performed as tenor in leading roles at the New York Metropolitan Opera and at other leading Opera houses around the world. Bartholomew Broadbent wrote about this event: “The Wine awards were presented at a very well attended dinner on November 22nd at the MGM Grand [it was a first rate event, I'll go as far as saying "spectacular dinner"].
On Tuesday, November 23rd, two more Vintners’ dinners were featured. The first one combined the expertise of Tom Colicchio, Reto Mathis and Hans-Henrik Välimäki for the dinner in Craftsteak. The dishes prepared by those award-winning Chefs were paired with the best wines from Penfolds. The second dinner at Pearl gave those attending a truly Chinese dining experience prepared by Sam Leong and Kenny Kong from Singapore and Steve Wong. The wines for this dinner were selected by Jeremy Wilkinson from his portfolio of Austrian and South African Wines.
Attending his first International Food & Beverage Forum event, Richard Schneider from Atlantic City wrote: “I was very impressed with what I saw of the summit.”
A full list of Events, Master Chefs, Biographies, Menus, Wineries and hosting establishments can be found on the websites:
www.worldgourmetsummitlasvegas.com www.foodandbeverageforum.com
WGS America LLC was founded by George Brown and Kurt H. Fischer with the sole purpose to organize World Gourmet Summits in North and South America as well as to develop membership in the World Gourmet Club on the American Continents.
The International Food & Beverage Forum Wine Awards 2004
1. California: Quintessa 1998
2. Oregon: Oak Knoll Winery 1998 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir Vintage Reserve
3. Argentina Bodega Weinert Cavas de Weinert, Grand Vino 1999
4. Chile: Primus Veramonte 2002
5. Mexico: Château Camou, Gran Vino Tinto 2001
6. South Africa: Vergenoegd Estate Wine 2000, Stellenbosch
7. Australia: Penfolds St. Henri Shiraz 2000
8. Lebanon: Château Musar 1997
9. Portugal: Quinta do Crasto Touriga Nacional 2001
10. France: Mas de Daumas Gassac 2001 Blanc
11. Austria: Polz Traminer 2002
12. Spain: Alabanza Rioja Riserva 1999
13. Port wine: Broadbent 1994 Vintage Port
14. Madeira: Broadbent Five Year Reserve
MEDIA CONTACT: For additional information, call Kurt H .Fischer at 425-562 2302, or contact by e-mail at: kurth@kurthfischer.com. Photos taken by Cashman Professional are available.
