Gold Medal
Wine Tour
Presenting Sponsor: Patriot Risk Management, Inc. Patriot Risk Management, Inc. is an insurance holding company offering an array of workers' compensation insurance and insurance services solutions. Through Guarantee Insurance Company, they provide workers' compensation alternative market risk transfer solutions and traditional workers' compensation insurance. GIC is licensed to write workers' compensation insurance in 25 States and the District of Columbia. GIC has offices in Ft. Lauderdale, Sarasota, and Orlando, Florida, and in St. Louis, Missouri, and Fort Mill, South Carolina.
The Gold Medal Wine Tour is honored and priviledged to have Patriot Risk management as the Presenting Sponsor.
THE 2010 GOLD MEDAL WINE TOUR SCHEDULE & CHARITIES
September 29, 2010 Benefiting P.R.O.P.E.L Your Future www.propelyourfuture.com
Capri Ristorante Italiano
39 Southeast 1st Avenue, Boca Raton
561.391.8044
EXECUTIVE CHEF VICTOR FRANCO
Born and raised in South Florida, Chef Victor Franco has worked for some of Florida’s finest Chefs. After graduating from The Art Institute in Fort Lauderdale, Chef Victor worked for Chef Mark Militello on Las Olas Boulevard. There he learned the importance of using the finest ingredients, as well as sharpening his skills preparing veal, seafood and produce. After that he worked for Chef Norman Van Aken and Chef Allen Susser. Subsequent to his experience at these fine restaurants, he worked under Chef Doug Riess at the River House in Fort Lauderdale, as his Sous Chef. Since then, Chef Victor has apprenticed in Maryland as a Pastry Chef. After two and a half years in Maryland, Chef Victor returned to South Florida to hone his skills as Sous Chef at several South Florida hot spots, including Chops Lobster Bar and Bova Prime
September 30, 2010 Benefiting Tomorrow’s Rainbow www.tomorrowsrainbow.org
Henry’s
16850 Jog Road, Delray Beach
561.638.1949
EXECUTIVE CHEF JOHN BELLEME
Chef John and Henry’s owner, Burt Rapoport, have worked together over the course of ten years. Chef John was previously the executive chef at Gotham, at the Addison Shops in Delray Beach and the executive chef at Max's Grille in Boca Raton's Mizner Park. While he was responsible for guiding and developing the menu, he went on to oversee the expansion of the restaurant and he became the corporate chef for Max's Grille, Max's Coffee Shop (where he was a partner), and Max's Bakery.
Chef John has garnered rave reviews from a multitude of publications, including the Sun-Sentinel, New Times, and CityLink. He was also named a "Chef to Keep Your Eye On" by Esquire magazine's restaurant critic, John Mariani.
Chef John creates wonderful American dishes to delight and inspire diners at Henry's. The American comfort food served at Henry's has never been so good having been enhanced with John's wonderful flair for creating memorable dining experiences. A South Florida native, Chef John is a graduate of the prestigious Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in Hyde Park, New York. He resides in Boca Raton with his wife and their four children. When he is not cooking or developing new recipes, he enjoys participating in sporting activities with his children
October 14, 2010 Benefiting Miami Coalition for the Homeless www.MiamiCoalitionfortheHomeless.org
Two Chefs
8287 South Dixie Highway, Miami
305.663.2100
EXECUTIVE CHEF JAN JORGENSEN
A native of Denmark, Jorgensen fell in love with cooking at the age of 16, when he enjoyed a classic European apprenticeship at a local restaurant. After graduating from high school, he trained in some of the leading European cooking schools, graduating with honors. Interested in a change of scenery, he moved to South Florida, where he began working at Secret Garden, where he met his future partner, fellow Dane Soren Bredahl.
Jorgensen joined Bredahl when the chef launched Soren's Café, in North Miami. Four years later, Jorgensen relocated to San Francisco, where he began working with Jeremiah Tower, one of the West Coast's vanguard culinary talents. Under Tower's tutelage, he sharpened his skills at Speedo 690, one of the country's first Pacific Rim restaurants, and Stars, which helped define the California style of cooking made legendary by Wolfgang Puck and Alice Waters.
But Jorgensen missed Miami. He returned and in 1992 and opened JanJo's in Coconut Grove. It was here that Jorgensen developed his own style and first drew national attention in publications such as Esquire, Travel + Leisure and Food & Wine. In 1994, he teamed again with Bredahl and launched Two Chefs Cooking in South Miami. The small private cooking school and retail outlet soon became a culinary hotspot, drawing budding gourmets and Miami's social elite. Soon the two chefs expanded the space and transformed their cooking school into a celebrated restaurant.
