Celebrity Chefs Martin Yan and Joanne Weir are front and center at the 26th Sonoma International Film Festival, March 22-26, 2023
Chef Martin Yan, 2022 James Beard Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, will be honored with the SIFF Culinary Excellence Award at the SIFF | Devour!Chefs & Shorts Dinner on Thursday, March 23, 2023. Chef Yan will give a cooking demonstration and prepare one course for the extravaganza which features pairings of short films with gourmet courses prepared by visiting chefs, along with bountiful pours of Napa Valley wines. Photo: SIFF
The 26th Sonoma International Film Festival is just six weeks away and the culinary events lineup is out, ahead of any news about special guests, big nights and the program drop. SIFF This year’s SIFF | Devour! Chefs & Shorts Dinner honors global television personality Chef Martin Yan on Thursday, March 23. Chef Joanne Weir returns for her second SIFF with Joanne Weir’s Wine Country Cooking Luncheon, Saturday, March 25, where she will premiere segments from her new PBS show, “Joanne Weir’s Wine Country Cooking.” Bringing film lovers together around a table for a sumptuous meal with free-flowing top wines and even more film is where SIFF excels—forging wonderful conversations and friendships, making the festival come alive. SIFF has just announced that its discounting of festival passes has been extended through February 28. Both culinary experiences are included with the 2023 Patron Pass and are discounted for 2023 Soiree and Cinema Passholders.
SIFF | Devour! Chefs & Shorts Dinner Honoring Chef Martin Yan, Thursday March 23, 2023
In a career spanning 40-plus years, Chef Martin Yan has connected with audiences across the world through his public television series, introducing generations of North Americans to Chinese and Asian cuisines. He has hosted over 3,500 cooking shows, authored over 30 cookbooks and founded a chain of Yan Can Restaurants and the Yan Can International Cooking School in San Francisco. I have vivid memories of watching him on PBS, slicing and dicing vegetables with impeccable precision at a rapid-fire pace and of his wonderful heart-felt enthusiasm. His message: “If Yan can cook, so can you!”
And accolades! The James Beard Foundation recognized Yan with an award for best television cooking show in 1994, best television food journalism in 1996, and a who’s who of food and beverage in America in 2001. In 1998, he won a Daytime Emmy Award for best cooking show for “Yan Can Cook” which has aired since 1978 and is syndicated around the world making it one of the longest-running American cooking programs of all times. In 2022, the James Beard Foundation honored him again with a lifetime achievement award.
The celeb, famous for cutting up a chicken in 18 seconds, in his 70’s now, still has boundless energy and is a popular YouTube host, livestreaming his approachable recipes from his home kitchen. In 2022, it was announced he would be opening M.Y. Asia in Las Vegas, at the Horseshoe Casino and Hotel (formerly Bally’s) featuring pan-Asian cuisine. The UC Davis alum also recently made a gift to the UC Davis Library Archives and Special Collections to create the Chef Martin Yan Legacy Archive.
Chef Yan brings his unique “Yan-ergy” to the SIFF | Devour! Chefs & Shorts Dinner and will prepare a course during the event that is certain to wow attendees with cleaver action. In addition to Chef Yan, notable chefs at this year’s dinner include Michael Howell | Executive Director of Devour! The Food Film Festival and Executive Chef of the Green Turtle club, Bahamas; Emily Lim | Chef-Owner of Dabao Singapore in San Francisco; Ruby Oliveros | Executive Chef at Ram’s Gate Winery in Sonoma; and Cogir Executive Chef Ensan Wong. Participating wineries are Anaba Wines, Bee Hunter, Gloria Ferrer, Ram’s Gate Winery and Viansa. The event is SIFF’s fourth collaboration with Devour! The Food Film Fest and its founder Chef Michael Howell and Co-Director Lia Rinaldo. During the course of the evening, Yan will receive SIFF’s Culinary Excellence Award and will be the second chef to be honored by SIFF. Chef Jacques Pépin was the inaugural recipient in 2022.
“We’re excited Chef Yan is joining us for our Chef and Shorts event, and he’ll actually be cooking, which doubles the excitement,” said SIFF Artistic Director Carl Spence. “It’s wonderful to honor this world-class chef along with world-class cinema, so it’s a great pairing.”
