Tag Party For The Senses

2012 Epcot Party For The Senses and A Little Magic of Healthy Living Wrap Up

Carroll 2 Comments

This year’s Epcot International Food and Wine Festival has been quite the ride.  Full of great food, long days, many laughs and a ton of “growth”.  We had amazing Visiting Chefs join the #DisneyChefs family, and even more Home Team Chefs participate.  Every Saturday was a culinary adventure during the Party For The Senses, always giving a great learning.

The Chefs were all great, they grabbed on to the Disney Magic and gave it back tenfold.

So many exceptional, creative dishes were enjoyed by 1000’s!

Of course the drinks were equally enjoyable, some weeks they were just what the doctor ordered!

Our on Park Event Operations Chefs hit home runs more than a couple of times!  Chef Joe Bonanno was a crowd favorite!

We had quite a few other events then Party For The Senses- The Magic of Healthy Living being one of them-

Celebrity Chefs Brian Frick, Andrew Zimmerman and the Voltaggio Brothers joined us for a night.

Thanks Michael for pausing for me to take a picture-

I love the family affair!!

Jonathon Sawyer, of the Greenhouse Tavern in Cleveland Ohio, definitely won for most nicest/bad@## Chef in my opinion- Food was amazeballs and he and his team were super fun and really enjoyed what they were doing.

Chef Judi and her PEO team were awesome- They had a truckload of fun and delivered a great scallop dish.

Chef Christine and 1200 Potato Rings.  Great to see some things never change, never settle.

This Sauerkraut Bread Pudding was my favorite- had nothing to do with all the Contemporary hats.

A few of my new Chef friends!

We had to celebrate Halloween with a few cute cupcakes.  And I did manage to get one picture in front of the camera.

The Cirque entertainment was captivating and the room set was top notch sexy.

We did manage to have some fun-

The famed Chef Joe Rod (Rodriguez) came back to PEO from Norway (the real country, not Epcot Norway), and was the highlight of the week.

Last but not least- Louie- the man that makes things happen- one way or another!

Just a short visual summary of the last few weeks- Truly hard to sum up the experience, but it certainly is one I wouldn’t trade.  Just happy to be part of an amazing team!!

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Party For The Senses – October 6th 2012

Carroll 1 Comment

The Party For The Senses is a hard ticket event that happens every Saturday night during Epcot’s Food and Wine Festival.   Chefs from across the world come to participate as well as many of Disney’s talented Chefs.  It is an event that guests look forward to all year, as well as the Disney Cast.  The planning for these events is extreme and detailed, starting before the final event of the year is even finished.  Happily I am getting a first hand look at these event this year, being on the Park Events team.

Our Front of the House partners have taken the room to a even cooler level- the vipe of the Wine View Lounge is straight up “swank”.

The lighting of the room and the even the tables is a perfect complement to the creativity of the food and wine being showcased.

Love these displays!

It is always great to talk to someone excited about what they are offering, displaying their passion for the products.

It is a pretty surreal experience to be around so many talented chefs- and the way we all engaged was even better!  I walked away this weekend with a ton of ideas!

Chef Jessy and the talented team held everyone together, delivering a perfect event!

I was told the reveal was something not to be missed- and it was extreme!  The guests were certainly excited!

Our own Chef Damon Lauder used our new Cvap to cook Pasture Prime Pork Jowls.  Was worried for a bit for not having enough, they were so popular!

Celina Tio, a long time participant of “Party” knows what she is doing- perfect flavors and perfect amount of product!  The Tio team was a pleasure to have in the kitchen for a few days!

All of the participating Chefs and teams delivered flavorful and creative dishes.

AND….they had fun, kids included!

They also worked hard! The King and Queen of Pork included!

Party for the Senses is always a blast, seeing friends from wayback and creating brand new friendships…even thru twitter.

It has been such a great experience to be a part of the #EpcotFoodFestival this year, so fun to get to know so many talented Chefs, and to support their success!

We did have a small degree of celebrity oogleing, but for the most part we kept it cool…

Some of the best looking and tasting desserts had…I renamed the sphere, “Noahsphere” in honor of Chef Noah French, who made it.

I guess it is clear that I lean towards the chocolate desserts.

I was captivated by Chef John Hui and the sculpture he did.  I spent a few minutes gawking as he nonchalantly threw together a sugar hummingbird.  Walked away amazed, after I told him, I completely got it- and thanks for the lesson, I’ll throw one together on my next day off.  He laughed.  and then laughed again.

What a great few weeks it has been, hard, but so worth it.  I can’t wait to see the rest!

Party For The Senses 11/5/11- From Behind The Scenes!

