Ticket Sales for Devour Culinary Classic Will Open on Cyber Monday, November 28; Member Pre-Sale Begins November 21
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contacts:
Erica Fetherston, Local First Arizona: erica@localfirstaz.com, 602-956-0909 ext. 7
Cait Huble, Southern Arizona Arts & Cultural Alliance: cait@saaca.org, 520-797-3959 ext. 7
Ticket Sales for Devour Culinary Classic Will Open on Cyber Monday, November 28; Member Pre-Sale Begins November 21
The 2017 Devour Culinary Classic will embody the growth of Phoenix’s culinary scene with new additions, featured restaurants, and more.
Phoenix, Arizona (November 2, 2016) - The Devour Culinary Classic, formerly known as the Devoured Culinary Classic, is the region’s premier week long annual culinary celebration hosted by Devour Phoenix, and Local First Arizona, Phoenix Art Museum, and Southern Arizona Arts & Cultural Alliance at several distinct venues in Phoenix, AZ. The goal of the events are to showcase Arizona’s celebrity culinary talent as well as it’s fine food and drink producers and purveyors while furthering metro Phoenix as a dining destination worthy of international prestige.
The Devour Culinary Classic continues to be named the premier and most-anticipated culinary event in the Phoenix area. Already this year, the Devour Culinary Classic was named Best Food Festival by Phoenix Magazine and Best Culinary Festival by Phoenix New Times, and also received the Good Neighbor Award from the Arizona Restaurant Association’s Foodist Awards.
The Devour Week of events will be held February 26 through March 5 with a series of events celebrating Arizona’s unique culinary talents. The main event, the Devour Culinary Classic, will be held on Saturday, March 4, and Sunday, March 5, at Phoenix Art Museum, where the Dorrance Sculpture Garden will come alive with food, wine, and cocktail tastings, cooking demonstrations and interactive stations where attendees will have a unique opportunity to meet and interact with local Arizona chefs.
General Admission Tickets Go On Sale Cyber Monday, Following Pre-Thanksgiving Member Sale
Tickets for the seventh annual Devour Culinary Classic will go on sale in limited release on Monday, November 21, and to the public on Cyber Monday, November 28. Tickets will be available for purchase at devourphoenix.com/classic. Tickets for the 2016 Devour Culinary Classic are available in several package options:
Beginning on Monday, November 21, 2016, Phoenix Art Museum Members and Local First Arizona Localists can purchase tickets a week before the general public at a rate of $99 for a single day ticket or $179 for a two-day ticket. Phoenix Art Museum Members can purchase tickets by calling 602-257-2124 during the museum’s regular hours beginning Monday, November 21, until general sales begin on Monday, November 28. Localists can purchase tickets by calling 602-956-0909 ext. 1 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday, November 21 through Wednesday, November 23.
Tickets for the general public will be available for sale on Cyber Monday, November 28, at devourphoenix.com/classic. Tickets options include Single Day General Admission ($109), Two-Day General Admission ($199), and Single Day VIP ($150).
General Admission tickets include unlimited access to food and beverage sampling throughout the event, as well as any event programming including chef demonstrations. Devour Culinary Classic ticket holders will also have the opportunity to explore Phoenix Art Museum’s exhibitions including [exhibit details]
VIP ticket holders will have exclusive access to the general tasting area a full hour before General Admission ticket holders. VIP benefits also include VIP parking pass at the museum and access to private VIP lounge areas featuring exclusive chef access, menu tastings, and cocktail samplings.
Event Changes This Year Will Celebrate The Growth of Phoenix’s Culinary Scene
As Phoenix’s culinary scene evolves and continues to gain national attention, the Devour Culinary Classic will adapt and adjust its programming to
The Devour Excellence Awards - The premier of the Devour Excellence Awards will showcase Arizona's culinary talent, featuring special guest judges Adam Erace (IACP Award-Winning Food and Travel Writer and Food Network personality), Barbara Fenzl (Host of Arizona PBS cooking shows, Founder of Les Gourmettes Cooking School), Cheryl Alters Jamison (Four-Time James Beard-Award Winning Cookbook Author and Host of Heating It Up on KVSF 101.5 The Voice of Santa Fe Listen Live), Corby Kummer (James Beard Award-Winning Author, Senior Editor The Atlantic and Boston Magazine), and Carey Polis (Web Editor, Bon Appetit). Judges will be on site to determine and award four honorable awards to participants: Excellence in Innovation, Excellence in Taste, Excellence in Presentation and, this year’s overall recognition, Excellence in Distinction.
