Are you ready for some food and fun? This year’s Festival Gourmet International is nearly here and Puerto Vallarta, Riviera Nayarit, & Tepic are ready to eat! This exciting culinary event began back in 1995 when local chefs Thierry Blouet and Heinz Reize created the Festival Gourmet International in order to promote local restaurants and the Puerto Vallarta food scene. They invited internationally recognized chefs to attend the festival, and the Festival Gourmet International has grown over the years to become a huge success.
Festival Gourmet International
Originally, the first Festival Gourmet International was comprised of just six local hotels and six independent restaurants. Today, the general format remains the same in that each local restaurant or hotel invites a chef to host their event. The 2018 Festival Gourmet International will feature twenty-eight hotels and restaurants and more than half a million people have attended the festivals over the years. In addition to event attendees, almost six hundred celebrity chefs have participated in the festival over the years. The Festival Gourmet International is an important event for Puerto Vallarta and Riviera Nayarit and has played a part in elevating the local food scene to an international level.
Delicious Tasting Menus
The 2018 Festival Gourmet International will start with a bang on Friday, Nov. 23rd at the Hilton Hotel’s Jalisco Hall. This first event offers guests the opportunity to personally meet the guest chefs and taste a variety of exquisite cuisine. The event will run through Sunday, Dec. 2nd and each of the participating restaurants and hotels will host special events where invited chefs will prepare and share their culinary creations with attendees. Depending on the particular event they attend, festival attendees will be treated to either delicious tasting menu or a gourmet a la carte dinner. In addition to enjoying amazing food, festival attendees will be served a premium selection of wines, tequilas and beers.
Premium Local Restaurants
The best restaurants in the region are included in this year’s festival. Premiere participating restaurants include La Casona, Bocados STK, Cafe des Artistes and many others. La Casona will feature a Mediterranean menu created by head Chef Leonardo Castro. La Casona is situated in the upscale Villa La Estancia in the Nuevo Vallarta neighborhood of Riviera Nayarit. Chef Castro uses international-level techniques that are a fusion of French, Italian,Thai, Asian, Mediterranean and Mexican cuisine. La Casona’s invited Chef’s are Penny Davidi & Luciano Mier Santoro who will be on hand to offer their culinary expertise. Villa La Estancia’s La Casona restaurant is best known for preparing specialty and fine choices of meat like Kobe and New York cuts.
Top Events And Chefs
Garza Blanca Preserve Resort & Spa will also host an event at Bocados STK Mixology and Grill restaurant. Head Chef Álvaro Cortez will head up the event, and Cortez was formerly the head chef at Villa del Palmar in Cancun. This year, Chef Cortez will be joined by invited guest chef Andrés García González who is now working as the Executive Chef at the Villa del Palmar Cancun resort. In October 2010, García González represented Mexico abroad when he participated in the “Passion in Paris” Trophy contest in France.
Mole and Mariachi
Nothing is more Mexican than mole and mariachi! This year’s Festival Gourmet International will also feature an exciting Night of Mole and Mariachi at the renowned Cafe des Artistes on Nov. 28th at 8pm. Mole is one of Mexico’s most delicious and traditional dishes, and Mariachi music is so passionate and impressive, it is sure to be a magical evening that you must not miss. Did you know that Cafe des Artistes is a world renowned fine dining restaurant is in a class of its own? They are one of the top restaurants in the region and have been serving up incredible and unique dishes for over 27 years. Cafe des Artistes Head chef and founder Thierry Blouet has been the driving force in elevating the Puerto Vallarta food scene to an internationally competitive level cuisine.
Make sure to get your tickets for this year’s 2018 Festival Gourmet International in Puerto Vallarta, Riviera Nayarit & Tepic. It is guaranteed to be the culinary event of the year!
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