* Updated April 4, 2012 with ticket giveaway, see below for details!
Food and cars have always been two passions of mine. The combination of both in one event is a dream come true. Before food blogging, I was heavily involved in the automobile events industry. Now that the culinary world has taken over my life, there are special events that involve both and can be experienced by those who appreciate food and exotic cars.
This year in Orlando, the formerly named “Jetport Food & Wine Party” has been renamed Food & Wine at Portofino taking place at Loew’s Portofino Bay Hotel. This food & wine event is part of the the 9th Annual Celebration Exotic Car Festival. The Food & Wine at Portofino on April 14th will involve local restaurants, celebrity chefs from around the U.S., live entertainment, and feature a display of exotic cars. Efforts from this event will be donated to children’s charities.
(click image to enlarge)
From the 2011 event, one of the most exotic cars was the Ferrari FXX which is 1 of 30 in the world ever built. I was fortunate to attend last year’s event and it was one of the top culinary events of 2011 with numerous world renown chefs, high profile guests, and rare exotic cars. More photos from: 2011 Jetport Food & Wine Party
See below for a list of celebrity Top Chefs, guest appearances, and more event details with ticket information.
The 9th Annual Celebration Exotic Car Festival, benefitting children’s charities, will be held April 12-15. This four-day world-class event was named “One of the 5 Best Exotic Car Shows in the World” by Made Man magazine, ranking with other events in Paris, Geneva and Monte Carlo. Through the efforts of this event, nearly $800,000 has been donated to children’s charities, including Make-a-Wish, Special Olympics and Arnold Palmer Children’s Hospital.
Saturday evening, April 14 will be the Festival’s annual Food and Wine Party. This high-energy event has been described as the “party of the year,” and now has a spectacular new location. Formerly the “Jetport Food & Wine Party,” the event has been renamed Food & Wine at Portofino and will be held harborside at the stunning Loew’s Portofino Bay Hotel at Universal Orlando. A virtual duplication of the beautiful seaside town of Portofino, Italy, this waterfront setting is the perfect location for guests to enjoy fine wines and incredible cuisine. More than 50 local restaurants and renowned celebrity chefs join to prepare a world-class culinary extravaganza. The evening also features a display of exotic cars, live music and performance artists, as well as silent and live charity auctions.
Several celebrity chefs from the Bravo television show “Top Chef” will also be on hand to prepare their most famous dishes at the event, including Michael Voltaggio, Kevin Sbraga, and Kenny Gilbert. Voltaggio’s new Los Angeles restaurant, “ink” was just named the “Best New Restaurant in America” by GQ magazine.
The Food & Wine party attracts guests from all over the country, and has been attended by numerous Hollywood and sports celebrities over the years. This year’s guest list includes Carl Weathers (Rocky), Christopher McDonald (Happy Gilmore), Patrick Warburton (Rules of Engagement), Luke Wilson (Old School), Lea Thompson (Back to the Future) and Judd Nelson (Breakfast Club).
Tickets for this must-attend evening are available on the Festival’s website at www.celebrationexoticcars.com
Ticket Information
100% of the net proceeds of this event are donated to children’s charities.
Food & Wine at Portofino
Loews Portofino Bay Hotel, Universal Orlando
Saturday, April 14th 7:00pm-11:00pm
Regular Tickets:
(thru March 31, 2012) $125 per person
(after March 31, 2012) $150 per person
VIP Tickets (Very limited number available):
(thru March 31, 2012) $200 per person
(after March 31, 2012) $250 per person
*UPDATE
Ticket Giveaway:
We are doing a giveaway for a pair of tickets to 1 lucky reader to attend the Food & Wine at Portofino, a $300 value! The tickets are provided by CECF Wish Foundation and by their promotional partner, Pearleen Buchala of megaYUMMO.com
1 winner will receive 2 tickets to the event, Food & Wine at Portofino.
To Enter, you must do both of the following:
Step 1. Must “Like” the Droolius Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/drooliusblog and post comment on the page: “I entered the Food & Wine at Portofino giveaway”
Step 2. Leave a comment below on this post, answering this: “What would you like to see most at this event? An exotic car? A Top Chef? Eat the food? See a celebrity?”