Carroll 4 Comments
 
Party For The Senses!
The Party For The Senses is a hard ticket event that happens every Saturday night during Epcot’s Food and Wine Festival.   Chefs from across the world come to participate as well as many of Disney’s talented Chefs.  It is an event that guests look forward to all year, as well as the Disney Cast.  The planning for these events is extreme and detailed, starting before the final event of the year is even finished. 
I was lucky to get my press pass for the event!  .
The prep of each chefs dish starts a few days prior to the event, we started cooking the Wild Boar in plenty of time to get it tender enough.

Seth and Melanie are doing a bit of prep for the event.

 

The Wild Boar is slowly cooking, soaking up a ton of flavor!

 
Here is Dave cooking the tortillas before we leave our kitchen
Over 1000 guests are expected each Saturday so planning is key in delivering a great dish! 
We travel in Reefer Trucks to our events.
Trucks are in and out of the backdock area all afternoon, unloading trams, hotboxes and coolers filled with the chef’s mise en place.

Chef Joe directs the team in setup to create a good flow of cooking and building plates.

 
The back hall of the World Showcase Pavillion was peaceful before the hustle and bustle started!
 I look forward to going to The Party For The Senses each year, it’s always fun to see old friends and meet new people!  Not to mention to see and taste what other Chefs are doing! 

The Catering Kitchen was full of energy!

 
Chef Orlando was able to take a moment to say hello to his old friend! 🙂
Some of the guests are lucky enough to be welcomed into the Wine View Lounge.  For a little extra money, these guests are brought into the event earlier and have a lovely lounge to enjoy.  Every week the Chefs of Park Events Operations come up with a new, trendy dishes to offer these guests.

The WIne View Lounge offers guests an early entrance, extra seating, a few extra surprises from the Chefs!

 

An intimate WIne View Lounge table in the midst of a premier event! Wow!

 

WIne View Lounge guests enjoy mouth watering cheese offerings.

 

Chef Dale prepares for the Wine View Lounge guests.

In the Wine View Lounge the buffets float!
Before the event starts each week the Chef de Cuisine of Park Event Operations and Executive Chef of Epcot welcome all the chefs and their teams, and recognize the Events Team that spent all year planning.  Each Chef then introduces themselves and briefly describes their dish of the night.

Chef Leonard, the Chef De Cuisine of Park Event Operations welcomes the chefs and their teams and goes over the flow of the evening.

 

Chef Celina Tio describes her dish and passes the microphone off to Chef Ken Vedrinski.

 
Here is a group shot of all the guest chefs- that is a TON of talent!  
 Chefs bring a demo plate to the center stage so everyone can see what will be served before the event starts. The dishes had a huge range and offered so many choices.

Chef Noah French of the Sandy Lane Hotel was back this year with a Molecular Gastronomy inspired dish!

 
 
Chef Ken Vedrinski of Trattoria Lucca in Charleston, SC brought his renown talent to the Party For The Senses! Charleston Chefs are World Class!
The event would start soon and it was time for all the Chefs to organize their teams so we would be ready for the crowd of 12oo. 

Chef Damon coordinates with all the guest chefs each week and ensures his team is ready to help create an amazing night for all!

  

Chef Jim of the Magic Kingdom instructs his team before service starts.

 
Chef Celina Tio guides her team before the guests arrival.
There are a ton of Winery’s and Vendors at the event, for every dish there is different beverage pairing.  The drinks were flowing for sure! 🙂

Star Tree Winery would be a popular table amongst the guests!

 

Sam Adams offered their Boston Lager, Octoberfest and Latitude 48 IPA.

 

Not a bottle would go "unpopped"! Cheers!

The Party For The Senses made Green efforts this year, giving guests the options to rinse and reuse their wine glasses!

 

The moments before an event start can be the most satifying for a chef, all the work is done and the chefs take a breath and wait to delight guests with their insprired dishes!

 

The Chefs of the Contemporary Bakery created a breath taking chocolate sculpture to display!

 

This chocolate flower is AMAZING!

 

Chef Ben of the Contemporary was going to be a popular table!

Before the Party For The Senses guests arrive, all is set and ready!

 

Chef Joe's Wild Boar Carnita with a Watermelon Radish and Pepperdew Slaw and Tequila Foam

 

George and Pete of Park Event Operations were nice enough to taste test!

 

We waited all night for this gentlemen to come to our table so we could get a good look at his hat- Fabulous!

 

As every year we had a great time at The Party For The Senses and had so many delicious dishes by talented chefs across the world!

Party For The Senses is an event looked forward to all year.  Each year world class wineries, and vendors are there offering a range of wonderful wines and beers.  The Chefs bring their most creative and seasonal dishes and ensure that even the fussiest diner has something to remember!  If ever a chance to attend the Party For The Senses Event, I highly recommend it!