Taste of Tulalip Archives

Taste of Tulalip Oktoberfest 2017: A Bavarian Journey

Pay Tribute to German Tradition by Raising a Beer and Toasting “Feierst Oktoberfest”

Tulalip WA — Holding true to Tulalip Resort Casino fashion, the culinary team will draw from the original Munich Oktoberfest for their first annual Taste of Tulalip Oktoberfest on Friday, September 22 from 6 pm to 9 pm at The Draft Sports Bar and Grill Patio. Sommelier Tom Thompson and Executive Chef Perry Mascitti will showcase authentic German dishes along with imported, local, and domestic Oktoberfest inspired beer at the enjoyable Taste of Tulalip celebration. Tickets are priced at $45 per person, ages 21 and over.

The Draft’s Chef Brent Clarkson carefully prepared the menu with options including hearty platters of Uli’s Famous Brats and Sauerkraut, Beer and Cheese Soup with Bavarian Pretzel Crouton, and a traditional Spätzle Bake (German Spätzle pasta lightly buttered and layered with Black Forest ham and Emmenthaler cheese topped with caramelized onions). Rounding out the selections are a Savory Bavarian Pretzel Bread Pudding with mustard caraway rye cream, Pork Schnitzel “Pops” topped with bacon and wild mushroom cream sauce, and a Cheese and Wurst Display, featuring traditional German frankfurter and classic Weiss Wurst sausages (served with an assortment of cheeses, pickled vegetables, gherkins, and breads).

Tom Thompson’s team will serve up a grand selection of beers from noteworthy breweries featuring: Backwoods Brewing, Deschutes, Dru Bru, Georgetown Brewing, Leinenkugel’s, Sam Adams, Sierra Nevada, Hofbräu, Paulaner, and the Hacker-Pschorr.

“Oktoberfest is a time of year where millions of people gather to celebrate great Bavarian food and beer throughout the world to honor this German tradition,” shares Executive Perry Mascitti. “The good news is you don’t have to purchase a plane ticket to Germany in order to celebrate this Oktoberfest.”

During the evening’s festivities, guests can take their chance with lady luck and enter to win from one of two raffle drawings. The two prizes will each include two tickets to the Robert Cray show on November 17, 2017, one overnight stay at Tulalip (some restrictions may apply) and a $100 dining credit applied to the winner’s room.

Doors open for the Taste of Tulalip Oktoberfest 2017 at 6 pm and tickets are priced at $45 per person all-inclusive. To purchase tickets, call (360) 716-1625. All attendees must be 21 and over.

The Resort didn’t think a one day celebration was enough for this beloved, time honored Bavarian festival, so they started the celebration early at the following eateries, which will feature German fare from September 5 through October 31, 2017:

Cedars Cafe will serve Bavarian style Wiener Schnitzel with warm sweet and sour coleslaw, mashed potatoes; topped with crispy onion straws, lemon beurre blanc, and blackberry sauce. Dessert includes Cedars’ Black Forest Ice Cream Sundae with chocolate ice cream, Kirsch cherry compote, whip cream, and chocolate shavings.

Blackfish Wild Salmon Grill presents their Seared Apple Marinated Duck Breast with apple-duck demi & Thuringer sausage with apple-mustard demi, along with onion potatoes, green beans, red cabbage and bacon and a dessert featuring Apple-Raisin Strudel with vanilla bean ice cream.

Carvery/Hotel Espresso makes their mark with Bavarian Ham Sandwich Black Forest ham on a fresh Bavarian pretzel roll, Munster cheese, dill pickles, and stone ground mustard.

The Draft Sports Bar will offer Pork Schnitzel Pops bite sized pork thinly pounded, skewered, breaded, fried golden brown and topped with bacon and wild mushroom cream sauce. Served with warm bacon potato salad and braised apple and red cabbage.

Tulalip Bay’s menu is embellished for the season with Spicy Sausage and Truffle Potato Fritter with stone ground mustard sauce and a dessert of Linzer Torte with beer ice cream.

Eagles Buffet will offer Amber Ale Braised Beef Brisket with buttered Spätzle in September and Bavarian Pork Ribs with braised red cabbage in October.

For more information about Oktoberfest 2017, visit TulalipResort.com. Don’t forget to wear your lederhosen!

