From Thursday, July 30 through Sunday, August 2, Harrah’s Entertainment, in cooperation with the Atlantic City Convention & Visitors Authority, will host the Inaugural TD Bank Atlantic City Food & Wine Festival. The festival promises to be the premier event of the summer season with four days of parties, tastings and celebrity appearances. Chefs from the Food Network and Bravo, including Tom Colicchio, Guy Fieri, Ted Allen, Duff Goldman, Emeril Lagasse and Ingrid Hoffmann, will host, demonstrate, mix and mingle with guests at more than 20 events.

Renowned chef and restaurateur Tom Colicchio—best known for his role on Bravo’s hit show Top Chef—will kick off the festival July 30 with a Gourmet Pizza Bash at Caesars. This is the perfect opportunity to mingle with a culinary expert as well as sample some of the best pizza on the East Coast.

Tom will then serve as celebrity chef and judge of the Jeremiah Weed Sweet Tea BBQ Tailgate presented by Game On! on Friday, July 31. Wet or dry rub? Ribs or brisket? You decide at this finger-licking good event located in the beautifully renovated Dennis Courtyard at Bally’s.

Tom Colicchio returns to pair up food and wine in a poolside paradise—The Pool at Harrah’s Resort. The Food and Wine Spectacular is sure to be one of the signature events of the festival. Throughout the weekend you can catch Tom at his Healthy Eating seminar at Showboat or the House of Blues After Party at Showboat’s Foundation Room.

Because no one knows food like Atlantic City’s food and beverage employees, The Grand Market Industry Preview is just for you.  On Friday, July 31, from 8 p.m. to midnight, every booth will showcase goods with food tastings and more. The preview takes place at Bally’s Grand Ballroom and admission is free for regional food and beverage employees. You can even bring a guest with you for just $20. As an appreciation to all the hard-working casino hotel employees, this one shouldn’t be missed.

If wine is your passion, the Atlantic City Food & Wine Festival has plenty to offer. Learn to Taste Wine Like A Sommelier with lessons featuring wines from around the world. Sample international wines and dance the night away with friends at Wine After Dark at The Pool at Harrah’s.

If you want to try the best wines California has to offer, join Food Network and Queer Eye for the Straight Guy star Ted Allen as he hosts the exclusive Wine Garden: A California Wine Tour with Ted Allen, at the Dennis Courtyard Saturday afternoon. Over 50 of the West Coast’s finest vintages will be showcased.

As an alternative, devout aficionados can enjoy the soothing tastes of rich whiskey and fine cigars at The Glenlivet Cigar & Whiskey Lounge at Bally’s Bikini Beach Bar. If beer is your beverage of choice, be sure to check out The Beer Garden at the Pier Shops at Caesars. Taste beers from all over the world and enjoy food from two of Atlantic City’s signature bar restaurants, Game On! and Trinity Irish Pub.

No food and wine festival would be complete without celebrity chef demonstrations, and this one has plenty. Emeril Lagasse will be “kicking it up a notch” at Caesars with An Evening with Emeril Lagasse. Food Network star and host of the hit show Simply Delicioso Ingrid Hoffmann’s love of Latino food traces back to her family and her mother—a trained chef. So if you’re going to learn Spanish cooking, you’re in good hands with Culinary Demonstration with Ingrid Hoffmann at Showboat.

The energetic and always entertaining Guy Fieri will show how it’s done with easy-to-follow cooking demonstrations at Ready, Set, FIRE! with Guy Fieri. Guy will also host an exclusive, once-in-a-lifetime two-hour dinner with a special someone and 24 other guests. Fieri will teach the secrets to family-style dinners with amazing results.

Additional festival highlights include The Melting Pot Presents: The Art of Fondue hosted by Ingrid Hoffmann and Ace of Cakes star Duff Goldman at The Pool, The Phillips Seafood Boardwalk Clambake with Guy Fieri at the Dennis Courtyard, and a Southern-style Gospel Brunch hosted by Duff Goldman on the festival’s closing day.