Joanne Weir’s Wine Country Cooking Luncheon, Saturday, March 25
Chef Joanne Weir is back at SIFF for a second time to showcase her new PBS show “Joanne Weir’s Wine Country Cooking” with a special lunch event on Saturday, March 25, from 11 to 1 pm. Weir began her career working at Alice Waters’ Chez Panisse in Berkeley before moving to food travel tours and opening Sausalito’s Copita Tequileria Y Comida restaurant. She has spent some four decades writing over 20 cookbooks, teaching cooking and is a James Beard Award-winning cookbook author. She is known internationally for her TV shows such as “Joanne Weir’s Cooking Confidence” and “Joanne Weir’s Plates & Places.” At Saturday’s luncheon, she will premiere her new PBS cooking and travel television series, paired with a three-course meal she has curated representing various Sonoma County people, places, and purveyors. One of the special treats in store for attendees is the exclusive Della Terra Olive Oil and balsamic vinegars,
“We’re are thrilled to welcome Chef Weir back to the festival,” said SIFF Executive Director Ginny Krieger. “Her energy, enthusiasm, and engagement with our audience, along with her delicious lunch, was a highlight last year. We’re so glad she’s returning to make this year even more memorable.”
“I’m so excited to be part of the Sonoma International Film Festival,” said Weir. “This event oozes creativity, artistry and fun; the energy is contagious!”
Details: SIFF26 is March 22-26, 2023. Both culinary events are at the Hanna Center, Sonoma, and both are included with the 2023 Patron Pass and are discounted for 2023 Soiree and Cinema Passholders. Non-passholder prices: SIFF | Devour! Chefs & Shorts Dinner Chefs $350; Joanne Weir’s Wine Country Cooking Luncheon $175. Buy your tickets now as both events will sell out. (The Hanna Center is roughly 4.5 miles from the town square.)
For information on passes and to buy tickets: https://sonomafilmfest.org/
This Sunday: stream the California Artisan Cheese Festival
The first event of the California Artisan Cheese Festival (CACF) takes place virtually this Sunday (March 15) and features La Crema Winery Chef and Cheese Specialist, Tracey Shepos Cenami hosting the festival’s beloved Bubbles Brunch. Instead of the usual three day extravaganza of cheese seminars and tastings at the Flamingo Hotel, the festival is offering its top two crowd-pleasers, revisioned for the pandemic. The haute Bubbles Brunch, which always features a celebrity chef, has become a cook and toast-along at home event and the festival’s opulent Grand Tasting now comes in a box delivered to your door. While it’s not the usual festive celebration of our local bounty, this year’s events have been curated expertly by executive director, Judy Groverman Walker, who founded the festival 16 years ago. CACF is essential for sustaining our celebrated cheesemaker community and the non-profit California Artisan Cheese Guild until the in-person celebration returns in 2022. Last year’s festival was cancelled. The 2019 CACF, the 14th iteration of the beloved event, attracted more than 2,500 guests, who participated in events held all around Sonoma and Marin counties.
Bubbles Brunch: Sunday, March 14, 10:30 to noon, PST: The audience can cook alongside Chef Tracey Shepos Cenami or sit back and enjoy the show while sipping La Crema’s limited-edition La Crema Russian River Valley Brut Rosé. Cenami will prepare three brunch dishes — Bitter Greens with Anchovy Vinaigrette & Grilled Cheese Crouton Crunch (Beehive Cheese Promontory, Pt. Reyes Toma Cheese croutons); Shakshuka (Nicasio Valley Foggy Morning Cheese); and Orange Scones (Cypress Grove Midnight Moon Cheese, Laura Chenel Cabecou ). Recipes and a complete shopping list will be emailed to participants in advance. Shopping is required. As a special bonus, these $50 brunch tickets include free access to next year’s CACF’s Marketplace.
Order your tickets HERE by Friday, March 12.
Grand Tasting, Friday March 26, to 6 pm PST: Instead of gathering round tables laden with our region’s beloved artisan cheeses and the latest locally-produced accompaniments, this year’s Grand Tasting comes in a big box, delivered in advance to your doorstep. Boasting to include ten samplings of delectable artisan cheeses (at least four pounds), participants can stream CACF while enjoying an extravagant selection of pairing goodies from the festival’s marketplace, including Volos chocolates. Grand Tasting Kit cheeses will vary, but everyone will receive at least one of the newest cheeses to be released: Qunita from Point Reyes Farmstead Chees Co. and Little Giant from Cypress Grove. Remaining selections will come from the following cheesemakers: Beehive Cheese, Bellwether Farms, Cowgirl Creamery, Cypress Grove, Laura Chenel, Marin French Cheese Co., Nicasio Valley Cheese Co., Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Co., Rumiano Cheese Co., Stuyt Dairy Farmstead Cheese Co., Tomales Farmstead Creamery, Valley Ford Cheese & Creamery, and Wm. Cofield Cheesemakers.