7th Annual Taste of Tulalip: Celebrating food, wine and tradition

By Micheal Rios, Tulalip News; photos courtesy Maria Capili Photography

The Tulalip Resort and Casino (TRC) routinely displays all the reasons why it has earned the coveted AAA Four Diamond Award every year since 2009. Day and night the TRC staff are hard at work, dedicated to providing excellent customer service. As a Four Diamond Award winner, the TRC consistently delivers a luxurious experience, complete with a high level of service, amenities, and impressive surroundings. But, there is one event, held one weekend of the year where the TRC transforms itself from much, much more than the casino we often think of it as. In fact, this event has little to do with slot machines or table games at all.

The event is the annual Taste of Tulalip, Washington State’s coveted culinary festival of the year. More of a food and wine experience than an event, the two-day Taste of Tulalip showcases gourmet food and an assortment of fine wine hand-selected by Tulalip’s top-notch culinary team, led by Executive Chef Perry Mascitti and award-winning Sommelier Tommy Thompson. This year, the Taste of Tulalip celebrated its seventh anniversary over the weekend of November 13.

On Friday evening, Four-hundred and fifty guests filled the Orca Ballroom for the Taste of Tulalip’s 7^th Annual Celebration Dinner. The theme of this year’s dinner was “La Famiglia”, which is Italian for “the family”. In sticking with the theme, the Orca Ballroom was completely decked out in Italian backdrops, tapestry, fountains, and even live performance art. If the visuals weren’t enough to have you thinking you were in little Italy, then the live musicians, from an opera singer to a mandolin player, definitely did the trick.

The evening’s inspiration came from the love of Italian grandmothers everywhere who have a special passion for cooking amazing food every day for their families. In tribute, Tulalip chefs recreated many of their beloved recipes, paired with a global offering of rare, top wines.

Tulalip traditions were also highlighted throughout the evening. Tulalip artists continue to use traditional tools and techniques, while also using computer graphics, power tools, laser cuts and more to bring both traditional and innovative forms of Coast Salish art to the 21^st century. That’s why Tulalip artist Mike Gobin was chosen to design this year’s Taste of Tulalip logo. The logo he created was etched and printed onto wine glasses, dinner plates, and various marketing materials.

“The Taste of Tulalip logo was inspired by my father, Thomas J. Gobin, and my twin sister, Marilyn R. Lewis (Gobin),” says Mike of his unique, Coast Salish design. “The salmon represents the people of the Tulalip Tribes, “People of the Salmon’. My father’s Indian name means, ‘Man soars with Eagles’, and my sister’s Indian name means, ‘Aunty to all’. So the eagle represents my father and the hummingbird represents my sister. The eagle is hugging the hummingbird, so, with my father and sister gone now, this design represents my father meeting my sister in heaven and giving her a big hug. I’ve entitled this design, “A Father’s Heavenly Embrace”. I miss both of them a great deal.”

Within the Tulalip community, giving has often been an expectation of individuals as a means of sharing and survival. As Tulalip has grown economically and prospered from several business ventures, the tribes’ charitable donation program has continued to grow in kind and gives to nonprofits around the region. On this night, Snohomish-based veteran’s organization Heartbeat – Serving Wounded Warriors received two checks for $10,000 each. Heartbeat provides emergency assistance, therapeutic services, support groups, and morale-building programs for wounded service members and their families in Washington State.

“It’s critical that we serve those who gave up so much for our freedoms,” Tulalip Chairman Mel Sheldon said. “I was a Vietnam veteran, and if programs like this had been around back then, it would have changed everything. This is truly healing medicine.”

Friday evening’s celebration dinner was followed up with Saturday’s gourmet food and wine extravaganza, as more than 2,000 guests came from all over the region to attend wine seminars, cooking demonstrations and, of course, the Grand Taste. Attendees savored flavors of exceptional food and wine pairings from around the globe as they sauntered about lavish food stations by TRC award-winning chefs, countless winery samples from Washington, Oregon and California, craft beer selections, and even two separate lounges featuring their own hand-picked pours.

