Pebble Beach Food and Wine

Am excited -- we're about a week away from the 2nd annual Pebble Beach Food and Wine. I need to brush up on wines, magnums. and the 30-plus chefs that will put their art to the burners. I have a full schedule on tap, since I'll be covering the whole event (April 16-19), and will have total, full, complete access to everything. Yay!

Last year, my station didn't really cover the event -- I think they didn't think they could get access. I was lucky to meet a woman who took me through the Pebble Beach golf course where I followed the Cristal chefs' golf tournament on opening day. It was pretty amazing to see Thomas Keller, Tom Colicchio, Ming Tsai, Masaharu Morimoto (aka "Iron Chef Japan"), et al hitting the green.

This year should be another exciting event. I'm so thrilled to meet Eric Ripert, Jaques Pepin, Michel Richard, Rick Tramonto, Hubert Keller, Michael Mina, Nancy Oakes -- and looking forward to seeing Thomas Keller and Tom Colicchio again. (Forget Hollywood, these top chefs are my idols). Some highlights this year: the "Tom-Tom" dinner (Keller vs. Colicchio) and The Cristal dinner presented by Champagne Louis Roederer, battle between San Francisco and Los Angeles chefs (Mayors Gavin Newsom and Antonio Villaraigosa will there!) Also, Stefan Richter and Jamie Lauren will also be there doing a "Top Chef" cooking demo.

Whew, there's a lot more on my plate. Stay tuned for more PB Food and Wine coverage. I will be blogging about the event and will post pictures. Come back soon!