In support of Susan G. Komen for the Cure Central and South Jersey Affiliate, the TD Bank Atlantic City Food & Wine Festival will also offer a limited number of $2,000 Pink Ribbon packages to those who want to experience the inaugural event like a VIP.  Included in this package is a room throughout the festival along with an all-access pass to over 15 events featuring all of the celebrity chefs, commemorative gifts, VIP early access to the Pool tasting events, and free entry into the 2009 Central and South Jersey Race for the Cure. As the main benefactor of the festival, the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Central and South Jersey Affiliate will receive $1,000 for each of the “Pink Ribbon” packages sold.

Event prices vary and are sold separately. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit www.acfoodandwine.com.

AC Food & Wine Festival Schedule

Thursday, July 30     
Gourmet Pizza Bash, 7 p.m.-10 p.m.
Location: Caesars Palladium Ballroom • Price: $50

Friday, July 31     
Jeremiah Weed Sweet Tea BBQ Tailgate Presented by Game On!, 4 p.m.-7 p.m. Location: Bally’s Atlantic City, Dennis Courtyard • Price: $50

The Grand Market Industry Preview, 8 p.m.-Midnight
Location: Bally’s Grand Ballroom • Price: Free for food
& beverage employees (bring a guest with you for $20)

Taste Wine Like A Sommelier, 3 p.m.-5 p.m.
Location: Harrah’s Resort • Price: $35

Food and Wine Spectacular at The Pool hosted by Tom Colicchio,
6 p.m.-7:30 p.m. (Session 1); 8 p.m.-9:30 p.m. (Session 2)
Location: The Pool at Harrah’s Resort • Price: $100/session

Wine After Dark, 10 p.m.-3 a.m. Location: The Pool at Harrah’s • Price: $50

Healthy Eating with Tom Colicchio, 1 p.m.-3 p.m.
Location: Showboat Atlantic City • Price: $75

Crystal Head Presents: House of Blues After Party hosted by Tom Colicchio,
10 p.m.-2 a.m. Location: Foundation Room, Showboat • Price: $50

Saturday, August 1     
The Grand Market, Noon-7 p.m. Location: Bally’s Grand Ballroom • Price: $30

Feast of Fieri hosted by Guy Fieri, 6 p.m.-8 p.m.
Location: Caesars Atlantic City • Price: $1,000 (private dinner for 24 guests)

The Glenlivet Cigar & Whiskey Lounge, 7 p.m.-10 p.m.
Location: Bally’s Bikini Beach Bar • Price: $75

A California Wine Tour with Ted Allen, 4 p.m.-8 p.m.
Location: Bally’s Dennis Courtyard • Price: $100

Culinary Demonstration & Lesson with Emeril Lagasse,
2 p.m.-4 p.m. Location: Showboat Atlantic City • Price: $150

Culinary Demonstration with Ingrid Hoffmann,
8 p.m.-10 p.m. Location: Showboat Atlantic City • Price: $150

The Beer Garden, Noon-4 p.m.
Location: The Pier Shops at Caesars • Price: $30

An Evening with Emeril Lagasse, 8 p.m.-10 p.m. Location: Caesars Circus Maximus • Price: $30

Malibu Rum Beach Soiree, 9 p.m.-1 a.m.
Location: Bally’s Bikini Beach Bar • Price: $50

Sunday, August 2     
Ready, Set, FIRE! with Guy Fieri, 4 p.m.-6 p.m.
Location: Caesars Circus Maximus • Price: $50

The Melting Pot Presents: The Art of Fondue,
Noon-3 p.m. Location: The Pool at Harrah’s • Price: $100

The Phillips Seafood Boardwalk Clambake with Guy Fieri, Noon-4 p.m. Location: Bally’s Dennis Courtyard • Price: $100

Dinner & Movie hosted by Ingrid Hoffmann, 8 p.m.-
11 p.m. Location: Caesars Rooftop Pool • Price: $250

Gospel Brunch hosted by Duff Goldman, Noon-2 p.m.
Location: House of Blues Music Hall • Price: $30

By Jeffrey Vasser

Jeffrey Vasser is executive director of the Atlantic City Convention & Visitors Authority.