The only way to adequately describe the Grant Taste is to share photos, which as they say, are worth a thousand words. And if your mouth doesn’t water, then you’re not looking hard enough. The food was utterly fantastic, as every dish was prepared to wow the taste buds. Add in the wine selection, which encompasses the entire spectrum from once in a lifetime to perfect for a normal Tuesday, and we have a creative and fun atmosphere, free of snobbery and pretentiousness.

The two-day Taste of Tulalip is the annual opportunity for the Tulalip Resort Casino to drop the casino part and flex its culinary muscles as the Tulalip Resort, proving itself as a true destination in the Pacific Northwest’s food and dining scene. Both Friday and Saturday’s events sell-out every year, so be on the lookout for information regarding next year’s Taste of Tulalip at www.tasteoftulalip.com

Taste of Tulalip Wine + Food Celebration Announces Star-studded Line-Up for 7th Annual Festival

Tickets go on Sale August 14, 2015

Tulalip, Washington — Tickets for the 7th annual Taste of Tulalip, held at the Tulalip Resort Casino, will go on pre-sale at 9:00 a.m. PDT on August 14, 2015. Executive Chef Perry Mascitti and Sommelier Tommy Thompson have spent the past year organizing a star-studded line-up of food, wine and traditional show-stopping entertainment for ticket holders. Run, don’t walk, when purchasing your passes because this highly anticipated event sells out every year. Seats for the Friday, November 13 celebration dinner may be purchased by calling (360) 716-6888, and the passes for the Saturday, November 14 events can be purchased via Ticketmaster at www.ticketmaster.com.

The 2-day festival, with a focus on wine, food and tradition, begins with the Friday night wine and passed hors d’oeuvres reception, followed by the fittingly named Celebration Dinner. The multi-course repast celebrates “La Famiglia,” as the Italians say, it’s all about “the family!” The evening’s inspiration comes from the love of Italian grandmothers everywhere who have a special passion for cooking amazing food every day for their families. In tribute, Tulalip chefs will recreate many of their beloved recipes, paired with a global offering of rare, top wines. Friday night’s Celebration Dinner is priced at $225 per person, and tickets are limited.

On Saturday “All Access” pass holders ($350 per person) will enjoy early entrance to the unforgettable Grand Taste and Rock and Roll Challenge; a wine seminar — Washington State AVA Smackdown featuring some of the State’s tops wine producers, hosted by superstar wine guy, Anthony Giglio. Also featured, a VIP seminar featuring Chef Chris Cosentino’s cooking demo, table talk and Q & A session on the Albert Lee Appliance Cooking Stage; and a private Magnum Party where guests will be treated to a selection of high level wine and food pairings.

The weekend’s highlight is always the Grand Taste, spanning four hours and featuring lavish food stations, as well as over 100 wines from Washington state, Oregon, California, Oporto, Maderia, global selections of bubbles, as well as pours of late harvest and ice wines and craft beer. Grand Taste is priced at $110 per person and includes the edgy Rock -n- Roll Cooking Challenge – a fast-paced culinary roller coaster with slammin’ rock and roll music! Expect fun and great tunes as local Seattle and Tulalip Chefs and Sommeliers compete “Iron Chef” style with celebrity judges (Chef Chris Cosentino, Chef Thierry Rautureau, Chef T, and Mauny Kaseberg), who are looking for the best dish and wine pairing. This year’s emcee will be the famously entertaining Chris Cosentino from San Francisco’s Cockscomb and Boccalone, along with wine writer, educator and raconteur, Anthony Gigilo. This show-stopping cook-off is sure to keep things lively and the chefs on their toes!

To top off the weekend, Thompson will also feature an in-depth reserve wine tasting/seminar called “Turning Water Into Wine” with Sparky and Sarah Marquis of the award-winning Australian winery, Mollydooker Wines. The tasting line-up will include 12 of Mollydooker Wine’s recently released 2014 wines. Tickets are priced at $125 per person and are available for purchase by calling (360) 716 1239.

And now for the stars of the Taste of Tulalip Wine + Food Celebration weekend…

Sommelier Tom Thompson – Tulalip Resort Casino
Tulalip Wine Director Tom Thompson is always first in line to uncork the latest and greatest boutique finds. He has carefully selected well over 100 pours from Washington, Oregon, California, Germany, and New Zealand for the “Wine Event of the Year”, as recognized by the Washington Wine Commission. Thompson continues to add breadth to Tulalip’s extensive cellar, garnering Wine Spectator’s Best of Award of Excellence.