The giveaway starts today April 4 and deadline to enter is April 8, 2012 (this Sunday) by 11:59 p.m. The randomly selected winner of this giveaway will be announced on Monday afternon, April 9th, via this blog post and the Droolius Facebook page. If you won, you will be notified, asked for your mailing address via email and we will mail you the tickets or arrange a pick up. Good luck!
Words and photos by Julius Mayo Jr.
Content and photos © Droolius.com 2012
excites me
The food is what always attracts me to any event. Try something I’ve never had before
I want to eat, of course! 🙂
It’s always eat the food. Top chefs just mean big $, celebs aren’t that appealing to me anymore (other than being ordinary people) and I hate to say it, but exotic cars…been there, (test) drove that.
My dream would be to eat fancy tailgate food with Voltaggio in the open trunk of an Enzo.
For me, it’s all about tasting the delicious food! Most importantly though, I love that this supports children’s charity! That’s just awesome.
I want to eat a celebrity!
I hope you get to win!
I have a beautiful woman to entertain.. Portofino backdrop, martinis and high-end motors sounds like a winner.
The food and wine, and meeting Michael Voltaggio would be awesome. Thanks for the giveaway!
I would to love to see top chef winner Michael Voltaggio, he was my favorite and I like his brother too but most of all I would love to try one of his dishes.. 🙂
Eat the food with Michael Voltaggio in an exotic car and back over Paula Deen ok y’all?
Looking forward for the food, depends on the celebrity, meeting a Top Chef would be awesome and I guess the exotic car is just a bonus =)
I would love to go to this! I absolutely love Portofino. I would be most excited to see Top Chef Michael Voltaggio!
I love the setting of portofino ..and with delicious food and cars for the men..what else can u ask for..its an event for both men and women..:)
Food, booze, planes, and cars… what else could you want?
This is an incredible event! Looking forward to another great year!
Definitely eat the food! I would shove a celebrity out of my way just to try some of the amazing dishes that these chefs will be preparing!
Leave a comment below on this post, answering this: “What would you like to see most at this event? An exotic car? A Top Chef? Eat the food? See a celebrity?” I would like to attend to see good food good people and…….the cars as well are they gonna let you try them out like the food??? Lol
Chefs- I am just beginning to explore a career and gathering a lot of ideas!
I would most like to shake the hand of Kevin Sbraga- I just had his foie gras soup at Sbragas in Philly- thought I had died and gone to heaven!
This is easy…… I want to see the exotic cars with Michael voltaggio, while eating his amazing food; and then I Will be the celebrity with everything!
The food is something i always look forward to seeing and trying at events like this, but having a gearhead for a dad the cars are great too.
I’m always looking to eat something that changes the way i feel about food somehow… but the exotic cars are the reason I work as hard as I do… Someday…
I would want to eat all the amazing food!
The food of course!
The food and wine pairings attract me.
Eat bada** food and meet kenny g aka ” kitchen beast ” ! # swagg
I’m definitely interested in the food more than anything else. I’m a bigger fan of antique cars than exotic but either makes for great pics!
The food is typically what excites me. My wife and I are avid viewers of Top Chef, and after seeing them compete and make amazing food, this experience would be a fantastic experience.
Thanks everyone for entering the 2 ticket giveaway. The winner will be announced Monday afternoon via this blog post, facebook, and other social media outlets. Thanks for participating and good luck!
Congrats to Cutieliza6 – Liza for the name being randomly selected (via Randomizer Generator) for the 2 tickets to the Food & Wine at Portofino. Please email holla@droolius.com for instructions to claim ticket.
Thanks everyone for participating!
Congrats to Cutieliza6 – Liza for the name being randomly selected (via Randomizer Generator) for the 2 tickets to the Food & Wine at Portofino. Please email holla@droolius.com for instructions to claim ticket.
Would love to meet the celebrity chefs and maybe get some tips!!!!!