Photo Courtesy of Palm Beach Food & Wine Festival

Not too shabby for the Last Supper

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Stephen Stryjewski at work in the Pistache kitchen Monday.

The Palm Beach Food & Wine Festival (PBFWF) held a special meat-lovers event Monday with its first Southern Hospitality: Pig & The Goat feast. As the title suggests, it was an afternoon filled with pig, lamb -- and, yes, even goat.

The midday feast was held at Pistache French Bistro in downtown West Palm Beach where the restaurant's executive chef Julien Gremaud cooked alongside Bravo Top Chef Season 4 winner Stephanie Izard and 2011 James Beard "Best Chef: South" award recipient Stephen Stryjewski.

On the multi-course tasting menu: each chef's self-proclaimed specialty of pig, goat and lamb. Southern Hospitality kicked off with a vegetarian dish to prep the palate, Gremaud's Napoleon of baby heirloom tomatoes and zucchini, lgoat cheese mousse, pine nuts and eggplant gremolata (a chopped herb condiment typically made of lemon zest, garlic, and parsley).

For meat, Gremaud chose lamb shank prepared with oven-dried tomatoes, garlic confit, sunchoke puree and a fig gastrique.

The goat and pig were left to Izard and Stryjewski, who are best known for preparing the respective meats at their critically acclaimed restaurants.

Keep reading for a few pointers on how to make goat belly, and the best hybrid breed of pig.

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All Photos by Sara Ventiera

Jodi and Darren Swank with the chefs and sommeliers

Palm Beach and farming have about as much in common as left-wing hippies and blue blood one percenters. Have you ever seen someone in Lilly Pulitzer working with dirt? More »

Most of the chefs and the organizers of the Palm Beach Food and Wine Fest.

We already know, most South Floridians were baseling it up this weekend. It may have been a satellite fair, the streets of the design district, or just partying, but those of you who opted to head across the Dade county border missed out on some pretty swanky stuff.
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Palm Beach Daily News

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LILA Photo

Master sommelier Virginia Philip will wield the saber at the Palm Beach Food & Wine Festival grand tasting.

Palm Beach entrepreneur Virginia Philip is an undisputed rockstar in the wine world. It only makes sense that she'd play a part in this weekend's Palm Beach Food and Wine Festival, where she'll lend her skills to three different festival events.

Philip was but the tenth woman in the world to earn the hard-to-come-by title of Master Sommelier. Since then, that number has doubled, but it remains painfully low.

"Ten years ago, it was more of a male dominated world, and you definitely see more women now," Philip said. She said time will tell if those female professionals will be able to "hang in there for the long haul" given that the career's demands and working hours often conflict with raising a family.

See Also:
- New Year's Eve Trick: Saber the Champagne Bottle
- Palm Beach Food & Wine Festival 2012 Starts Friday: What's on the Schedule?
- South Florida's Best Places to Sip Wine

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If there is one thing that comes to mind when you think of Palm Beach it's luxury. And, well, Money. Obviously, the two go hand in hand. More »

In south Florida, there are few names that have made a long-lasting impact on the culinary industry. Chef Dean James Max is one. His name comes up not just for his talent in terms of churning out beautifully prepared sustainable seafood dishes, but for his impact on the next generation of south Florida chefs. Some of south Florida's biggest names have come out of his kitchen.More »

In less than two weeks, one of South Florida's most exciting food events, the 6th annual Palm Beach Food and Wine Festival, will be upon us -- a time when the country's most famous chefs come to cook at Palm Beach's most prestigious resorts and restaurants.

The food fun starts Friday, December 7 with a food truck competition, and continues with a series of events ending with one of the most popular: the 6th annual Grand Tasting, where more than 30 chefs from New York to Los Angeles will showcase their skills.

But what about an event for local chefs only? In the past three years the Grand Tasting has also featured the Grand Chef Throwdown, where three local chefs go head-to-head for a $10,000 grand prize and the honor of being named the "Grand Chef Master" by a panel of celebrity judges including Norman Van Aken, owner of Norman's in Coral Gables.

However, before the show begins, two contestants must be chosen to compete against reigning champion and local chef Roy Villacrusis, the only chef to have won the Grand Chef Throwdown since the contest's inception in 2010, having taken home the title two years running.

See Also:
-- Palm Beach Food and Wine Fest 2012
-- Villacrusis Wins Food and Wine Fest Grand Chef Throwdown
-- Palm Beach Food and Wine Fest Features "Top Chef"

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Robert Irvine via Facebook

Robert Irvine takes on Palm Beach for his next challenge.

Robert Irvine is the hunky host of Food Network's Restaurant: Impossible where he's tasked with turning around a failing restaurant armed with $10,000 and military efficiency.

If Irvine seems authentic in barking orders, he should. His career started in the British Royal Navy where he served as a chef. Irvine also cooked on the Royal Yacht Britannia and at the White House as part of the United States Navy "guest chefs" program before his television career kicked into high gear. Irvine also owns Robert Irvine's Eat! on Hilton Head Island.

Read also:
- Palm Beach Food & Wine Festival 2012: LeCirque, Food Trucks, Celebrity Chefs

Irvine will be co-hosting several events at the Palm Beach Food & Wine Festival, which runs from December 7 - 11. We spoke with Irvine about his golf game, what he looks forward to the most at the festival, and what the holidays mean to him.
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