Executive Chef Perry Mascitti – Tulalip Resort Casino
Executive Chef Perry is the man behind the pan! He oversees seven dining venues, in-room meals for the Four Diamond hotel and catering for the entire Resort Casino. His creativity shines along with that of his culinary team at the multi-course Celebration Dinner, the nibbles of endless proportions at the Grand Taste, and he is the mastermind behind the Rock and Roll Challenge.

Chris Cosentino – Guest Chef
Chris Cosentino, aka @OffalChris, is the Chef/Owner of Cockscomb and Boccalone and an Award-Winning Chef and Cookbook Author. Cosentino is a graduate of the culinary program at Johnson & Wales University and went on to build his résumé at Red Sage in Washington, D.C. and Rubicon, Chez Panisse, Belon, and Redwood Park in the San Francisco Bay Area. Cosentino took his first executive chef position at Incanto in 2002 where his inspired and innovative interpretations of rustic Italian fare promptly earned the restaurant both critical and popular acclaim. Cosntino’s debut on BRAVO’s “Top Chef Masters” series was a huge success earning over $140,000 for the Michael J. Fox foundation for Parkinson’s research and being named the season four winner. And in 2012, he saw the debut of his first cookbook “Beginnings: My Way to Start a Meal”.

Anthony Giglio – Wine Expert
Anthony Giglio is a writer, educator and raconteur who motivates countless imbibers to trust their own tastes and relax the rules. Giglio’s witty, unpretentious style can be discerned in the weekly column he writes for Details Magazine’s “Food + Drinks” section. He has written 10 books, including three editions of the annual FOOD & WINE MAGAZINE Wine Guide review of 1,000+ wines; five editions of the enormously popular Mr. Boston Official Bartender’s Guide; and his highly-regarded first book, Cocktails in New York.

Mike Gobin – 2015 Taste of Tulalip Featured Artist
Native American artist Michael Gobin meticulously uses his hands and knives to carve the Pacific Northwest’s indigenous red and yellow cedar trees in an effort to bring the sacred wood back to life. A treasure to the community, Gobin skillfully resurrects Tulalip’s traditions and ancestral stories through his works of art.

Kerry Shiels – 2015 Honorary Winemaker Côte Bonneville
After earning her Engineering degree, Shiels worked for two years in Torino, Italy, and then moved on to Case New Holland’s world headquarters in Chicago for 18 months before entering the world of wine. From there, Kerry worked the 2006 vintage at Joseph Phelps Vineyards, 2007 harvest at Australia’s Tahbilk, and then went on to work the 2007 vintage at Folio – Michael Mondavi’s Napa winery. During the 2008 harvest, Shiels served as the assistant white winemaker to Rich Arnold at Robert Mondavi Winery, followed by the antipodal 2010 harvest at Tapiz in Argentina, and then finally returning home to work full-time at Côte Bonneville.

Bill Wixey – Emcee
Having grown up in the Pacific Northwest, Bill feels privileged to chronicle the issues that affect his community. A newsroom leader, he has anchored and reported in the Seattle area since 1998, and is co-host of This Morning on Q13 FOX News weekdays from 7 to 10 a.m. Offering commentary on major news events from all over the world, Wixey has reported from Asia following the 2004 tsunami, from Haiti after the 2010 earthquake and covered the Olympic Games in Beijing, Vancouver and London. He has been honored with two Emmys for his broadcast work.

Kaci Aitchison – Emcee
A Seattle native and proud University of Washington grad, Kaci picked up her first microphone as a sophomore, and hasn’t put it down since. She got her start in radio at KISS-FM, to meeting the big brothers she never knew she wanted as host on The Bob Rivers Morning Show. In 2009 she joined the Q13 This Morning as a features reporter and is now co-anchor. Voted “Best Local TV Personality in Western Washington”, Aitchison is also one of the lead singers with local rock and roll band Spike and the Impalers.

