Appetite: Learning from the best, eating like royalty at Flavor! Napa

11.21.12 - 10:19 am | Virginia Miller |

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Redd's confit chicken thigh in chocolate orange spice mole with cheddar cheese polenta and cracklins' at Appelation Trail

Chicken liver creme caramel with roasted grapes and bacon from the Thomas & Fagiani's Bar's Brad Farmerie -- at Appelation Trail

Appellation Trail wine highlights: Lang & Reed Cabernet Franc

Ca'Momi Enoteca's dreamy bigne (beignets) from chef Valentina Guolo-Migotto at Appelation Trail

A morning session with Thomas Keller on the importance of selecting fresh produce

An interactive lunch with Masaharu Morimoto, who helped attendees make sushi before a three-course lunch

The Morimoto lunch's second course was a lush, braised black cod paired with a 2011 MerSoleil Silver unoaked Chardonnay

All photos by Virginia Miller

Flavor! Napa is a five-day food and wine festival that took place last weekend in its second annual incarnation, potentially the definitive event representing the wines of the region, and the chefs and cooking that make this grouping of small towns and countryside one of the great culinary and wine destinations in the world.

Despite some nasty rainstorms hitting the area for part of the week, festivities were many and varied, classes and demos, dinners and galas. Here are a few highlights in photos, including sessions with two of the biggest chefs in the world: Thomas Keller and Masaharu Morimoto.

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