For an incredible culinary and travel experience, join “Iron Chef” judge and Michelin-rated restaurateur Donatella Arpaia, in Puglia, Italy. She is leading two luxurious tours in Puglia, Italy this summer.

In partnership with Southern Vision, these exclusive food trips offer an unforgettable chance to experience the cultural gem of southern Italy.

The Puglia region of Italy is well known for its abundance of fine food, such as seafood, grains, wine, salumi, olive oil, and vegetables. Tour guests can indulge in a true, Southern Italian food paradise.

Donatella Arpaia is a popular judge on the Food Network’s “Iron Chef America”, restaurateur and cookbook author. Donatella spent her summers in Puglia and learned how to cook the area’s native cuisine. The region’s ideal climate offers perfect growing conditions to produce wonderful white and red wines.

Guests will stay at the beautifully restored 17th century manor house – Masseria Lamacoppa. You will be treated to both comfort and luxury during your stay. This magnificent lodge allows you to immerse yourself in Italian culture and enjoy everything Donatella and Puglia have to offer.

When not partaking in a cooking class offered by Donatella Arpaia, unwind by lounging near the large pool or wandering around the expansive courtyard. Masseria Lamacoppa offers vista views overlooking a lemon grove.

Thee 7-day tour includes the following highlights:
• Hands-on cooking classes with Chef Donatella Arpaia
• Lunch at Donatella’s ancestral home with the Arpaia family
• Olive grove tour and oil tasting at an ancient underground olive mill
• Tour of a prestigious winery including tastings and vineyard walks
• Visit to a pastry chef in Lecce
• Hand-made pasta lesson at home with local legends in Bari

It’s a once in a lifetime experience to meet and work with Donatella Arpaia. The trips are targeted to pay homage to her Italian heritage and share the region’s delicious food and local culture of Puglia.

If you would like to plan a trip to Puglia, Italy and be part of a culinary tour led by Donatella Arpaia, please contact us today. Follow our leading luxury blog to hear about other luxury travel opportunities from around the world.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Gordon Ramsay at The London

Valentine’s Day is the one special day to confess your true love with cards, flowers and candy. Better yet, why not plan a romantic dining experience for you and your sweetheart.

That experience is waiting to happen when you dine at The London West Hollywood hotel where you will enjoy exquisite food and drinks by celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay.

Now you can enjoy a perfect dinner with Valentine’s Day options that will make you fall in love all over again. Choose from different romantic settings and make your special valentine smile on this magical day.

Valentine’s Day Gordon Ramsay Package – $95 per Person

From 5:00-10:00pm, couples can enjoy a 3-course meal, paired with the best in bubbly, at Gordon Ramsay at The London West Hollywood. This package includes an exclusive invitation for pre or post cocktails on the rooftop boasting breathtaking, panoramic views of the city.

Valentine’s Day Rooftop Package – $500 per Couple (Cabana accommodates up to 2 couples)

This Valentine’s Day, the sky’s the limit – literally – with a delectable dinner in a rooftop pool deck cabana, overlooking the city skylines. With seating available from 5:00-10:00pm, this package features a candlelit 3-course dinner and wine pairing for 2-4 guests, a bottle of champagne, and a private server in a private rooftop cabana. The Rooftop Package offers unparalleled views, the perfect romantic menu, and elegant Valentine’s Day decor.

Valentine’s Day Proposal Package – Price Upon Request

Finally, for the ultimate in Valentine’s Day extravagance, let The London host a night to remember with their first annual Valentine’s Day Proposal Package. Space reserved for one lucky couple!

This exquisite package includes the following:

Overnight accommodations in a 1-bedroom suite
A dozen white roses in the suite upon arrival
A vintage bottle of champagne in the room
3-course dinner and wine pairing on the rooftop
Personalized dessert course
Personal serenade during dinner by jazz singer Jill Lemoureux
Decorated private proposal site
On-site personal photographer
“She said Yes!” Gobo lighting at time of proposal
Personal transportation accommodations via limousine or sedan
Customized luxury embroidered “His & Hers” robes
Couples breakfast in bed

Please use the Contact Form below to submit your travel request and experience a fantastic meal at  Gordon Ramsay at The London West Hollywood. We will promptly get back to you.

