KNOXVILLE —Darren McGrady, a personal chef to Princess Diana and the British Royal Family for fifteen years, will make a guest appearance at the inaugural Tennessee Food and Wine Festival on October 21 and October 22.
McGrady will host cooking classes and demonstrations and prepare the fare for a sit-down dinner as part of the two-day event hosted by the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
The festival, to be held at the Knoxville Convention Center, will include 100 exhibit booths highlighting Tennessee food and wine products. Participants will have the opportunity to sample and purchase the goods.
Classes will be offered—from culinary lessons for middle and high school students to beer-brewing and barbecue and wine-pairing for adults. They range in price from $19 to $69.
The main expo will be 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 22. Advance tickets are $10. Tickets at the door will be $15. Wine sampling is an additional $10. The expo is free for children under 10.
McGrady and other well-known chefs—including Peter Glander of Ruby Tuesday, Chris Moore of the Knoxville Convention Center, Greg Eisele from Aramark, and Chef Nowading and Chef Mullins with Kroger—will perform on two stages and provide guests with practical and gourmet food preparation tips.
“This is a great opportunity to showcase the food and wine producers in the state and become a food and wine festival destination for the future,” said Carol Costello, professor in UT’s Department of Hotel, Restaurant, and Tourism Management and director of the UT Culinary Institute Wine Program.
The festival is a project of UT’s Department of Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Management designed to raise awareness about Tennessee food products. It is supported by UT Conferences and Non-Credit Programs. Proceeds from the event will go toward student scholarships.
Festival ticket packages are available:
Saturday Festival and Wine Package – includes ten general admission tickets to the all-day festival and ten tickets for wine sampling. $200
VIP Package – includes ten general admission tickets to the Saturday festival, ten wine sampling tickets, ten tickets to your choice of ten educational classes (prices range from $19 to $33 per class), and two tickets to the Fit for Royalty Gala Dinner. $800
Big Orange Sponsor Package – become a sponsor of this event with your logo/name on the festival promotional bag and program. Includes twenty-five festival tickets, twenty-five wine sampling tickets, and ten tickets to the Fit for Royalty Gala Dinner hosted by Chef Darren McGrady. $1,800
For a full schedule of events, classes, discounted tickets, and more information, visit www.tnfestival.com.
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C O N T A C T S:
Carol Costello (865-974-6241, costello@utk.edu)
Lola Alapo (865-974-3993, lalapo@utk.edu)