Culinary Demonstrations and Workshops - Culinary demonstrations and taste workshops will be present at the Devour Culinary Classic this year, featuring select chefs and beverage experts showcasing their talents in collaboration with favorite Arizona food makers and their goods. A full lineup of demonstrations will be posted at devourphoenix.com/classic.
Exciting New Restaurants Invited to Participate - The Devour Culinary Classic has expanded our outreach efforts to include more of the new and diverse restaurants that have opened their doors in the last year. The Devour Culinary Classic will be an event that features many of the Valley’s most loved chefs and restaurants, but this year will also shine a light on younger chefs that are doing great things with food in our region. Including? A full list of participating restaurants will be added to devourphoenix.com/classic as they are confirmed and information is received.
Expanded Local Foods Experience - Introduced at last year’s Devour Culinary Classic, the Local Foods Experience is a tool to highlight local food producers that many of the Devour chefs use on a regular basis, and put an emphasis on the importance of sourcing food locally. This year’s Devour Culinary Classic will see event integration of locally-produced, native, and heritage foods through the expansion of the Local Foods Experience
Devour Week Pre-Events Offer More Opportunities for Indulgence
Since having grown into a week-long culinary experience, the Devour Culinary Classic now features a series of pre-events to further shine a spotlight on Phoenix’s culinary excellence. Pre-events include the Devour Phoenix Bartending Competition, 7 Chef Singh Along, and Palette to Palate. These events are each ticketed separately.
The Devour Phoenix Bartending Competition will kick off the week of events at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, February 26 at DeSoto Central Market in Phoenix (915 N Central Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85004). Designed to celebrate Phoenix’s cocktail culture, bartenders from nine metro-Phoenix bars and restaurants armed with a selection of Arizona’s best locally distilled spirits convene for a mix-off of epic proportions. Participating bartenders will go head to head in a series of three rounds, shaking it to compete in the final, mystery basket round for the title of Arizona’s Star Bartender in 2017. Tickets will be $40 each and available for purchase at devourphoenix.com/classic.
The 7 Chef Singh Along is a culinary event organized by the Arizona Seven, a collection of top Valley chefs dedicated to raising awareness of our world-class culinary scene and bringing the James Beard Award back to Arizona. The event will take place Wednesday, March 2, at 5:30 p.m. at Singh Farms’ new location in Tempe. At The Seven Chef Singh Along, this chef septet will feature Cullen Campbell (Crudo, Okra Cookhouse & Cocktails), Kelly Fletcher (El Chorro), Josh Hebert (Posh Improvisational Cuisine), Scott Holmes (Little Miss BBQ), Stephen Jones (the larder + the delta), Bernie Kantak (The Gladly, Citizen Public House) and Gio Osso (Virtù Honest Craft, Nico). During this family-style wine-paired dinner, each chef will prepare a single course that highlights both their distinctive style, and the bold flavors of Arizona. Each course will be paired with a fine Arizona wine from local producers. Tickets will be $160 each, which includes gratuity and tax, and will be available at devourphoenix.com/classic.
Palette to Palate will be held at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, March 2 in Downtown Phoenix, a location will be announced when it is secured. The event blends the visual arts and culinary arts by pairing chefs and painters to interpret each other's work for a show that is at once unique and insightful into the worlds of the two artists. The evening will feature Arizona wines and award winning chefs, paired with regional artists who will unveil new works at the event. A full lineup of participants will be announced at a later date. Tickets will be $40 each and available for purchase at devourphoenix.com/classic.
Those interested in attending both the Devour Phoenix Bartending Competition and Palette to Palate can purchase a discounted ticket package to attend both events for $60, a twenty-five percent discount.
Local First Arizona Localists will have access to a $10 discount code for all tickets and packages for Devour Week pre-events. Those interested in Localist membership can visit localfirstaz.com/localist.
For More Information
For additional information, please visit devourphoenix.com/classic, or follow us on Instagram (@devourphoenix), Twitter (@devourphoenix) and Facebook.com/DevourPhoenix. The official event hashtag is #DevourPhoenix.