Gloria Ferrer put together three winery exclusives to pair with these cheeses: Vista Brut, Royal Cuvée, and Demi-Sec. The hour will be hosted by Food Network star and Sonoma County restaurateur, Duskie Estes (Zazu, Black Pig Meat Co., Farm to Pantry). It will include insider tours of regional farms and creameries, pro tips on building a photo-worthy cheese board and Duskie’s favorite cheese recipes. Tasting kits are $150 and include free 2-day UPS shipping within the contiguous U.S.
Order your tasting kit HERE by Friday, March 19 at 5pm
More about California Artisan Cheese Festival
A 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization, the California Artisan Cheese Festival strives to increase cheese appreciation, educate consumers about artisan cheeses, support the cheesemaking community and its sustainability and celebrate the creations of California’s many farmers and cheesemakers. The festival began in March 2007 as the first-ever, weekend-long celebration and exploration of handcrafted cheeses, foods, wines and beers from California. In keeping with its dedication to the community, the Artisan Cheese Festival has donated more than $135,000 in grants to nonprofit partners that support local sustainable agriculture including the California Artisan Cheese Guild. For more information about the California Artisan Cheese Festival, visit http://www.artisancheesefestival.com/or follow them on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Pounce!— tickets on sale now for Devour! Sonoma Chefs & Shorts Gala Dinner at the 21st Sonoma International Film Festival
SIFF21’s five-course dinner and film shorts event, “Devour! Sonoma Chefs & Shorts Gala Dinner” is Thursday, March 22, 2018, 6pm, at the Sonoma Veterans Hall. A unique collaboration between SIFF and Devour! The Food Film Fest, the evening will celebrate cinema, food and wine. Image: courtesy Phototype
The Sonoma International Film Festival (SIFF), March 21-25, 2018, celebrates its 21st anniversary this year and has just announced its first special film/food/wine event, Devour! Sonoma Chefs & Shorts Gala Dinner, Thursday, March 22, 2018, at 6pm the Sonoma Veterans Hall. SIFF is partnering with Canada’s renowned Devour! The Food Film Fest to bring this unique experience to SIFF film and food aficionados.
The evening will feature an extraordinary five-course dinner, with each course taking its inspiration from short food films from around the world. Lia Rinaldo, managing director of Devour! will serve as curator. Culinary collaborators include luminaries such as Dominique Crenn (first woman to earn two Michelin Stars and named Best Female Chef in 2016, Atelier Crenn, San Francisco), Evan Funke (Felix Trattoria, Los Angeles), Michael Howell (Founder of Devour!, Wolfville, Nova Scotia) and Sonoma Chefs John McReynolds (Edge) and John Toulze (The Girl and The Fig). Each course will be paired with Sonoma’s finest wine, including Gloria Ferrer and WindVane, as well as Benjamin Bridge from Michael Howell’s backyard in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. The films are screened simultaneously with the dinner. This unique offering has sold out in many locations around the world, and with this combination of award-winning chefs, great local foods and wines, it’s sure to please SIFF’s savvy foodies. “SIFF is thrilled to work with Devour! The Food Film Fest to bring this first Chefs & Shorts culinary experience to our festival attendees!” said SIFF Executive Director Kevin McNeely.
Details: Devour! Sonoma Chefs & Shorts Gala Dinner is Thursday, March 22, 2018, at 6pm the Sonoma Veterans Hall. Tickets are $120 for Soiree pass holders, $150 for all other pass holders and $200 for general public. Click here to purchase tickets for this event or visit www.sonomafilmfest.org to first purchase your festival pass.
SIFF Pass Information:
SIFF21 is Wednesday, March 21 through Sunday, March 25. The best way to experience this very popular festival and to have access to all films is by getting a SIFF pass. Currently, Cinema Passes are $225 and Soiree Passes are $725. All Cinema pass holders will have day access to the Backlot Tent in SIFF Village. Soiree pass holders will have day VIP area and evening party access. For information about tickets, festival passes, prices, and benefits visit www.sonomafilmfest.org.
More about Devour! Combining cinematic talent with extraordinary gastronomic activities, Devour! The Food Film Fest is the world’s largest film festival focused on food and drink. This annual five-day festival hosts 100+ events, high profile chefs & celebrated filmmakers from around the world and, just this past season, attracted almost 11,000 food and film lovers to Nova Scotia, Canada. The eighth edition of Devour! is slated for October 24-28, 2018.
ARThound 