Thierry Rautureau – Rock and Roll Challenge Guest Judge
For 26 years, Chef In The Hat Thierry Rautureau owned Rover’s Restaurant, which offered cuisine that Rautureau described as Northwest Contemporary with a French accent. Currently, Rautureau is the chef/owner of Luc and Loulay Kitchen & Bar in Seattle, Washington. Rautureau was born in the town of Saint Hilaire de Loulay in the Muscadet region of France. At 20, he moved to the United States and worked at various fine restaurants, including La Fontaine in Chicago, the Regency Club for Joachim Splichal in Los Angeles, and the Seventh Street Bistro with Laurent Quenioux, also in Los Angeles. While visiting Seattle in 1987, Rautureau dined at Rover’s and discovered that the restaurant was up for sale. Tired of Los Angeles, he decided to buy the restaurant so that he could express his culinary creativity as the chef/owner. The rest, as they say, is
history.

Mauny Kaseburg – Rock and Roll Challenge Guest Judge
Mauny Kaseburg is a Northwest-born, Paris-trained food and wine consultant who many will remember from her many years on KUOW radio. In 2015, Mauny celebrated her 28th year as Culinary Producer for the Food & Wine Magazine Classic in Aspen. Mauny also spent five years in the Northern California wine country, serving as Marketing Director for the Russian River Valley Winegrowers. She returned to Seattle in 2008 to marry the merman of her dreams – Geoff Golden.

Chef T (Savuthy Dy) Rione XIII – Rock and Roll Challenge Guest Judge
Savuthy Dy is a graduate of the California Culinary Academy and has worked at The Herb Farm, Qube, Piola y Crota in Italy, and Book Bindery, among others. Rock and Roll Challengers beware – Chef T was on the 2014 Taste of Tulalip Rock and Roll Challenge winning team.

Taste of Tulalip tickets go on sale August 14, 2015. Hotel rooms and spa appointments will become near and dear during this 2-day extravaganza. Reserve a room at the AAA Four Diamond resort by going to www.tulalipresort.com or by phoning 1-866-716-7162. For more information, visit www.tasteoftulalip.com.

The 2015 Taste of Tulalip sponsors include: Delta Air Lines, Albert Lee Appliance – Bosch and Thermador, Dillanos Coffee, Mercedes Benz of Lynnwood, Coke, Le Creuset, Seattle Magazine, and Tasting Room Magazine.

About Tulalip Resort Casino
Award winning Tulalip Resort Casino is the most distinctive gaming, dining, meeting, entertainment and shopping destination in Washington state. The AAA Four Diamond resort’s world class amenities have ensured its place on the Condé Nast Traveler Gold and Traveler Top 100 Resorts lists, as well as Preferred Hotel & Resorts membership. The property includes 192,000 square feet of gaming excitement; a luxury hotel featuring 370 guest rooms and suites; 30,000 square feet of premier meeting, convention and wedding space; the full-service T Spa; and 6 dining venues, including the AAA Four Diamond Tulalip Bay Restaurant. It also showcases the intimate Canoes Cabaret; a 3,000-seat amphitheater. Nearby, find the Hibulb Cultural Center and Natural History Preserve, Cabela’s; and Seattle Premium Outlets, featuring more than 110 name brand retail discount shops. The Resort Casino is conveniently located between Seattle and Vancouver, B.C. just off Interstate-5 at exit 200. It is an enterprise of the Tulalip Tribes. For reservations please call (866) 716-7162.

Good food and good company for a good cause

Annual Taste of Tulalip event benefits local non-profits

By Niki Cleary, Tulalip News
Sumptuous food, locally roasted coffee and custom blended wines are some of the images that spring to mind when you mention the Taste of Tulalip. However, according to Tulalip Resort Casino (TRC) Food and Beverage Director Lisa Severn, the event is so much more than foodie fantasy. It’s a branding campaign, a showcase of local talent and a way to give back.

“We’ve always had a charity component,” she explained. “The team picks a cause that is near and dear to our hearts, the first year we donated to the Hibulb Cultural Center. Because of our chefs, a lot of times it’s a culinary effort. We’ve donated to Fair Start, an organization taking at risk adults and giving them culinary skills. One year it was Food Lifeline.

“We donate to causes that make an impact on us. Many of us know what it feels like to grow up hungry. Some years,” Severn continued, “it’s based on what’s happening to us personally. We donated to Make-A-Wish one year. That year we had a team member on the property who had a son with cancer.”

