2015 Palm Beach Wine Auction Chefs Announced

PALM BEACH, Fla. - Oct. 28, 2014 - PRLog -- (Palm Beach, Fla.) – Amid the pageantry of the Palm Beach winter gala season, one event stands out as so exquisitely unique, it earns raves not only from its impressive guest list but from industry insiders who have proclaimed it "the ultimate luxury experience for any food, wine or spirit lover willing to support a great educational cause."

That event is the Palm Beach Wine Auction, celebrating its 8^th year on January 29, 2015, at the incomparable Mar-a-Lago Club, Palm Beach. More than 200 guests will gather with goblet shaped paddles to bid on amazingly rare vintages while sampling the finest cuisine by a team of world-class chefs.

Since its inception, the auction has raised more than $2 million for the education programs at the Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in West Palm Beach.

Such programs include the S*T*A*R (Students and Teachers Arts Resource) Series, which brings thousands of students to the Kravis Center each year for diverse performances in theater, dance and music.

“To reach out and help with opening a child’s mind to the performing arts is not just a cause, but an ongoing obligation," said Palm Beach Wine Auction Chair Ted Mandes. "That is the mission of the Palm Beach Wine Auction. This exclusive event provides us the opportunity to involve a worldwide audience who values performing arts and create awareness of the Kravis Center’s education programs that are so vital to our youth today.”

The auction's mission attracts some of the food and wine industries’ most treasured and iconic names, whose donations to the cause offer gastronomic experiences that simply cannot be bought.

“One cannot imagine how splendid the Palm Beach Wine Auction is until you experience it yourself," said Margareth Henriquez, President and CEO of Krug, who for the 2014 auction donated a private, eight-course dinner featuring Krug wines and Champagne, which fetched a record $65,000.  "(The auction) is friendly, dynamic and full of enthusiastic guests, held in a beautiful setting, with elegance at every turn. I felt honored and privileged to be there sharing Krug, and will continue to support it with passion and enthusiasm."

The 2015 event will feature more than 40 lots of remarkable wines and spirits from around the globe, exceptional luxury travel experiences and unique treasures all under the direction of Michael Troise, retired Auction Director for NY Wines/Christie's Fine and Rare Wine Department.

“Louis XIII is proud to be a longtime contributor to the success of the Palm Beach Wine Auction, which has established itself as the ultimate luxury experience for any food, wine or spirit lover willing to support a great educational cause," said Yves de Launay, Vice President of Prestige Brands, including Remy Martin.

The evening's five-course dinner will include sublime fare from a who's who of award-winning chefs, including Zach Bell, Addison Reserve Country Club, Delray Beach; Bogdan Boerean and Graham Randall, The Mar-a-Lago Club, Palm Beach; Philip Bollhoefer, OMNI Asheville/Grove Park Inn; Joshua Hasho, OMNI Denver/Interlocken Resort & Spa; Douglas Katz, Fire Food and Drink, The Katz Club Diner and Provenance at Cleveland Museum of Art; Trevor Kunk, PRESS, Napa Valley; Joe Mercuri, Mercuri, Montreal and Cameron Pishnery, Fire Food and Drink and The Katz Club Diner.

"If the food and wine pairings at the 2014 Palm Beach Wine Auction which we attended are any indication of the 2015 event, it will be the 'must attend event' for any food and wine lover," said Yvon Ros, Director of Sponsorship and Special Events for The James Beard Foundation in New York. "Ted Mandes’ exquisite palate and attention to detail make for a fabulous and delicious party with a purpose."

The 2015 Palm Beach Wine Auction Chair is Ted Mandes. Co-chairs are Madeline and Roderic Fink and Carolyn and Richard Sloane. Also serving on the auction committee are Ed Dudnyk, Barbara Golden, Steven M. Gottlieb, John H. Kessler, Stacey Levy, Shelley Menin, Patrick M. Park, I. Jeffrey Pheterson, Martin Rivard, Jeffrey Sabean, Lewis M. Schott, Laurie S. Silvers, Daniel J. “Rusty” Staub, Michael Troise and Jill Wachter.

Event sponsors are The Park Foundation, Laurie Silvers and Mitchell Rubenstein, Madeline and Roderic Fink, First Republic Bank, Barbara and Jerome Golden, Steven M. Gottlieb and Laurie Raber-Gottlieb, Stacey and Mark Levy, Craig and Rochelle Menin, Menin Development, Inc., Jane M. Mitchell, Palm Beach Motor Cars, Lewis M. Schott, Carolyn and Richard Sloane, Table 26, and Tiffany & Co. Gulfstream Media Group, publishers of Jupiter Magazine, The Palm Beacher, Stuart Magazine, Gold Coast and Boca Life, is the media sponsor.

The auction's special pre-events are the White Truffle Dinner sponsored and hosted by Tiffany & Co., Palm Beach, on Wednesday, December 10, 2014. The Sponsors Vintners' Dinner, sponsored by First Republic Bank, will be held at Trevini Ristorante, Palm Beach, on Wednesday, January 28, 2015. Both events are by invitation.

The 2015 Palm Beach Wine Auction will begin at 6 p.m. at The Mar-a-Lago Club, 1100 S. Ocean Blvd., Palm Beach on Thursday, January 29, 2015. Tickets are $1,000. Call 561-651-4320 or visit www.palmbeachwineauction.org. For more information on the Kravis Center's education programs, please visit www.kravis.org/education.