After a two-year hiatus, the Westin Wine, Food & Art Festival returns with great success. The three-day event showcased some of the finest of wine, food, and art on the island, beginning with a Best Chef Competition held last Thursday in the resort’s flagship restaurant, Pago Pago; followed by Friday evening’s mega-attended Art Expo featuring more than 25 of the island’s local artists along with a team competition amongst the students at EPI’s culinary school with wine pairings from wineries around the world; and the grand finale event, Capture the Champagne Sparkle, featuring a five-course dinner prepared by guest celebrity chefs, Guy and Anderson and Jeff Mekolites, from Le Cordon Bleu Culinary School in Atlanta, Georgia.
Both the local community and guests vacationing on the island took advantage of attending at least one of the events during the festival. Images from Friday night’s event are pictured here, including the winning team from EPI, with students Jadieene Franken, Dane Berkel , Gerald Guerrero, Cleon Sutherland, and their mentor, Rogelli Croes, who prepared an Italian Fusion dish that was both the people’s choice and the judge’s choice for top dish.