Although the event has always included a charitable donation, this year it is actually a ‘benefit’ event. The beneficiary, the Tulalip Foundation, is a 501c3 organization separate from the Tulalip Tribes. The Foundation’s mission is, “dedicated to empowering the wellbeing of the Tulalip Reservation and surrounding community, by helping meet its cultural, scientific, benevolent, and educational needs through charitable fundraising and dispersal of funds.

“Whereas before there was a small donation towards an organization on the TRC’s behalf, this year it’s actually the Tulalip Foundation’s event and we are running it for them,” Severn clarified.

As always the Sixth Annual Taste of Tulalip will include a range of culinary artists, including Tulalip’s own expert chefs who look forward to the opportunity share their skills with an appreciative audience.

Severn pointed out that the event also gives big names in the food and wine industry an opportunity to see for themselves what makes the TRC so unique and why it deserves its four diamond status.

“This gives our chefs an outlet to represent not only their restaurant, but their creativity,” she said. “We talk about food, wine and tradition, this is about partnership and showcasing our quality of chefs and still holding true to who we are as Tulalip by incorporating tribal art with our traditions of giving.

“This year we’ve partnered with guest Chef Ming Tsai,” said Severn. “He’s an incredible Asian chef with an amazing personality. Dillanos Coffee Roasters, they roast our Killer Coffee, makes a special blend for the event every year. Then we have Anthony Giglio, he’s a wine professional with Food and Wine Magazine, we’ve partnered with them in the past and they’ve provided us with these national talents. Q13 Fox has provided Bill Wixey and Kaci Aitchison to host and emcee the dinner.”

The event grows every year, Severn enthused.

“Taste of Tulalip started because most casinos don’t have a good reputation,” she explained. “We needed to get it out there that we have talented chefs. Their talent and creativity can hold up to the best chefs in Seattle. Then we thought, let’s spread our wings and be the best in the northwest. Now, we’re not just representing Tulalip with this event, we’re representing Washington as a whole and Indian gaming as a whole.”

The event showpiece is always a custom vintage in an etched glass bottle featuring one of a kind Tulalip artwork.

“We partner with a Washington winery to create a unique blend,” said Severn. “We choose a winery that’s been a good partner and is known for their quality. This year it’s Sean Boyd of Woodinville Wine Cellars.

“Each year we have a Tulalip artist create the art, this year it’s Joe Gobin,” she continued. “We’ve taken his art and incorporated it into the event. It’s going to be on the bottle, on the chargers and the wine charms. In the past we’ve had designs by Jason Gobin, Joe Gobin and James Madison.”

Severn emphasized that although wine is featured, the event is not just a wine event.

“This is a balance, it’s about the entire experience,” she said. “It’s huge for the food community of Washington, but our gamers also love the event. It brings them here, they enjoy the seminars and the entertainment factor, and they get a game or two while they’re here.”

To keep it exciting and fun, chefs will again be challenged to create delectable fare from mystery ingredients.

“During the grand taste we have the Rock and Roll Challenge,” Severn described the challenge. “Our Executive Chef Perry [Mascitti] has gathered up a box of food, the chefs won’t know what is in it and they have an hour to create something.”

Guest Chef Ming Tsai, Seattle local, the “Chef in the Hat,” Thierry Rautureau, Wine Expert Anthony Giglio and Mauny Kaseburg, of the Aspen Food and Wine Classic, will judge the challenge.

The Sixth Annual Taste of Tulalip begins Friday, November 14th with a celebration dinner. Saturday, November 15th, all access pass attendees will be treated to cooking demonstrations and wine seminars as well as the Grand Taste. For more information about the Taste of Tulalip or to purchase tickets go to www.tasteoftulalip.com.

Sixth Annual Taste Of Tulalip Tickets Go On Pre-Sale July 18

Award Winning Wine and Food Weekend Offers Advance Purchase Through Ticketmaster

Tulalip, Washington — “Buy early; get in,” says Tulalip Resort Casino President/COO Ken Kettler. He is referring to the line of disappointed Taste of Tulalip fans that were unable to enjoy the award-winning November weekend of wine, food and tradition, as the 2013 event sold out. This year tickets will go on pre-sale at 9:00 a.m. PDT on July 18. Seats for the Friday, November 14 celebration dinner may be purchased by calling (360) 716-6888, and the passes for the Saturday, November 15 events can be paid for via Ticketmaster at http://www.ticketmaster.com/.

