15 Jul Please The Palate July 2015 Newsletter

Summer is well underway and I hope you are enjoying the sunshine! I just returned from a month of travel to Italy and Greece, exploring various wine regions, and will be sharing stories from the trip soon. In the meantime, here are a few upcoming events you may be interested in and a recap of recent palate pleasing experiences! LA Grow! on Sunday, July 19th Join us at the Wiltern on July 19th for an afternoon of garden and delicious healthy food exploration. Sit down to a seasonal, farm-to-table dinner catered by Jennie Cook’s Catering, featuring veggies grown by RootDown LA, a South Central based non-profit whose goal is to empower high school students to build stronger communities by cooking and growing healthy food, right where they live. The Wiltern and RootDown LA share a vision that everyone across Los Angeles has access to healthy food. Will you join us to support this worthy cause? For tickets, click here. Celebrate Laphroaig’s 200th Birthday with the 200 Opinions Wanted Contest To celebrate Laphroaig’s 200th birthday, we have 200 prizes for the best 200 opinions throughout 2015. In addition, two winners will be selected to be our honorary guests on Islay this September, gaining access to the inner workings of the distillery and experience first hand how Laphroaig is made before settling into front row seats at the anniversary edition of Laphroaig Live. The contest is open until July 31st, and you may enter the Laphroaig “200 Opinions Wanted” contest online by leaving an opinion on any Laphroaig Scotch Whisky liquid at www.laphroaig.com/opinions (Must be 21 to enter.) Los Angeles Food & Wine Festival Tickets Are On Sale! (August 27-30) Los Angeles Food & Wine, produced by Coastal Luxury Management and presented with founding partners FOOD & WINE and Lexus, announces its 2015 festival lineup and live entertainment as it celebrates its 5th anniversary August 27-August 30. Tickets are on sale for the City of Angels’ annual culinary jubilee, featuring a live performance by ?uestlove and The Roots, and welcoming a distinguished list of Michelin-starred honoree, James Beard winners and Food & Wine Best New Chefs including Tyler Florence, Curtis Stone, Thomas Keller and Michelle Bernstein, among others. Tickets for individual events range from $50-$350, with package and VIP options starting at $650. For more information, visit LAFW.com or call (855) 433-LAFW (5239) Want to take a cruise? Celebrity Cruises’ new all-inclusive GoBig, GoBetter, GoBest! With Go Big, Go Better, Go Best, travelers can saves up to $1,035 per person. Select additional perks to include when booking an ocean view stateroom or higher on more than 470 sailings departing October 2015 through April 2017, with fares starting at $1,109 for a 7-night Alaskan cruise. This new pricing provides even greater savings and value and provides the perfect reason to experience just-launched features that experienced cultureseekers are choosing from Celebrity Cruises, such as: – – Globally-Inspired Cuisine: With 12 distinctive restaurants featuring menus crafted by a Michelin-starred chef, Celebrity Cruises offers an unparalleled culinary experience. In fact, in 2015, Celebrity Cruises launched the world’s first permanent “World ClassTM Bar” onboard the Celebrity Eclipse, as well as introducing the first-ever exclusive suite dining experience with the opening of Luminae. Additionally, Celebrity Cruises and Bravo Media have extended the popular “Top Chef at Sea” program through 2016. — Suite Class Private, Spacious Verandas: Celebrity Cruises provides more private, spacious veranda staterooms than any other premium cruise line, allowing guests to enjoy breakfast or a private picnic on their own balconies. — Canyon Ranch SpaClub: Celebrity and Randi Zuckerberg launched Take Care of YourSelfie to encourage guests to find a tech-life balance while on vacation, including a new lineup of specially designed spa treatments and services available at Canyon Ranch SpaClub. — In-Depth Destination Experiences & New Ports: Nearly 300 sought after worldwide destinations including the best of Europe, plus overnight stays in 53 must-see cities. Plus, the “Celebrity City Stay” vacation packages provide curated pre-cruise experiences available in 16 of the most intriguing and dynamic cities, including Abu Dhabi. Check out www.pleasethepalate.com  for upcoming events and if you want to be notified of blog posts when they go live, please sign up here. To read the full newsletter, click here.