In 2001, Bredahl retired from the industry and returned to Denmark. Since then, Two Chefs has flourished under Jorgensen's guidance and maintained its reputation as one of South Florida's finest restaurants.
October 28, 2010 Benefiting The Hope Center www.thehopecenter.org
Ortanique on the Mile
278 Miracle Mile, Coral Gables
305.446.7710
EXECUTIVE CHEF CINDY HUTSON
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Cindy Hutson is a self-taught chef who developed a passion for cooking at the age of nine. Hutson focuses her culinary talents on the lighter side of fusion cooking. While traveling to and from Jamaica, Hutson developed a unique style of culinary skills, which she refers to as "edible art", a Cuisine of the Sun, by concentrating on the wonderful flavor combinations of fish, fruits, vegetables and traditional tropical seasonings, she avoids conventional island cooking techniques which rely on excess oil and heavy sauces for flavor. "ORTANIQUE on the Mile has been awarded BEST NEW RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR for 1999 by ESQUIRE MAGAZINE! and received an Exceptional (top rating) from The Miami Herald, five stars (top rating) from the El Nuevo Herald, and was one of the Top 20 Best Restaurants-1999" for Florida Trend Magazine, "Best New Restaurant" by Bon Appetit Magazine, Mobil Travel Guide's - 4 Star Award (2001-2002), Top Ten Best list in the 2002 & 2003 Miami ZAGAT Survey, four stars (top rating) from Sun-Sentinel's Showtime, in 1999 and again in 2002, Wine Spectator's Award of Excellence for 2002 and "Best Mojito" from WHERE Magazine. |
November 10, 2010 Benefiting YNoCure www.YNoCure.org
Area 31
270 Biscayne Boulevard Way, on the 16th floor at EPIC Hotel, Miami
305.424.5234
EXECUTIVE CHEF JOHN CRITCHLEY
Chef John brings over 17 years of experience to Area 31. Area 31 is an ecologically sound fishing region encompassing much of the Western-Central Atlantic Ocean. Critchley puts his passion for the sea to work with an eclectic menu offering pristine seafood sourced mainly from Area 31. The restaurant has the prestigious honor of being named one of the “Best New Restaurants of 2009” in the November ‘09 issue of Esquire magazine. Critchley has worked closely with some of the nation’s top restaurateurs and chefs.
Most notably, he was responsible for several high-profile restaurants alongside Chef Ken Oringer. Critchley and Oringer traveled extensively throughout Southeast Asia during their time together, joining prominent chefs such as Francois Payard, Michael Ginor, Tetsuya Wakuda, Sergi Arola and Todd English at the Gourmet Food Festival in Bangkok, Thailand. Critchley graduated in May 1997 from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY. He was born and raised in Scituate, Massachusetts, a small suburban fishing town on the south shore of Boston.
November 11, 2010 Benefiting Deliver the Dream www.DelivertheDream.org
Lola’s on Harrison
2032 Harrison Street, Hollywood
954.927.9851
EXECUTIVE CHEF MICHAEL WAGNER
A namesake to his late grand-mother, and positioned to heighten the area’s culinary presence, Lola’s on Harrison is an elegantly cozy dining destination showcasing chef/owner Michael Wagner’s mouthwatering contemporary American cuisine. With a professional background that most up-and-coming South Floridian chef’s dream of and a restaurant that has built a solid reputation on serving up quality comfort foods with top notch service, Chef Wagner is at the top of his game.
A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America 1995, Wagner was born and raised on Long Island, New York and relocated to Miami in the early 1990s stumbling upon what was to become a major turning point in his life. Finding himself uniquely situated between two generations of known South Floridian chefs, Wagner leapt onto Miami’s culinary scene post Mango Gang phenomenon as the second generation of soon-to-be top toques were starting to bloom.
Lola’s on Harrison.
Focused on being value-oriented and coupled with a neighborhood restaurant personality; Wagner wanted to provide “approachable comfort food combined with warm, over the top service.” It was not long before the critic’s vote was in, and Lola’s on Harrison went from Wagner’s vision to being one of the “Top 20 Best New Restaurants in Florida” according to Florida Trend Magazine, rated “Best Restaurant in South Broward” New Times Best of 2008 and a “Noteworthy Newcomer” designated by Zagat 2008. The NY Times declared “if you want to dine in sophisticated style, downtown offers at least one option in Lola’s on Harrison” and Boca Magazine boldly exclaimed “two words, Michael Wagner; three words Lola’s on Harrison; four words, make your reservation now!”