The weekend kicks-off with Friday night’s multi-course Celebration Dinner, prepared by Executive Chef Perry Mascitti and his team, paired with premium wines from around the globe selected by sommelier Tommy Thompson. Seating is limited to 400 guests. Saturday is filled with a plethora of wine and food demos, chef challenges, a wine seminar, a VIP Magnum party and is capped with the Grand Taste – featuring over 120 wineries from Washington, Oregon, California, New Zealand and Germany, along with a craft beer “pool garden”. Attendance is limited to 2,000.

Taste of Tulalip’s 2014 culinary guest stars include public television show host and producer Ming Tsai along with wine columnist, author and educator Anthony Giglio. Both will be featured at events throughout the weekend. The honorary winemaker is Woodinville Wine Cellar’s maestro Sean Boyd. Local Fox Q13 television celeb Bill Wixey returns for a second year as guest emcee and will be joined by fellow team member Kaci Aitchison.

Tickets are priced at:

Celebration Dinner $195
All Access Saturday Pass $350
Grand Taste $95

Hotel rooms and spa appointments will become near and dear during this two-day extravaganza. Kettler also suggests that guests reserve their getaway room early at the AAA Four Diamond resort by going to www.tulalipresort.com or phoning 1-866-716-7162.

Tulalip Resort: offers the best food and wine event in the Northwest

By Duane Pemberton, Communities Digital News

TULALIP, Wash, May 1, 2014 – The Taste of Tulalip is the ultimate “feast of the senses” that combines wine, food and fun in a relaxed setting that has helped define it as the defacto event of its kind in the Northwest.

The Tulalip Casino and Resort is a property on the Native American land of the Tulalip tribe, hence the casino part. Having the luxury of one of the areas top-ranking casinos helps provide revenue for the kind of budget required for the resort to put on a first-class event.

What makes the Tulalip Resort such a great venue for a wine and food event is really a combination of things going for it. A first-class staff such as Chef Perry Mascitti, Sommelier Tommy Thompson and its Food & Beverage Director, Lisa Severn. These three not only know how to throw a party, they do everything first-class.

Secondly, are accommodations which also present a very welcoming vibe and the rooms at Tulalip definitely fit the bill. Perhaps the nicest feature of the rooms is the three-tier shower system which hits all areas of the body, making you not want get out of it.

Assuming you pay for the full weekend pass, you’ll start things off with a multi-course reception dinner in the main convention hall. Everything from the quality of each course you consume to the attentiveness of each wait staff person, it’s a dinner you won’t soon forget. This past event, Carla Hall of ABC’s “The Chew” was on the center stage welcoming the guests and helping to get the “party started”.

Several hours later after you experience this food and wine assault on the senses, you’ll find a gorgeous, well-appointed room waiting for you to sink into.

The Grand Tasting is the event which most attend and it’s not just any “second-rate” tasting, you’ll find craft beers, imported wines from other countries such as Italy and France along with domestic favorites from California, Oregon and Washington State.

There are various mini-events which also take place during the Grand Tasting and those can be both a fun and educational to attend. There’s a cooking demo by a celebrity chef where you’ll get to try the food when done with the demo –winner of Top Chef, Kristen Kish, held the honors in 2013.

There is also a “Rock and Roll Cooking Challenge” across from the main grand tasting hall which has always proved to be a light-hearted, fun-filled event as well.

Additionally, there’s a Private Magnum tasting lounge where Tommy Thompson and crew open up extremely rare, extremely expensive wines from around the globe. Bourdeaux, Burgundy, Australia, Italy, Napa, Willamette Valley and Columbia Valley’s best are often represented in this exclusive tasting.

If you love wine, you owe it to yourself to get into this tasting in order to taste wines from the likes of Chateau Margaux, Screaming Eagle, Schafer, Quilceda Creek to name a few.

It’s the culmination of so many things which all seem to happen with flawless execution on the part of the staff and guests which helps guests feel very much a part of what’s going on.

