Wine & Gourmet Expo opens with fizz

The crème de la crème of gastronomy in Macau – some might say the Pearl River Delta – came out to strut their stuff at the opening cocktail party of the Wine & Gourmet Expo Asia last night.

The expo – which is really the backdrop for a week of gluttony around the city’s five-star resorts – begins today at The Venetian. Last night was the first chance that culinary giants such as Peter Find of Wynn and Kristoffer Luczak of Crown were able to put on display their masterpieces for a lucky group of guests. All of Macau’s major players had goodies available, such as melon on a tube of port wine (Mandarin Oriental), beef tataki and condiments with Ponzu sauce (Crown), Zheng Jian-style pork ribs in Chinese bun (Venetian), and a dazzling array of colorful desserts at Wynn.

All of the resorts will be using the occasion to host “guest star” chefs, such as Justin North of Sydney and Frenchman Alain Passard (“a semi-god in the cuisine business” as one observer pointed out), and will be staging their own elite lunches and dinners. The gala dinner on Saturday night will be at The Venetian, but the most expensive meal in town will undoubtedly be at Crown, where Passard hosts a dinner at Aurora for MOP$4,800 per head.

Masterclasses will be held throughout the week, while various competitions, such as an Asian Cocktail Championship, will also take place. Oh, and yes, there will be copious amounts of wine being swilled in the name of “tasting”. Indeed, the range of options available to visitors and residents alike is too extensive to list here, and more details are available at www.wineandgourmetasia.com