The 2015 Golden Foodie Awards Announces Nominees and Presenters

    ORANGE COUNTY, CA, September 10, 2015 /24-7PressRelease/ -- The Golden Foodie Awards is excited to announce the 2015 nominees and presenters. The winners in 24 categories will be awarded during the sold out show at The Fairmont Newport Beach hotel on Sunday, September 27. Now in its fourth year, the Golden Foodie Awards honors the best chefs, bartenders, food and drink of chef driven and independent restaurants in Orange County, California.

The September 27th red carpet affair will be joined by the who's-who in the culinary world, including the celebrity master of ceremonies, Simon Majumdar from the Food Network. Guests are welcomed on the red carpet with Roca Patron and Ketel One cocktails while they are led to the outdoor garden overflowing with fabulous food and drinks.

The Golden Foodie Awards will kick off with more than 25 tantalizing food and libation stations for guests to enjoy. Ketel One craft cocktails, wines by Coppola and at the Roca Patron Bar, be among the first to see the "Art of Patron Virtual Reality Experience" through immersive 360-degree Oculus technology.

During the Awards ceremony, guests will delight in glamorous desserts and drinks including VOSS Sparkling and Still Water, Sofia Blanc de Blanc Sparkling Wine, Patron Citronge Mango to spice up sparkling wine if chosen. Coppola Black Diamond Pavilion and Claret Coppola Diamond Collection. Desserts to include: "Golden Goo Goo Peanut Buttah" by Pastry Chef, Jeffry Kahle, the "Golden Eclipse Cake" by Rachel Klemek and Vicky Hsu. Chef Deb Sims of Maro Wood Grill will serve her Golden Foodie Award winning Banana Bread Pudding and Villa Roma will serve Chocolate covered strawberries and Alfajores. The tables will also be adorned with Valenza Chocolatier's Bonbons of Gold and B. Toffee.

Hosting the event is Simon Majumdar a world renowned broadcaster and author who has dedicated the second half of his time on this planet to fulfill his ambition to "Go Everywhere. Eat Everything". It is a journey that has taken him to all fifty states and to dozens of countries around the world. He has written three books; Eat My Globe, Eating for Britain and Fed, White and Blue. Simon is also a well recognized personality on the Food Network, regularly appearing on shows such as Iron Chef America, The Next Iron Chef, The Best Thing I Ever Ate, Cutthroat Kitchen, Extreme Chef and Beat Bobby Flay. He has also recently appeared as an expert commentator on National Geographic's major new series "EAT:The Story of Food". The entertaining Awards will feature local celebrity presenters announcing the winners in all categories. Each winner will be presented with the Golden Foodie Award statuette covered in 14-carat gold. The event honors extraordinary culinary talents by embodying the community in 'peer's choice' vote for the Chef of the Year Award, Pastry Chef of the Year Award and Best New Restaurant categories. The other 21 categories are the 'People's Choice Food Awards' and voted on by the public.

The list of 2015 Golden Foodie Awards nominees are presented in categories below. Stay connected with the Golden Foodie Awards through the exciting season of food, community, and culture at http://goldenfoodieawards.com.

Nominees & Presenters of the 2015 Golden Foodies are:

Best Cocktails
The Blind Rabbit
Arc Food and Libations
SOL Cocina
Presenters: Brett Goering and Darren Blair, Ketel One Vodka

Bartender of the Year 2015
Alex Filkins, Wild Goose Tavern
Mike West, SOCIAL Costa Mesa
Benjamin Gonzales, Hopscotch Tavern
Presenter: Timothy Sample, Southern Wine & Spirits

Best Food Talk Radio
Food News with Melinda Lee
The Fork Report with Neil Saavedra
The SoCal Restaurant Show with Andy Harris
Presenters: Vince Ferragamo, Former Quarterback for the LA Rams and Ed Lee, Co-Founder of Wahoo's

Best Food Writer
Cathy ThomasBrad Johnson
Anita Lau
Presenters: Ed Lee, Co-Founder of Wahoo's and Vince Ferragamo, Former Quarterback for the LA Rams

Best Sushi
Bluefin Fine Japanese
Hamamori Restaurant & Sushi Bar
Riptide Rockin' Sushi
Presenters: Marcel Vigneron, Chef/Owner of Beefsteak and Wolf and Rachel Klemek, Founder of Blackmarket Bakery

Best Dessert
Maro Wood Grill
Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen
The Ranch Restaurant
Presenters: Rachel Klemek, Founder of Blackmarket Bakery and Marcel Vigneron, Chef/Owner of Beefsteak and Wolf

Best Service Award
Anaheim White House
Villa Roma
The Hobbit
Presenters: Kimberly Daskas, Vestar and The District at Tustin Legacy and Greer Wylder, Greer's OC

Best Indian Cuisine
Royal Khyber
Adya
Clay Oven
Presenters: Martin and Karen Diedrich, Owners of Kean Coffee

Best Mexican Cuisine
Tortilla Republic
Taco Maria
Matador Cantina
Presenters: Neil Saavedra and Oscar Ramirez of The Fork Report with Neil Saavedra on KFI AM 640

Best Italian Cuisine
Brunos Italian Kitchen
Brick Pizzeria
Antonello Ristorante
Presenters: Oscar Ramirez and Neil Saavedra of The Fork Report with Neil Saavedra on KFI AM 640

Best French Cuisine
Pascal's San Juan Capistrano
Bistro Bleu
Cafe Beau Soleil
Presenters: Chef Ludo Lefevbre, star of The Taste and co-owner of Trois Mec and Wing Lam, co-founder of Wahoo's

Best Asian Cuisine
AnQi
Sushi Noguchi
Sushi Roku
Presenters: Wing Lam, co-founder of Wahoo's and Chef Ludo Lefevbre, star of The Taste and co-owner of Trois Mec.