Any more, being able to define an “ultimate food and wine” destination in most areas has become more difficult thanks to an availability of so many good ones to pick from. There’s no doubt that it should always be on your “must do” list of having an ultimate wine and food weekend in a relaxing, fun-filled place that you won’t soon forget.

For more details, visit: www.tasteoftulalip.com

Several hours later after you experience this food and wine assault on the senses, you’ll find a gorgeous, well-appointed room waiting for you to sink into.

There is also a “Rock and Roll Cooking Challenge” across from the main grand tasting hall which has always proved to be a light-hearted, fun-filled event as well.

If you love wine, you owe it to yourself to get into this tasting in order to taste wines from the likes of Chateau Margaux, Screaming Eagle, Schafer, Quilceda Creek to name a few.

It’s the culmination of so many things which all seem to happen with flawless execution on the part of the staff and guests which helps guests feel very much a part of what’s going on.

For more details, visit: www.tasteoftulalip.com
Read more at http://www.commdiginews.com/life/tulalip-resort-offers-the-best-food-and-wine-event-in-the-northwest-16594/#Hj9a4d3Mhk0hHD4x.99

Taste of Tulalip – The Culinary Festival of the Year

5th Anniversary Highlights Include Extraordinary Epicurean Events, Celebrity Chefs & Sommelier Superstars

Tickets are still available for the Taste of Tulalip Grand Taste, Saturday, November 9

Tulalip, Washington – Tulalip Resort Casino is gearing up for a weekend of revelry to celebrate the 5th anniversary of Taste of Tulalip, its coveted award-winning food and wine aficionado event. Scheduled for November 8 and 9, 2013, this year’s line-up of top talent, to be announced within the next month, will include many familiar names as well as some stars on the rise. Past culinary celeb appearances have included ABC TV’s “The Chew” host Carla Hall, Bravo’s Top Chef Master and author Marcus Samuelsson, wine legend Marc Mondavi, “Thirsty Girl” Leslie Sbrocco and others. Executive Chef Perry Mascitti and Sommelier Tommy Thompson are putting together a dazzling roster of food, wine and tradition show-stoppers that have been a year in the planning. Taste 2013 will feature honorary winemaker Bob Betz of Betz Family Winery.

The two-day gathering, with a focus on food, wine and tradition, begins with a Friday night wine and passed hors d’oeuvres reception, followed by the aptly named Celebration Dinner. The multi-course repast will focus on Native American and traditional recipe inspired dishes, paired with a global offering of rare, top wines. It is priced at $175. Tickets are limited and this event is always a sell-out.

The weekend’s highlight is always the Grand Taste, spanning four hours and featuring lavish food stations as well as over 100 wines from Washington State, California and Oregon, and craft beer. It is priced at $95 and includes a Rock –n- Roll Cooking Challenge done “Iron Chef” style with celebrity judges looking for the best from both regional and Tulalip chefs, and sommelier teams. Special guest Emilio Lopez of El Salvador (a sixth generation specialty coffee producer), will be appearing at the Dillanos Coffee Roasters espresso bar, where guests will be able to sample a special TOT 5th Anniversary Blend.

All of the weekend’s wine offerings will be available in limited quantities for purchase in the Taste of Tulalip retail wine shop. There will also be book and bottle signings for those looking to personalize their purchases.

For tickets, go to www.tasteoftulalip.com or www.ticketmaster.com

Taste of Tulalip – The Culinary Festival of the Year

5th Anniversary Highlights Include Extraordinary Epicurean Events, Celebrity Chefs & Sommelier Superstars

On Saturday “All Access” pass holders ($295) will enjoy early entrance to the unforgettable Grand Taste; a VIP seminar featuring a celebrity cooking demo, table talk and Q & A session on the Viking Kitchen Stage; a private Magnum Party where they’ll be treated to a high level wine and indigenous food pairings; and a special bonus this year – two in-depth Reserve Tasting forums.

For tickets, go to www.tasteoftulalip.com or www.ticketmaster.com

Taste of Tulalip – The Culinary Festival of the Year

5th Anniversary Highlights Include Extraordinary Epicurean Events, Celebrity Chefs & Sommelier Superstars

For tickets, go to www.tasteoftulalip.com or www.ticketmaster.com