THE 9TH ANNUAL WORLD GOURMET FESTIVAL

THE 9TH ANNUAL WORLD GOURMET FESTIVAL AT FOUR SEASONS HOTEL BANGKOKBangkok, August 2008: The 9th Annual World Gourmet Festival will take place 22-28 September 2008 at Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok. Since its inception nine years ago, the World Gourmet Festival has grown in prominence to feature an extraordinary line up of some of the world’s best chefs from all continents. Several food festivals are hosted throughout the world, however, Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok is the only hotel to bring award winning Master Chefs under one roof for a week long celebration of outstanding food, superb wines and to share tips and information on how to create award-winning cuisine. The full line up of chefs is as follows:• Jeffrey Jake, The Carneros Inn, Napa Valley, California, USA• Michael Ginor, Hudson Valley Foie Gras, USA• Maurizio Quaranta, La Speranza, Alba, Italy • Glen Ballis, Nedal’nij Vostok, Moscow, Russia• Siggi Hall, Siggi Hall Restaurant, Reykjavik, Iceland• Celina Tio, The American Restaurant, Kansas City, USA• Michael Laiskonis, Executive Pastry Chef, Le Bernardin, New York, USA
PROFILES:JEFFREY JAKETHE CARNEROS INN, NAPA VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, USAA Napa Valley native, Jake began his culinary career at the venerable Domaine Chandon as a sous chef. In his role as executive chef for The Carneros Inn, Jake is inspired by the abundance of fresh local ingredients that abound in Napa Valley’s Carneros winegrowing region. He oversees the Inn’s private dining restaurant; the sophisticated wine country restaurant FARM; local favorite The Boon Fly Caf?; and all catering and room service for the Inn. One of his main responsibilities is managing the seasonally-changing menus at both restaurants -- created primarily from the Carneros region’s bountiful array of top-quality produce, cattle ranches, and award-winning cheese producers, found within a 150-mile radius of the Carneros region to ensure food that is at the peak of its season and flavor. Many of the ingredients are sourced on-property including herbs, apples, figs, pears and pomegranates.Prior to his arrival at The Carneros Inn, Jake achieved national acclaim in his role as executive chef at The Lodge at Pebble Beach, where he played an integral role in organizing and executing prestigious, high-profile events that include the AT&T Pro Am Golf Tournament and the Concours d’ Elegance. Jake has also served as chef de cuisine at Pebble Beach, Beach and Tennis Club, Sonoma Mission Inn, and as the executive chef at The Old Bath House Restaurant, which was named “Outstanding Restaurant” by the California Writers Association during his tenure. Jake has also conducted cooking courses at the Culinary Center of Monterey and taught California cuisine cooking classes in Japan. Jake has been the recipient of a number of awards and accolades during his career, including Conde Nast Traveler “Best Resort in North America” award (The Lodge at Pebble Beach, ’03), three stars from the San Francisco Chronicle (Sonoma Mission Inn, ’97), and Gourmet Magazine’s “Top Ten Wine Country Restaurant” (Sonoma Mission Inn, ’98).