Community flocks to Eagle Food & Wine Festival
The second annual Eagle Food & Wine Festival Aug. 22-23 was a big hit – at least 1,000 people attended the two-day festival. The Gala Dinner & Auction at Spurwing Country Club was sold out on opening night, and 300 people participated in three seatings of 100 each in the Chef’s Tent at Merrill Park on the main day of the event.
M3 Eagle was a major sponsor of the event for the second year in a row, in addition to Food Services of America, which donated all the food for the Chef’s Tent.
“This year’s event was a tremendous success, exceeding all expectations,” said Mary May, M3 Eagle Community Liaison who helped organize the dinner at Spurwing and the Chef’s Tent events. “To have this kind of response from the community to benefit such a worthy cause was just overwhelming. We’re thrilled.”
The event benefited the International Special Olympics World Winter Games, which is coming to Idaho for the first time in early February 2009, and the Eagle Chamber of Commerce.
At the Chef’s Tent, 14 acclaimed chefs prepared special small plate entrees, paired with Idaho wines. Tom Atkins from 43 Degrees North Catering, for example, was paired with Three Horse Ranch vineyards from Eagle. Michael Mohica and Martin Oshiro from Ono Hawaiian Café, were paired with the Nampa-based Sawtooth Winery, and Travis Levi from Bardenay was paired with the Williamson Winery, based in Caldwell.
The concept of the Eagle Food & Wine Festival is to provide a showcase for local food and wine. Earlier this year, the City of Eagle formed the Eagle Wine District, an overlay that includes the Eagle Foothills, where M3 Eagle’s 6,005-acre master-planned community may include a viticulture component.
The Eagle Wine District is a sub-area within the Snake River Valley American Viticultural Area (AVA), a vast 8,263-mile region in Idaho and Eastern Oregon that was designated by the U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau in 2007. The designation elevates the status of Idaho wines and assists in marketing and sales.
Festival participants and chefs already are getting on a waiting list for next year’s festival, to be held Aug. 21-22, May said. The Treasure Valley Wine Society will be a partner next year, she said, which should bring in even more wineries to the event.
M3 Eagle was a major sponsor of the event for the second year in a row, in addition to Food Services of America, which donated all the food for the Chef’s Tent.
“This year’s event was a tremendous success, exceeding all expectations,” said Mary May, M3 Eagle Community Liaison who helped organize the dinner at Spurwing and the Chef’s Tent events. “To have this kind of response from the community to benefit such a worthy cause was just overwhelming. We’re thrilled.”
The event benefited the International Special Olympics World Winter Games, which is coming to Idaho for the first time in early February 2009, and the Eagle Chamber of Commerce.
At the Chef’s Tent, 14 acclaimed chefs prepared special small plate entrees, paired with Idaho wines. Tom Atkins from 43 Degrees North Catering, for example, was paired with Three Horse Ranch vineyards from Eagle. Michael Mohica and Martin Oshiro from Ono Hawaiian Café, were paired with the Nampa-based Sawtooth Winery, and Travis Levi from Bardenay was paired with the Williamson Winery, based in Caldwell.
The concept of the Eagle Food & Wine Festival is to provide a showcase for local food and wine. Earlier this year, the City of Eagle formed the Eagle Wine District, an overlay that includes the Eagle Foothills, where M3 Eagle’s 6,005-acre master-planned community may include a viticulture component.
The Eagle Wine District is a sub-area within the Snake River Valley American Viticultural Area (AVA), a vast 8,263-mile region in Idaho and Eastern Oregon that was designated by the U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau in 2007. The designation elevates the status of Idaho wines and assists in marketing and sales.
Festival participants and chefs already are getting on a waiting list for next year’s festival, to be held Aug. 21-22, May said. The Treasure Valley Wine Society will be a partner next year, she said, which should bring in even more wineries to the event.
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