For reservations, visit www.thelondonwesthollywood.com or call 310-358-7788.

Chef Masa Takayama

Las Vegas will welcome another fine dining restaurant for patrons who want the ultimate foodie experience. Later this summer, both Forbes and Michelin-decorated Chef Masa Takayama will introduce the first teppan concept to his extraordinary culinary repertoire.

The new Tetsu restaurant will be located at the luxurious ARIA Resort & Casino, and will be an intimate and interactive dining experience, offering guests the first taste of Chef Masa’s passion for fine Japanese grilling.

Located inside Masa’s famed Japanese restaurant, barMASA, Tetsu will replace Shaboo, which closes April 28. The exclusive venue will feature four blackjack-style tables and two communal teppan grill tables seating 20 and 19, respectively.

Tetsu will feature highly skilled teppanyaki chefs, who will also cleverly oversee the evening’s culinary entertainment – prepping, cooking and plating orders specific to each guest’s request. A produce table will serve as the room’s centerpiece, displaying the finest quality meats, seafood and vegetables, and will allow guests the opportunity to hand select the proteins of their entrée, specifying the exact cut, portion size and preparation style they desire.

“ARIA is a leader in the evolution of the Las Vegas culinary scene, now a recognized contender as one of the world’s top epicurean destinations,” said CityCenter President and COO Bill McBeath. “With Tetsu, we continue to set the pace by offering guests a brand new, exclusive concept from Masa Takayama, arguably the world’s most celebrated Japanese chef.”

Tetsu Executive Chef/Creator Masa Takayama said, “With a passion for the finest-sourced ingredients, I have always been intrigued by the sizzling vegetables, meat and seafood prepared on a teppan grill. The act of choosing your ingredients and interacting with the chef as he prepares them elevates the conventional dinner – creating memories – which is how food is meant to be experienced.”

The teppan grill menu allows guests to try a variety of offerings at smaller portions and reasonable prices such as the Toro Tartare with Caviar, Wagyu Beef Steak Tartare and Pacific Lobster Sashimi Ceviche in addition to Tataki selections. Tataki, meaning to “pound,” is a traditional manner of preparing fish and meat so they better absorb other flavors, therefore enhancing the protein in the dish. The cuts are briefly seared over a hot pan, marinated in vinegar, sliced thin and seasoned with ginger. Tetsu’s tataki offerings will differentiate the restaurant with the finest culinary creations, such as the Wagyu Ribeye, and Filet Mignon-Soy Vinaigrette.

Main course offerings include prime cuts of beef such as Center Cut Lamb Chop and Filet Mignon. Seafood and steak also will delight guests with the incredibly fresh ingredients for which Masa is renowned, such as Butterflied Scottish Langoustine, Mediterranean Turbot and decadent Fatty Tuna. Side accompaniments including Kobe Garlic Fried Rice, Yakisoba Noodles and Seafood Udon will complement the main course. Completing the meal are unexpected and refreshing desserts such as Masa’s famous Truffle Ice Cream, Grapefruit Granite and Yuzu Sorbet.

Tetsu’s hours of operation will be Wednesday through Sunday 5 p.m. – 11 p.m. Guests enter Tetsu through barMASA, located adjacent to the stunning ARIA lobby.

The centerpiece of CityCenter Las Vegas is ARIA Resort & Casino, a stunning AAA Five Diamond resort on The Strip featuring an unprecedented combination of striking architecture, sustainable design, high-end service, spectacular amenities and premium meeting and convention space.

For additional information or to make reservations at the new Tetsu Restaurant at ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, please call 702.590.7111 or visit www.arialasvegas.com

Andre’s Restaurant & Lounge at Monte Carlo

Andre’s at Monte Carlo is a AAA Four Diamond restaurant featuring celebrated chef André Rochat.

Plan on enjoying an unforgettable Las Vegas New Year’s Eve meal at Andre’s at Monte Carlo.

