CLOCKWISE: (1) Event host and Celebrity Chef, Giada De Laurentiis. (2) Event Judges, Gail Simmons, Frank Bruni and Jeffrey Steingarten. (3) Mama DiSpirito and Rocco DiSpirito. (4) The Allen Brothers of Pat La Frieda, Giada De Laurentiis and Meatball Madness Winner, Andrew Carmellini from Locanda Verde.

Clockwise: (1) Judges Table with Frank Bruni, Jeffrey Steingarten and Gail Simmons.  Meatball after meatball were brought to the judges by the event servers.  (2) Giada’s meatball from GDL Foods.  Orechiette with Mini Chicken Meatball.  (3) The WINNER !! Andrew Carmellini from Locanda Verde.  Lamb Sliders.

My Favorite Meatballs:

Clockwise: (1) Stephen Kalt, chef of Fornelletto Cucina.  Very Tasty – Duck meatball,  foie gras jus with iceberg lettuce.  (2) Anne Burell of Food Network’s ‘Secrets of a Restaurant Chef’ classic meatball in red gravy was very buttery.  (3) Alex Guarneschelli of Food Network’s ‘Alex’s Day Off’ and ’The Cooking Loft’,  cheesy mini-lamb meatballs on a mini-pizza.  (4) Michael Lomonaco, chef of Porterhouse New York.  Very Hearty - polpetine sicilican con ragu alla mama.

TOP: Chef Duff Goldman teaches kids how to decorate cakes the Ace of Cakes way.

Bottom: (Left) Each child has a cake, icing, sprinklers and a spatula to start practicing.  (Right) Girl Gourmet Cake Bakery sample toy cakes inspired by Chef Goldman.

It was a great afternoon for the kids as they practiced decorating their cake the Ace of Cakes way as showed to them by Chef Duff Goldman.   The parents were happily taking pictures as Chef Duff visited and gave each kid a pointer or two.  It’s so refreshing to see so many happy faces !!

Video Snippet:  Katie Lee discussed her love of the great American comfort food – Hamburgers and Fried Chicken.

TOP: (LEFT) Front Door of Morimoto Restaurant with the NYC Wine and Food Festival signage.  (Right) Masaharu Morimoto doing a demo on the different types of fish.

BOTTOM: Participants rolling sushi in the restaurant’s dining area.

It was such fun spending the afternoon with Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto at his flagship restaurant, Morimoto in the Meatpacking District.  The Iron Chef was funny and entertaining while taking questions from the audience during the sushi rolling demo.  The Iron Chef with his sous chef discussed the various fishes used in sushi making and how the fishes were sliced properly. After which, the group was asked to take their seats in the main dining room or at the sushi bar while the restaurant staff brought out sushi rice and enormous cuts of fresh tuna, yellow tail and salmon for the hands on portion of the class.

Several sous chefs then took their places in various sections of the main dining room.  Each sous chef lead a small group and prodded each attendee to grab a hand full of sushi rice to spread over the nori sheet in front of them.  As time progressed, the attendees became more confident rolling sushi as they practiced piling cuts of tuna, yellow tail and salmon on top of scallions, sauce, ginger and rolling them with different levels of success.

TOP: Ace of Cakes castmates, Mary Alice, Chef Duff Goldman and Geof.

BOTTOM: (Left) Shucked oysters served buffet style.  (Right) Chef Alex Guarnaschelli of Butter Restaurant, one of the participating chefs at the Oyster Bash.

The perfect place to be on a Saturday afternoon was at the Oyster Bash at the Standard Hotel. The event was packed and was flowing with champagne and delicious succulent oysters. Ian MacGreggor, owner of The Lobster Place, hosted while local chefs served their favorite oyster preparations.

It was such a pleasant surprise to see the Ace of Cakes crew led by Chef Duff Goldman, Geof and Mary Alice among the attendees enjoying the festive atmosphere. It was like New Year’s Eve, camera flashes kept going off as the crew glady posed for pictures.

Pastry making and decorating with chef Sylvie Berger. For over the last year, chef Sylvie has been sharing her Parisian pastry skills with children at Mini Chef.

TOP: (Left) Spice Market Restaurant at the Meatpacking District.  (Right) Cooking Demo at the Restaurant.

BOTTOM: (Left) Lemongrass Mussels.  (Right) Cocktails served at the event.

Tasty Treats awaited us as we checked in at 10th Avenue and 14th Street to claim our giant wine glasses attached to lanyards at the 1st New York City Wine and Food Festival’s Grand Tasting.  The check in location was sponsored by Target who decorated the area with Target logo inspired couches and garden sculptures.  illy was also present to serve up bolts of espresso which gave us the extra weekend energy for the 10 minute walk to Pier 54.  Spotted at the Grand Tasting was Soprano shrink, Lorraine Bracco manning her booth as a wine purveyor.  Plus, Alex Guarnaschelli cooking it up for her restaurant, Butter.  Also spotted, being carted around the Meatpacking District was Rocco DiSpirito and Mama DiSpirito.  Wished we were cruising in that golf cart, our legs hurt after walking around Pier 54 and lugging the sample jars of goodness the purveyors gave us to take home.  Yummy !!

Last night, October 9th, 2008, Bobby Flay was the ultimate host at the first ever Chelsea After Dark event held at Food Network’s headquarters, Chelsea Market.  Bobby Flay brought the crowd to a frenzy by personally dishing out whole sized servings of his Bobby’s Burger Palace burgers.