A decade is something to celebrate.
From its start under tents outside the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem, the Lehigh Valley Food & Wine Festival has evolved into one of the area’s biggest multi-day food events.
Hosted by the Sands Bethlehem Event Center and Northampton Community College in partnership with Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits, the festival has become a showcase for cuisine from the region’s top restaurants. It also features offerings from vineyards and distilleries from around the world, cooking demonstrations and workshops.
This year’s festival — June 1 to 2 at the Sands Bethlehem Event Center — promises to be a taste of Mardi Gras.
“It’s going to be a big party,” says Caroline Clifford, director of Special Events for the Northampton Community College Foundation. “People are going to come and have a good time. That’s what we have to do for the 10th anniversary.”
The festival began simply as a fundraising idea. The NCC Foundation was looking to launch a large-scale, annual event that could raise money to fund scholarships for at-need students.
Mike Molewski, chairman of the Northampton Community College Foundation and one of the event’s original organizers, had an idea to host a food and wine festival.
“We could feature the culinary and hospitality programs at NCC and feature the students, and have them get involved in the festival,” Molewski says. “What we were trying to do is engage the students with the community and the Sands was also very new in the area. That was really the beginning.”
They needed an off-campus location that could bring the community together and provide enough space. The Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem had just opened, and members of its staff were undergoing training at NCC.
That first year, with only six weeks to plan it, organizers launched the Lehigh Valley Food & Wine Festival, raising $120,000.
To date, the festival has raised more than $1.5 million.
“So many students have benefited from these scholarships,” Molewski says. “That’s made a difference for these students to continue with their education.”
To celebrate its 10th anniversary, this year’s festival will be a big celebration — Mardi Gras style. That nod to New Orleans has its roots in one of the top annual features of the festival — appearances by famed celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse, arguably one of the most recognizable names in food.
Lagasse is known for his New Orleans-focused cuisine. A James Beard Award winner, Lagasse is the author of 19 cookbooks, star of several TV shows — including Amazon Prime’s “Eat the World with Emeril,” Food Network’s long-running “Essence of Emeril” and “Emeril Live,” as well as Bravo’s “Top Chef.” Chances are you’ve heard someone use his catchphrases “Bam!” and “Kick it up a notch.” He is owner of a dozen restaurants across the country, including three in the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem, his only East Coast sites.
Each year at the festival, Lagasse announces the names of NCC students who have won the opportunity to travel to New Orleans and work with him through externship programs in his restaurants.
“Emeril is just such an inspiration,” Clifford says. “I think when they meet him, they experience his real passion and his sincere interest in becoming successful. He might even get more out of it then the kids.”
This year’s announcement by Lagasse will take place at the festival’s sponsors’ dinner on May 31.
Master of ceremonies for that event, which will feature an extravagant four-course dinner prepared by Lagasse, will be another celebrity, Bethlehem’s Daniel Roebuck. The night will also include a live auction to raise money for NCC student scholarships.
From horror films with Rob Zombie, to character actor roles on TV shows such as “Lost,” to a Geico commercial, Roebuck has had a successful 30-year career in entertainment. He also has a deep appreciation for his Lehigh Valley roots, having shot his first film as a director, “Getting Grace,” here. He is making plans to shoot two more in the Lehigh Valley.
Along with the externship announcements, Lagasse also leads a cooking demonstration at the festival. (And attendees get samples). For those who attend, it’s a rare opportunity to see one of the country’s most famous chefs in person.
Lagasse’s demo will move to Saturday morning this year, allowing attendees the chance to go from his demo directly to the Grand Tasting, the festival’s signature event. Guests will enjoy plates from Emeril’s most popular eateries, as well from as the region’s most prestigious restaurants, along with an impressive array of wines from around the world.
Both the Saturday and the Sunday Grand Tastings will have New Orleans-inspired dishes, second-line parades, a themed selfie station, festive beads and a signature Food & Wine event cocktail.
Along with the food and drinks, festival-goers can also watch demonstrations by top area chefs, including Chris Wilson, corporate director of Culinary for Emeril’s Homebase (Saturday), and Shawn Doyle, chef/owner of Savory Grill (and ’91 Culinary Grad of NCC) on Sunday.
“When we started this, we had no idea that the event would grow and evolve into the event that it is today,” Molewski says. “We have great pride in the event, and we’re thankful to all the people who have been involved in it.”
Molewski says there’s tremendous potential for the festival to grow, despite the pending change in ownership for the casino. (Wind Creek Hospitality, a privately held affiliate of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians of Alabama, has an agreement to buy the casino from Las Vegas Sands Corp.)
“We expect that relationship to continue,” Molewski says.
DETAILS
Hours: Emeril demo: 11 a.m.; Grand Tastings, 1 to 4 p.m. with one-hour early admission for VIP.
How much: Emeril demo: $75. In advance, tickets for each day of the Grand Tasting are $85 for general admission, $100 for VIP, which includes access at noon and access to the champagne and spirits room; and $50 for a designated driver ticket (food only). Each attendee will receive a souvenir wine glass. Advance purchase is recommended at lehighvalleyfoodandwine.com or at the Sands Event Center box office.
Tickets and info: lehighvalleyfoodandwine.com/
Morning Call features reporter Jennifer Sheehan can be reached at 610-820-6628 or jennifer.sheehan@mcall.com
