Baja California's top chefs, its cooking schools and the state's tourism promoters are joining forces for a five-day culinary event next month that will feature treats from across the state's five municipalities. Officials in northern Baja California are throwing a festival for foodies and wine lovers Oct. 5-9, taking over venues from Tijuana's Caliente racetrack to a cheese cellar near Ensenada.
The growing reputation of Baja's cuisine, and promoting it, is the reason for creating the festival. Events include a trip to the Ramonetti cheese cellar in the Ojos Negros Valley, a gastronomic contest in Tijuana featuring master chefs from both sides of the border, and an outdoor dinner in the Guadalupe Valley.
Over a dozen chefs from Mexico and the San Diego will be participating in the Baja Culinary Fest. Chef Javier Plascencia from Tijuana's new Mision 19 restaurant will also be attending. Many events will take place as part of the festival, including: a golf tournament, cooking contests, cooking classes, microbrewery tastings, and wine tours of the Guadalupe Valley near Ensenada. Prices range from $7 to $300 for a day-long hunting expedition followed by an open-air meal.
Television and cooking shows in Mexico and the U.S. have been featuring Baja California's cuisine in recent months, as well as food blogs and articles in major publications. Chicago chef, Rick Bayless, is launching an eight-part PBS series on the culinary offerings of the Baja California peninsula.
U.S. tourists once filled Baja restaurants, but their numbers have dropped off in recent years due to the Recession, reports of violence, and long waits at the border. The festival aims to entice these visitors to return. It's a challenging job to win over travelers frightened by ongoing border-area violence associated with Mexico's drug wars. But Baja California state tourism officials hope to do so and promise the Baja California Culinary Fest 2011 will bring "five days of intense flavors, delicious aromas, ecotourism, adventure, romance and discovery."
The event's bilingual website (http://www.bajaculinaryfest.com) and Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/pages/BCCulinaryFest/229217280435266) have details.
If you're calling one of the participating restaurants whose numbers are listed on the fest website, remember that before the 10-digit Mexican number that's listed, you'll need to dial 011-52. Promoters of the event are offering special hotel rates and bus transportation from the border.
If you wish to drive your car into Mexico, don't forget to get a Mexican auto insurance policy from an A-rated insurer.
The growing reputation of Baja's cuisine, and promoting it, is the reason for creating the festival. Events include a trip to the Ramonetti cheese cellar in the Ojos Negros Valley, a gastronomic contest in Tijuana featuring master chefs from both sides of the border, and an outdoor dinner in the Guadalupe Valley.
Over a dozen chefs from Mexico and the San Diego will be participating in the Baja Culinary Fest. Chef Javier Plascencia from Tijuana's new Mision 19 restaurant will also be attending. Many events will take place as part of the festival, including: a golf tournament, cooking contests, cooking classes, microbrewery tastings, and wine tours of the Guadalupe Valley near Ensenada. Prices range from $7 to $300 for a day-long hunting expedition followed by an open-air meal.
Television and cooking shows in Mexico and the U.S. have been featuring Baja California's cuisine in recent months, as well as food blogs and articles in major publications. Chicago chef, Rick Bayless, is launching an eight-part PBS series on the culinary offerings of the Baja California peninsula.
U.S. tourists once filled Baja restaurants, but their numbers have dropped off in recent years due to the Recession, reports of violence, and long waits at the border. The festival aims to entice these visitors to return. It's a challenging job to win over travelers frightened by ongoing border-area violence associated with Mexico's drug wars. But Baja California state tourism officials hope to do so and promise the Baja California Culinary Fest 2011 will bring "five days of intense flavors, delicious aromas, ecotourism, adventure, romance and discovery."
The event's bilingual website (http://www.bajaculinaryfest.com) and Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/pages/BCCulinaryFest/229217280435266) have details.
If you're calling one of the participating restaurants whose numbers are listed on the fest website, remember that before the 10-digit Mexican number that's listed, you'll need to dial 011-52. Promoters of the event are offering special hotel rates and bus transportation from the border.
If you wish to drive your car into Mexico, don't forget to get a Mexican auto insurance policy from an A-rated insurer.
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