The Summer Food & Wine Event Benefiting Second Harvest Food Bank of O.C.

South Coast Plaza presents The Summer Food & Wine Event, a special evening of fine wine and cuisine at Charlie Palmer at Bloomingdale’s South Coast Plaza. More than 30 renowned wineries will pour their best vintages, accompanied by an impressive selection of tastes from the acclaimed restaurant. Highly esteemed Chef Charlie Palmer will be on hand to mingle with guests, and Jason Bentley, KCRW’s Music Director and Host of Morning Becomes Eclectic, will provide entertainment. All proceeds, plus those raised from a high-end silent auction, will benefit Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County.

One hundred wines from Napa and Sonoma Valleys, the Central Coast, Italy, France and Australia will be sampled at 30 stations. Participating wineries include: Duckhorn Wine Company, St. Helena Winery, Nickel & Nickel Single Vineyard Wines, Mapson Cellars, Heitz Cellar, Cain Vineyard and Winery, Blackbird Vineyards, Bernardus Winery, Delectus Vineyard & Winery, Trinitas Cellars, Barnett Vineyards, Justin Vineyards & Winery and ZD Wines. The wine cellar will be transformed into a cave de champagne serving four extraordinary champagnes. Many of the wines will be for sale by the case with a 10 percent discount.

Chef Seakyeong Kim and his team will serve a wide array of specialties in the progressive American cooking style for which Charlie Palmer is known. Tray passed bites will include truffle cheese sliders, herb French fries, hamachi sashimi with blood orange-fennel marmalade, three cheese risotto croquette, saffron aioli; taco yaki-ginger, potato foam; smoked & seared scallop with pineapple and rhubarb yogurt; duck wings with red wine pomegranate reduction chef’s flatbread pizza, olive, tomato bruschetta, and compressed melon-prosciutto consume. There will also be food stations throughout the restaurant offering platters of cheese & salumi, heirloom tomato salad, balsamic marinated hanger steak with parsnip puree and tamarind-glazed pork belly taco with avocado and feta cheese. Featured sweets will be macarons, madeleines, chocolate raspberry moelleux, tartlettes and raspberry verrine. Both hot and cold coffee beverages including afogato will be prepared to order by Nespresso Boutique at Bloomingdale’s South Coast Plaza.

The fundraising event, a South Coast Plaza tradition for more than 25 years, gives food and wine lovers the opportunity to join the fight against hunger in Orange County. Every dollar generated from ticket sales, sponsorships, and the silent auction will be donated directly to Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County. Other generous sponsors of the evening are The William Gillespie Foundation, Union Bank, Judith Posnikoff, Stanbridge College and Prime Healthcare-Orange County.