Legendary Las Vegas chef and restaurant namesake André Rochat has created a fine dining menu to perfectly capture both the energy and excitement of a Las Vegas New Year’s Eve celebration.

Utilizing an eclectic approach on a classic, Andre’s at Monte Carlo restaurant meshes the finest style of dining with a comfortable, elegant setting.

The New Year’s Eve meal at Andre’s Restaurant at Monte Carlo will definitely please the palette.

The multi-course New Year’s Eve menu begins with an amuse of kumamoto oyster, sea water granité and caviar followed by a choice of chilled foie gras terrine with brioche toast, pistachio butter and cassis gastrique or a succulent lobster salad with hibiscus gelée, lotus root, frissée and truffle cream. Next, indulge in the flavor of either maitaki mushroom soup with winter truffle and crispy artichoke or jumbo sea scallop with a roasted jewel yam, citrus butter and salsify chip. Then, cleanse and invigorate the palette with a sparkling grapefruit intermezzo.

Next, enjoy a delicious main course consisting of Andre’s Maine lobster thermidor served with asparagus and hollandaise or roasted duck breast featuring beluga lentil cassoulet and braised romaine roasted quince jus or provimi veal loin with foie gras, jumbo asparagus hollandaise and anna potato with black truffle and aged armagnac. The holiday meal also includes a red and white Belgium endive salad with Gruyère cheese and a mild mustard dressing.

Last but not least is dessert. The amazing meal is finally topped off with three sweet treats in Andre’s New Year’s Eve dessert trio. It’s sure to satisfy your sweet tooth

You can enjoy the chef-selected New Year’s Eve meal on Friday, Dec. 31, 2010. The cost is only $175 per person.

For additional information and reservations, please call (702) 798-7151

Andre’s Restaurant & Lounge
Monte Carlo Resort and Casino
3770 Las Vegas Blvd.
Las Vegas, NV 89109

You finally score that hard to get dinner reservation, and sit down in a lavish restaurant soaking up the ambiance.  Now the difficult choice is deciding what to order from the numerous mouth watering menu choices.  Why hassle?  Let the head chef decide for you.

This is a growing trend in top restaurants.  Tasting menus which typically come with set prices, are becoming more common at America’s top restaurants. Many have even done away with a la carte ordering all together.

If you want to know the highest price restaurant.  Manhattan’s Masa is tops with a $400 per person set menu – plus an automatic 20 percent gratuity.  Cha-ching!  Full article

Photo by Bloomberg

Ever wanted to rub elbows and chit-chat with your favorite chef?  You could have had your chance a few weeks ago, in scenic Pebble Beach, California.

More than 3,000 people attended the four day event, paying as much as $4,750 per person to eat and meet one of 133 world’s famous chefs and sommeliers.

You could have watched Thomas Keller glaze vegetables, maybe see Jacques Pepin slather caviar on a blini, and get up close and personal with the Mondavi family.

This was the first-ever Pebble Beach Food & Wine event, triple the size of its long-running predecessor, the Masters of Food and Wine at the nearby Highlands Inn.

“People are more educated about food and wine than ever before,” says organizer David Bernahl.

Epicurean obsession may have started with the Food Network, which he calls “a gateway drug,” but now “people have surpassed Rachael Ray and Paula Dean. They’ve moved on to the hard stuff – they’re making foam at home or at least know how to order it in a restaurant. I have more friends who discuss their culinary experiences than what happened at the basketball game.”   Full article

Thomas Keller is a world famous chef. At the age of  52-years old, the French-American chef has won countless awards. His restaurants have been top ranked in Michelin stars including the highest three stars for the  French Laundry in Napa Valley, California, and the gourmet New York eatery Per Se.

Keller participated in an interview with Reuters. He spoke about his cooking philosophy, favorite dishes and the most difficult thing about being a chef.

When asked what was his cooking motto, Keller replied, “One of our overriding philosophies is the law of diminishing returns, which is: the more you have of something the less you like it. We establish our compositions based on the view that when you are finished with a dish, you wished you had one more bite. That way you have reached the highest flavor for that dish and it becomes memorable.”  Full article