Great news! PV’s International Gourmet Festival is almost here and Tepic, Puerto Vallarta, and Riviera Nayarit are ready for it to happen. Local chefs (Heinz Reize and Thierry Blouet) started this annual event way back in 1995, and the duo came together to create and build the Festival Gourmet International. Their motivation was to promote local restaurants and the Puerto Vallarta food scene with the assistance of recognized chefs that were invited to attend the festivals. It didn’t take long for the Festival Gourmet International to become a huge hit and success, which aided in elevating Puerto Vallarta to compete with international restaurants thanks to the creative and innovative culinary skills that the invited chefs shared.
The PV’s International Gourmet Festival History
Puerto Vallarta’s International Gourmet Festival has an interesting history. The first year (1995) there was only 6 local hotels and 6 local restaurants that decided to participate in the Gourmet Festival. The original format is exactly the same 24 years later in that each restaurant and hotel that participates in the Gourmet Festival will be required to invite a guest chef for their event. There will be 27 featured restaurants and hotels that are participating in this year’s event. Since 1995, there have been nearly a half a million individuals that have attended the Gourmet Festival, and there have been almost 600 celebrity chefs that have participated in the Gourmet Festivals. Puerto Vallarta and Riviera Nayarit food scenes were positively affected thanks to the Festival Gourmet’s success. They now have a distinct culinary reputation due to the guest celebrity chefs that have attended the festivals over the years.
Gourmet Festival Event Features
This year, the Festival Gourmet International will start on November 23rd (Friday) and will continue each night thru December 2nd (Sunday). All of the hotels and restaurants that are participating in the event will be hosting their very own events where international chefs will be preparing exquisite culinary dishes for the attendees to enjoy and savor. A delicious dinner and/or a la carte dinner will be given to the attendees, depending on the specific event that they are attending. The brand new Jalisco Hall at the Hilton Hotel will be where the first festival event will be held, and you will want to make sure you attend the first festival event. It will be an amazing opportunity for the attendees to actually meet all of the invited chefs, and to taste their incredible dishes and international cuisine. Also, festival attendees will not just enjoy amazing foods, but they will also get to partake in the best wine selections, local tequila, and beer, too.
Elite Chefs and First-Class Events
Chef Alvaro Cortez will be featured at the Bocados STK Mixology and Grill Restaurant event at the Garza Blanca Preserve Resort & Spa. Chef Cortez was originally the top chef at Villa del Palmar Cancun. Chef Cortez this year will be joining Andres Garcia Gonzalez (the invited chef) and the current Executive Chef at Villa del Palmar Cancun Resort. Chef Garcia Gonzalez represented Mexico overseas in October of 2010 at the “Passion in Paris” Trophy contest event that was held in France.
Exceptional Local Restaurants
The Café des Artistes, La Casona, and Bocados STK are just a couple of the best restaurants that will be involved in this year’s Festival Gourmet along with many others. The La Casona can be found in the prestigious Villa La Estancia in Riviera Nayarit. The La Casona will be featuring a Mediterranean menu that Chef Leonardo Castro designed personally. Chef Castro uses a variety of international techniques that are fused together using inspiration from Italian, French, Mexican, Mediterranean, Thai, and Asian foods. Chef Penny Davidi and Chef Mier Santoro was invited by La Casona and they will be providing their expertise in foods at this beautiful Hacienda décor and style setting. The La Casona Restaurant at Villa La Estancia is well-known for only using the finest cuts of New York and Kobe meats.
Café des Artistes Features Night of Mole and Mariachi
Café des Artistes will be featuring a Night of Mole and Mariachi at this year’s Festival Gourmet International 2018. One of the popular Mexican traditional dishes is mole, and who doesn’t enjoy passionate Mariachi music as it always sets the mood for a majestic night that nobody will want to miss. A world famous fine dining restaurant is Café des Artistes. This restaurant has been serving amazing and delicious dishes in Puerto Vallarta for almost thirty years. The Executive Chef and founder of Café des Artistes is Thierry Blouet who created the Festival Gourmet as well, and this is one of the main reasons that Puerto Vallarta was put on the map for internationally amazing cuisine.
PV’s International Gourmet Festival is almost here! You don’t want to miss attending the Festival Gourmet International 2018 in Puerto Vallarta, Tepic, and Riviera Nayarit. It’s an amazing event that everyone will truly enjoy!
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