Harvest Dinner (March 8, 2012)
Celebrity chefs here in Yuma!
Ice carving
Vegetable carving
Interactive salad bar featuring your favorite toppings!
Local restaurant tasting event (Saturday, March 10th 1-5 p.m.)
Wine and Microbrew Beer Tasting
Culinary displays and classes
Chef challenges
Cooking demonstrations
Live entertainment
Local agriculture tours
Marketplace featuring arts, food related products and services
Children's Ag-tivities Arena- an interactive, learning place for children
Toddler Town- even the little ones can enjoy learning about ag with fun, colorful displays, tractor trikes and games
COMMUNITY FESTIVITIES
Yuma Fine Arts Association will host an agriculturally inspired art show March 10th-11th (Yuma Art Center)

Join us for the 13th annual Yuma Lettuce Days

Yuma Lettuce Days 2012 is set for March 10th and 11th at the Quartermaster Depot State Historic Park. Please stay tuned for exciting new updates!

This event will be a perfect opportunity to celebrate Yuma's

We are expecting 40,000 people in attendance.

agricultural industry and to learn the importance of agriculture to our community! Our culinary festival will incorporate Yuma produce, gourmet chefs, restaurants, cooking demonstrations and more. The Quartermaster Depot State Historic Park couldn't be a better venue. With the new, upcoming agriculture museum as well as the new display highlighting the Yuma Siphon project, the Quartermaster Depot offers a festival guests an opportunity to learn more about the history of agriculture in Yuma County.

The Yuma Lettuce Days Culinary Festival combines locally grown ingredients, interactive displays and programs, exhibitors and vendors, and Yuma culture into a sophisticated, educational and entertaining weekend event. Visitors will have the opportunity to sample a variety of locally grown freshly made food and beverages in an outdoor setting over a three day weekend.

Ticket prices are $5 per person for the entire weekend.

Brian Malarkey - Top Chef

As an award winning Executive chef, Brian Malarkey's passion for food and entertainment is the driving force behind his pursuits in both the culinary and entertainment industries. In 2007, Brian was a contestant on Bravo's "Top Chef 3 Miami" where he advanced to the finale gaining national recognition for his talents, high-energy and captivating charm.

Malarkey is not just a TV personality that cooks. He is a professionally trained, award-winning chef that was surrounded by a family of talented cooks. He was inspired by the cooking of his grandmother in her beach house kitchen, where she was often joined by her old friend James Beard. Brian began his formal training when he enrolled in Le Cordon Bleu cooking school in Portland.

After graduation, Malarkey trained with French chef Michael Richard in Los Angeles, was named Sous Chef of The Oceanaire Seafood Room in Minneapolis and Executive Chef at the Oceanaire in San Diego. Since that time, he has received more than 60 industry awards by various organizations, including the Gold Medallion for Chef of the Year, San Diego's Best Chef (3 years), Zagat Top Ten Restaurants, Best Seafood-Fine Dining (4 years), Wine Spectator Award of Excellence (4 years), and DiRonNA Award of Excellence.

He recently co-starred with Erin Andrews in TLC's "Kick-off Cook-Off" and hosted a series of weekly episodes on BRAVOTV.com for "Top Chef 6 Las Vegas" called "The Remix". Other television appearances include guest spots on "Top Chef", "The Real Housewives of Orange County", "Top Chef Masters" and Animal Planet's reality series "Jockeys: Win or Die Trying." Malarkey was the only Chef selected by the hit movie "Julie & Julia" to cook for the media in their LA and New York City premiers.

Brian is working on two cookbooks, three television shows and writing blogs on BRAVOTV.com and SanDiegoMagazine.com. Brian travels the globe appearing at Wine & Food festivals, charity events, and private dinners. He is available for cooking demonstrations, special events, college tours, cooking classes, dinner parties, speaking engagements, TV appearances, endorsements and more! He has two highly popular restaurants in San Diego - "Searsucker" and "Burlap".

Check out his promotional video for CareerBuilder: http://www.p3mediaworks.com/CB_topchef2.

Chef Ray Duey - vegetable carving.
(All Day Saturday and Sunday)

MEET CHEF RAY DUEY
American Culinary Federation Certified Executive Chef Owner of "Chef Ray Presents"

World-renowned culinary artist, Chef Ray Duey is nothing short of amazing when it comes to food sculpting. Working his magic on fruits and vegetables, he travels around the country, teaching the culinary art of fruit and vegetable carvings and leaving spectators and culinary professionals spellbound. His ability for putting the wow factor in food, has earned him outstanding reviews, pleasing audiences far and wide. www.chefgarnish.com

Stay tuned for exciting celebrity chefs details! Shh, don't tell anyone, but we're actually negotiating with one of the "Top Chef" celebrities!

Cooking Contest Registration

Some like it hot it's salsa and it's hot. Judges make their way through dozens of salsas and choose the spiciest concoction.

Dinner date dates for dinner? Chefs use locally grown medjool dates and create a menu surrounding the lush, healthy fruit.

Drinks with a twist celebrating our locally grown citrus and melons. Mixologists will stir and shake their way to unique drinks (with and without alcohol.)

Fry's^® "Bring It On Family" local family members go one-on-one with each other. Mom's tamale recipe might be matched up against brother's spinach omelette and grandpa's cheesy red pepper enchiladas. The gloves come off and only one family member walks away a winner.

Dole's^® "Kids Healthy Living" Children ages 7-13 compete by using unique ideas/ways to incorporate healthy ingredients into fun, tasty treats!

Tasty Tacos will offer Yuma's authentic border fare a front row seat at our festival. The tortilla's the limit on this one...deliciosa!

For cooking contest details and entry form, contact Carla at 928-376-0100 or carla@visityuma.com

COMMUNITY FESTIVITIES