Southwest Florida Wine & Food Fest Chefs

The food served in wine pairings is most important to help show off the unique properties of the featured wines so that they can be fully enjoyed and savored. The SWF Wine and Food Fest is working with the area's finest chefs for the ultimate in wine and food offerings.

The 2010 SWF Wine and Food Fest featured cuisine from the following chefs:

Chef Vintner Dinner Chefs

Harold Balink, Cru
Nick Costanzo, Angelina’s Ristorante
Reiner Drygala, Bistro 41
Ryan Leto, Roy’s
Jeffrey Lucas, Ruth’s Chris Steak House
Derin Moore, Ritz Carlton, Naples Beach Resort
Martin Murphy, Robb & Stucky Culinary Center
Brian Roland, M Waterfront Grille
Jesse Souza, LaPlaya Beach Resort
Melissa Talmage, Sweet Melissa’s
Casey Thompson, Top Chef, Season 3
Shannon Yates, Cru

Grand Tasting Chefs

Marbin Avilez Sr., Bayfront Bistro
Nick Costanzo Angelina’s, Ristorante
Reiner Drygala, Bistro 41
Keegan Gerhard, Food Network
Caroline Hostettler, 55 Degrees
Ryan Leto, Roy’s
Jeffrey Lucas, Ruth’s Chris Steak House
Thomas Pedit, Miromar Lakes Beach & Golf Club
Michael Ragusa, The Sandy Butler
Jayson Rydell, Flippers - Lover’s Key Resort
Andreas Singer, Hyatt Regency Coconut Point
Jesse Souza, LaPlaya Beach Resort
Gil Suarez, Capital Grille
Eric Truglas, French Bread Oven
Christian Vivet, Blue Windows Bistro & Catering
Shannon Yates, Cru

Featuring - Special Guests

Norman Love, Norman Love Confections
Keegan Gerhard, DBar Desserts of Denver, The Food Network
Casey Thompson, Top Chef, Season 3

Norman Love
The Grand Tasting will feature dessert specialties by Norman Love, of Norman Love Confections. He will provide a wide selection of his specialty gourmet chocolates paired with dessert wines at the Wine Fest Gala.

"Chocolate and children are a perfect pairing," said Love. "It's as good of a match as fine wine and gourmet foods."

Known as a purveyor of some of the world's finest, ultra premium chocolates, Norman Love Confections has been lauded in national news stories escalating its owner and founder, Norman Love, to celebrity status. Former corporate pastry chef with The Ritz-Carlton and creator of "G," the specialty line of chocolate for Godiva, Love and his national studio is based right here in Southwest Florida.

"When it comes to helping children's charities, and celebrating the culinary arts of our community, we consider it a pleasure to be involved in the Southwest Florida Wine and Food Fest this year," said Love. For more information on Norman Love or Norman Love Confections, visit his Web site at www.normanloveconfections.com.

Chef Keegan Gerhard

Keegan Gerhard, named one of the nation’s top 10 pastry chefs of 2002 and 2004 by both Chocolatier and Pastry Art & Design magazines, brings a wealth of experience and abundant competitive energy to his position as Executive Pastry Chef.

A one-time cyclist, Gerhard originally pursued a career in culinary arts simply to have a mobile source of income that would allow him to train for the Olympics anywhere, any time. But convenience soon gave way to passion, as Gerhard found himself running the kitchen of a French bistro in San Diego. The day he fired his pastry chef and took over, he discovered his true passion – and it has been a wild ride ever since.
Gerhard set out to learn from the best, and worked as the assistant to the celebrated Master pastry chef, Jacquy Pfeiffer, the Alsace-born owner and founder of the French Pastry School in Chicago. Gerhard describes this as more of an apprenticeship and awakening. Subsequent positions as Pastry Chef with Charlie Trotters Restaurant, the Waldorf Astoria and the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company ensued, as did a position as Corporate Pastry Chef for Dean and DeLuca, Executive Pastry Chef of Four Seasons Chicago and Executive Assistant Pastry Chef of Wynn Las Vegas. Chef Keegan is now owner of D Bar Desserts in Denver, CO.

Gerhard has an enthusiastic but controlled approach to pastries, “I like to stay away from things that are too contrived, and prefer to create desserts that are refined and elegant,” he explains. “I sometimes compare pastries to Jazz music: 70 percent is based on enduring principles or the foundation of the style, then the great musicians give you the 30 percent which is a surprise.”

When he’s not preparing seasonal product-driven delicacies in the pastry shop, Keegan spends time organizing and serving as M.C. for the “The National Pastry Team Championships” and “The World Pastry Team Championships” in Las Vegas, which is televised on The Food Network. Keegan also serves as Emcee and Host of the live Food Network Challenge Series for the Food Network.

He has been featured numerous times on the Discovery Channel’s Great Chefs of America, as well as the Food Network and CNN. For the 2001 Pastry World Cup, he served as technical advisor to Team USA, which brought home a gold medal. Gerhard is honored to have been recognized as a Distinguished Visiting Pastry Chef by Johnson & Wales University, and has been twice named as Top Ten Pastry Chef by Pastry Art and Design magazine. Chef Gerhard has had the honor of participating in 6 different James Beard Dinners. His light, fresh fruit desserts have also been featured widely in A Neo-Classic View of Plated Desserts, Chocolatier, FoodArts, Pastry Art and Design and many other publications.

Chef Casey Thompson

Sitting in an office in Houston, marketing jet fuel to NASA, Casey Thompson never imagined she would achieve national fame and appear on magazine covers as one of the country’s most loved chefs. A native of Cedar Hill, Texas,Chef Casey learned from one of Dallas’ most celebrated chefs, Dean Fearing, at The Mansion on Turtle Creek. Working her way up from prep cook to sous chef, Casey left the Mansion to take on her own kitchen and leave her mark on the Dallas culinary scene.

As a finalist on Bravo TV’s Top Chef Season 3, Chef Casey not only won America’s heart by being voted “America’s Favorite” but she also showe everyone that she can take the heat and keep on cooking amongst some of the most-revered chefs. Winning over usually critical chefs including Anthony Bourdain and Eric Ripert with her tasteful creations, often created with little time and equipment, Casey made herself a star on the ever popular culinary scene.

Now living in San Francisco, California Chef Casey travels all over The United States preparing unique dinners for couples, groups and private events. Her master’s touch makes each dinner a one-of-a-kind culinary experience. Not only does Casey master the meal, she is also known for her talent of paring the perfect wine with every dish. In her free time, Chef Casey enjoys trying out new restaurants and tasting the flavors of her fellow chefs.