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11th annual Ashland Culinary Festival

Nov 5, 2017

Four days of culinary magic and talent at the 11th annual Ashland Culinary Festival November 2nd - 5th, 2017

Ashland, OR - Local foodies and culinary travelers alike will be sure not to miss the 11th annual Ashland Culinary Festival, November 2nd - 5th, 2017 headquartered at the Ashland Hills Hotel & Suites (2525 Ashland Street), produced by Travel Ashland.  Enjoy this four-day destination event as 12 local chefs compete for Top Chef honor in the Chef Showdown using local produce and a secret key ingredient and challenge.  Have fun learning and tasting at new culinary workshops throughout the weekend. Sample and purchase with over 35 food artisans, restaurants, award-winning wineries and breweries.  For all event info: www.ashlandchamber.com/culinaryfestival

Now in its 2nd year and SOLD OUT:  Honoring the history of our 10-year event, the Ultimate Top Chef Dinner on Thursday, November 2nd at 5:30pm is a five-course dinner prepared by some of our amazingly talented past Top Chef Winners (including Neil Clooney of Smithfields Restaurant & Bar - Top Chef 2007 & 2008, Franco Console of Larks Restaurant - Top Chef 2009, David Georgeson of Common Block Brewing Co. - Top Chef 2011 (pre-dinner appetizer), Billy Buscher of Seven Feathers Casino Resort - Top Chef 2012, James Williams of Truffle Pig Craft Kitchen - Top Chef 2014 and Josh Dorcak of MÄS - Top Chef 2015 and 2016). Chef Clooney, Console, Buscher, Williams and Dorcak have either won or placed as a finalist at the Oregon Iron Chef Competition. Each of the five courses will be paired with a local award-winning wine.  This dinner is SOLD OUT due its popularity.  

On Friday, November 3rd experience why Ashland was named one of the “Top Ten Best Wine Travel Destinations in the World” by Wine Enthusiast and partake in a tour of Ashland Wineries that afternoon. Stops include Irvine & Roberts Vineyards, Belle Fiore, Grizzly Peak Winery and Weisinger Family Winery. Reservations can be purchased through Bravo Outings by calling Tracy at (541) 690-9393.  Then attend our evening event, a Culinary Kickoff, from 5:30pm to 7:00pm at the Ashland Hills which includes samplings from the Bear Creek Wine Trail, a NEW Celebrity Quick-Fire Challenge where the judges get put in the spotlight to compete using a secret key ingredient.  Enjoy small bites, as well as the 2nd annual Mixology competition where eight local bartenders compete for the Top Mixologist Award from Alchemy Restaurant & Bar, Black Sheep Pub & Restaurant, Brickroom, Hearsay Restaurant, Lounge and Garden, Larks Restaurant, Oberon’s Restaurant and Bar, Ostras Tapas and Bottle Shop and Smithfields Pub & Pies. Trish Glose from KTVL Channel 10 will be our Celebrity Guest Emcee during the Mixology Competition. She’ll also be competing in the Celebrity Quick-Fire Challenge. 

On Saturday, November 4th is the 2nd annual Junior Chef competition from 10:00am to 11:30am.  A two-person Chef Team will be competing from Ashland High School, South Medford High School, North Medford High School and Grants Pass High School, four teams total. Junior Chefs will be given a secret ingredient or challenge to complete much like the Top Chef Competition. The winning team will have a chance to shadow our Festival Judges during the Top Chef Competition and will win a college scholarship. We are also excited to announce that Chef Billy Buscher of Seven Feathers Casino Resort, the 2016 Iron Chef of Oregon and 2012 Top Chef, will be a celebrity Judge and mentor for this competition.

Each morning there are Culinary Workshops from 10:00am to 11:30am at various locations throughout Ashland, which guests can register for when purchasing tickets.  Each of the workshops are listed here.

On both Saturday and Sunday (November 4th and 5th), from Noon to 5:00pm, our Festival doors open with over 35 delicious vendors to sample and guests can watch the Top Chef Competition where 12 local chefs battle for the Top Chef Honor.  Our 2017 Competing Restaurants and Chefs are Shawn Alamo - The Black Sheep Pub & Restaurant, Stefano Cipollone - Standing Stone Brewing Co., Javier Cruz - Simple Café, James “Cyrus” Gray - Southern Oregon University (The Hawk Dining), Josh Dorcak – MÄS (2015 & 2016 Top Chef), Tony Efstratiadis – Plancha, Skye Elder – Brickroom, Brent Herud - Larks Restaurant, Jackson Kelsay - Amuse Restaurant, Melissa McMillan – Sammich, Alfredo Nava - Omar's Fresh Seafood and Steaks and William Shine - Hearsay Restaurant.