Best Mediterranean Cuisine
LUCCA
D'Vine ~ A Mediterranean Experience
GG's Bistro
Presenters: Stan Frazier, former drummer of Sugar Ray and restaurateur and Stacy Zeller, Melissa's Produce

Best Vegetarian Cuisine
Provenance
118 Degrees
Au Lac Restaurant
Presenters: Stacy Zeller, Melissa's Produce and Stan Frazier, former drummer of Sugar Ray and restaurateur.

Best Beer
BRU Market and Grill
Haven Gastropub
Hopscotch Tavern
Presenters: Charlie Plummer, host of the Golden Chef Series and Michael Jordan, Master Sommelier

Best Wine
The Winery Restaurant & Wine Bar
Selanne Steak Tavern
Cucina enoteca
Presenters: Michael Jordan, Master Sommelier and Charlie Plummer, host of the Golden Chef Series

Best Pizza
Pizzeria Ortica
Pizzeria Sapori
Brick Pizzeria
Presenters: Ashley Richardson and Anna Grieco, Aloha SDCR

Best Steak
The Ranch Restaurant
Arc Food and Libations
Selanne Steak Tavern
Presenters: Chef Andrew Gruel, star of FYI's Say It To My Face and Founder of SLAPFISH and Amy Jo Pedone, Valenza Chocolatier

Best Burger
Mick's Karma Bar
Dory Deli
25 Degrees
Presenters: Karl Kruger, General Manager of the Fairmont Newport Beach and Cathy Thomas, of CathyThomasCooks.com

Best Californian Cuisine
SOCIAL Costa Mesa
SeaLegs
Andrei's Conscious Cuisine & Cocktails
Presenters: Michael Cho and Alan Greeley, Golden Foodie Awards 2013 Chef of the Year and owner/chef Golden Truffle

Best Seafood
Scott's Restaurant and Bar
SLAPFISH
Bluewater Grill
Presenters: Alan Greeley, Golden Foodie Awards 2013 Chef of the Year and owner/chef Golden Truffle and Michael Cho

Best New Restaurant
Waterman's Harbor
Moulin Bistro
SOCIAL Costa Mesa
Presenters: Fifi Chao, OC Business Journal and Bruno Serato, CNN's Top 10 Hero of the Year and owner of the Anaheim White House

Pastry Chef of the Year
Chef Lee Smith, Montage
Chef Ashley Guzman, The North Left
Chef Dave Rossi, The Ranch Restaurant
Presenters: Andrew Harris of SoCal Restaurant Show and Linda Kissam, President of IFWTWA

Chef of the Year
Chef Andrew Sutton, Napa Rose
Chef Ryan Adams, 370 Common
Chef Craig Strong, Studio
Presenters: Pamela Waitt, President of the OC Restaurant Association/Creator of the Golden Foodie Awards and Judy Walker, Share Our Strength

Golden Foodie Awards would like to thank its sponsors:
Fairmont Newport Beach, Sub-Zero and Wolf, Infiniti, Celebrity Cruises, Orange Coast Magazine, 95.5 KLOS, The Fork Report with Neil Saavedra, Ketel One Vodka, Los Angeles Times, Melissa's Produce, Southern Wine & Spirits, Francis Ford Coppola Winery, Voss Water, Kean Coffee, Code Four, Roca Patron, Sadie Rose Baking Company, Aloha POS, The District at Tustin Legacy, Sweet Salvage Rentals, Awesome Casino Events and Greer's OC.

The Golden Foodie Awards
The Golden Foodie Awards is a red carpet culinary awards show celebrating the best in local food, restaurants and chefs. The Golden Foodie Awards season launches annually in spring with a calendar of special foodie events at restaurants and venues throughout the county leading up to the main Awards night gala in September at The Fairmont Newport Beach.
http://goldenfoodieawards.com

ABOUT FAIRMONT NEWPORT BEACH
Nestled in the center of coastal Orange County and located just a stone's throw away from John Wayne/Orange County Airport, the Fairmont Newport Beach combines European traditions with California flair. Offering 440 luxuriously appointed rooms, including 54 exquisite suites, the hotel also features a roof-top pool complete with cabanas; a new fitness facility; a spa and salon; nearly 17,000 square feet of meeting space and over 25,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor banquet space; and award-winning dining at bambu Restaurant. For more information or for reservations, please call 1.949-476-2007 or 1.800-441-1414 or visit www.fairmont.com/newportbeach

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