Cancun-Riviera Maya Wine and Food Festival To Honor Top Female Chefs

Do you think Mexican food is just guacamole and nachos? Think again. The fourth annual Cancun-Riviera Maya Wine and Food Festival returns March 12-14 and will honor Mexico's leading female chefs. The weekend-long event will include 24 events featuring several stars of the culinary world that will showcase local Mexican, Spanish and other world gastronomy. Visitors will embark on a four-day culinary journey amongst distinguished chefs, wine makers, connoisseurs, academics and journalists in the culturally rich destination of Cancun.

"This event has grown tremendously since its inauguration in 2012, and we are optimistic we will surpass last year's attendance of more than 5,000 guests," said Jesus Almaguer, CEO of the Cancun Convention and Visitors Bureau. "We invite people to explore the many layers of Mexican cuisine found in Cancun, and celebrate the female Mexican chefs that are being honored at the CRM Festival for the first time."

Special honored chefs include Spanish legends Juan Mari Arzak, Joan Roca and Eneko Atxa. Star Chefs Bruno Oteiza, Mikel Alonso and Rafael Zafra will accompany Arzak, Roca and Atxa to prepare a five-course meal paired with the best Spanish wines in an exclusive dinner held at Live Aqua Cancun on March 13.

The festival will also showcase the top 10 female Mexican chefs in a five-course "Divas of Mexican Cuisine" Gala Dinner on March 14 at Secrets The Vine, home to a unique wine wall that holds as many as 3,000 varieties of wine. The dinner will be paired with the finest Mexican wines, for a celebration of Mexican cuisine - a part of UNESCO's list of the world's Intangible Cultural Heritage. Featured Mexican Chefs include Martha Chapa, Carmen Ramirez "Titita," Maria Teresa Ramirez, and more.

Other attending top chefs include Bruno Davaillon, Hubert Keller, Laurent Cantineaux, Gregory Gourreau and Henri Charvet from France.

Cooking Classes, Winemakers and More

The AAA Four Diamond Moon Palace Golf & Spa Resort will host the festival's most popular event, the Gourmet Tasting Village. Featuring a collection of mouthwatering international cuisines from visiting celebrity chefs, the tasting village will provide attendees with an opportunity to meet and mingle with local and international top chefs including more than 35 Mexican and international wineries. The Gourmet Tasting Village will take place in the property's recently unveiled, multimillion dollar convention center, Moon Palace Arena, capable of hosting up to 10,000 guests at one time.

Other festival events includes a tribute to French cuisine with the "Barefoot Elegance: a taste of France and world DJ" event. Held at the AAA Five Diamond Ritz Carlton Cancun, this event will celebrate the best in French wine and will count on the participation of French chefs who trained with some of the most celebrated legendary French Chefs such as Alain Ducasse and Daniel Boulud. Guests can dance the night away to the tunes of renowned Buddha Bar Paris DJ, Claude Challe.

The CRM Fest will pay tribute to two important winemakers: Hugo D'Acosta of Mexico and Alvaro Palacios of Spain. The following sommeliers will participate in the festival, host tastings and create pairings for the tribute dinner and VIP events throughout the festival: V�ronique Rivest, Woman World's Best Sommelier 2013; Elyse Lambert, Top Sommelier of the Americas 2009; Juan Carlos Flores Maz�n, Best Sommelier of Mexico 2004 and recipient of the Six Diamonds Award by the American Academy of Hospitality Sciences 2010.

Fiesta Americana Grand Coral Beach, home to AAA Five Diamond Award winning restaurant Le Basilic, will host the Star Chefs' Dinner, showcasing the best cuisine of 25 chefs from Mexico and around the world. Top wineries from Mexico, Argentina, Spain and France will also be present at this beachfront location.

Private cooking classes will be available this year led by talented chefs including Patricia Quintana, Martha Ortiz, Mikel Alonso, Bruno Oteiza and Aquiles Chav�z. The intimate classes will be reserved for 24 students per class. The Star Chefs Cooking Classes and Lunch will be held in the El Dorado Royale on March 15.

The festival aids several social causes that provide scholarships to gastronomy students in local universities, gives economic grants to multiple Mexican and international foundations and donates computers to the local Ciudad de la Alegr�a Foundation.

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