The best things we saw, heard and tasted at azcentral.com Food & Wine Experience

Day two of the second annual azcentral.com Food and Wine Experience has drawn to a close, and Sunday’s festivities brought another massive complement of sips and savories from around Arizona and the Valley.

Hundreds of chefs and beverage professionals gathered to put on a collection of experiences: discussion panels, bourbon tastings, book signings and cooking demonstrations from some of the country’s most famous chefs, as well as a host of culinary experiences centered around the Grand Tasting, a massive showcase of dishes from some of Arizona’s best dining destinations.

Day two of the event, headlined by acclaimed chef and television star Scott Conant, proved to be at least as energetic and delicious as day one (not that it’s a competition, chefs). In another jam-packed afternoon of food and fun, here are some of things I observed.

DAY TWO — SUNDAY

11:23 a.m. — The Sisterhood

The Sisterhood of the Stove has turned one of the orchards into a cozy little dining utopia in support of The Joy Bus, a local charity that delivers good meals and smiling faces to those who are battling cancer. The Joy Bus’ founder, Jennifer Caraway, glides through the crowd while some of the Valley’s most talented and accomplished female chefs — Chrysa Robertson, Lori Hashimoto, Tracy Dempsey, Helen Yung, Danielle Leoni, Jennifer Russo, BJ Hernandez, Shannon Plowman, Rachel Miller and Olashawn Weaver — serve up some fabulous bites. Hashimoto sends out a refreshing taste of chilled seafood and beets, while Robertson grills up juicy marinated quail served with roasted grapes. Helping others should be its own reward, but some killer bites are an awfully nice side benefit.

11:45 a.m. — First in line

15 minutes until the VIP tasting opens, and there’s a massive line at the North gate. Standing at the front of it are Lee Grenga of Litchfield Park and his sister, Cecelia Anderson, who came in from Dallas to visit her brother and attend the event. They tell me they’ve been waiting since 11:25 a.m. so they could have first crack at the Grand Tasting. They don’t intend to pull any punches. “No diets today,” Grenga says.

1:08 p.m. — East meets West

I drop in on Nobuo Fukuda’s “East Meets West” lunch, and am beyond delighted to discover that he’s serving one of my favorite dishes, his chawanmushi duo. Fukuda drops knowledge like few can, and the crowd is surprised to learn that tempura, which most think of as an iconic Japanese dish, was brought to Japan from Portugal in the late 16th century. I sit down to chat with Meagan and Lindsey Herzog and their mother, Lori. They’re a Scottsdale family, but Meagan is eager to talk about her travels in Japan. She’s a fan of Fukuda and we geek out over Japanese food while they wait for the next course.

1:23 p.m. — Stratta talks porcini

Alex Stratta has taken over the demo stage, and he’s making a porcini risotto that I wish I could stick around to try. It takes 18 minutes, he says, no matter how much you make, recounting a cruise where he made risotto for 1500 guests. “I was using a huge paddle to stir a huge pot of risotto, but I still knew exactly how long it would take to cook,” he says. While the rice absorbs the stock, he talks porcini mushrooms, advocating for the Italian varieties. “Not because I’m Italian,” he insists. “I think they taste better.”

1:52 p.m. — Conant on the scene

In the other main tent, there’s a huge whoop that can be heard throughout the entire grounds. Scott Conant has taken the stage for his cooking demo, and I try to take a photo but I can only get about a third of the crowd in frame at once. It would seem the renowned chef and Chopped judge is a little popular in these parts. He prepares a giant ribeye steak. “I hope you like it. If it isn’t good, lie,” he jokes. When the steak is done, he stands at the front of the stage and the crowd surges forward to grab a slice. The smartest guy in the tent grabs the bone and runs off. Nobody has to lie.

2:42 p.m. — Finding craft

The “Finding Craft” panel is in full swing over in the panel room, and Sean Kenyon of Woody Creek Distillers is explaining the myriad ways companies come up with bogus stories to sell whiskey they aren’t even producing. “There are a lot of whiskeys out there with a story that isn’t the truth,” Kenyon says. “They’re just stories. But stories sell. There are (so-called) master distillers who have never distilled anything in their lives.” He provides tips for identifying and enjoying the genuine article.

3:40 p.m. — Time to chill

We're in the home stretch, and Cartel Coffee's self-serve cold brew coffee tap is my new best friend. Thankfully, the final hour of day two of the Grand Tasting has taken on a decidedly laid back vibe. Traffic at the tables has slowed and most of the crowd is gathered on the fringes of the tasting areas or lounging in the courtyard, sipping wine and beer and taking in the late afternoon sun. Chefs gather to slap each other on the back and knock back a few drinks while they talk shop. Chef Stephen Jones of DeSoto Central Market tries to start a chant of “Let’s go Cubbies!” It doesn’t take, but you have to appreciate the effort.

4:12 PM — Food, baseball and rock 'n roll

Back by the kitchen tents, I run into chef Bruce Kalman, who’s chatting with Randy Johnson (yes, that Randy Johnson). Kalman’s getting ready for the grand finale dinner, and the group is making plans to hit the after party for all of the participating vendors. Instead of food, Kalman is slinging tunes for the after party. His band, Foie Grock, will be playing, and though one of his bandmates, Duff Goldman (yes, that Duff Goldman), is in Australia, rumor has it Gio Osso might sit in.

5:08 p.m. — Grand finale imminent

In preparation for the grand finale dinner, Chris Bianco, Gio Osso, Alex Stratta, Kevin Fink and Bruce Kalman are gathered around the entrance to the kitchen tent, running through the menu with the evening’s servers. Bianco will lead off, sending out radicchio with medjool dates, persimmons and gorgonzola. Stratta follows, serving roasted scallops with gem lettuce, oven-dried tomatoes and pancetta. Next up is Kalman, plating potato leek agnolotti with black truffle, Parmigiano-Reggiano and leek powder. The fourth course belongs to Osso, who’s serving a foie gras trio. Fink anchors the savory portion of the festivities with some Arizona products, local lamb with tepary beans, allium and pane carasau, a Sardinian flatbread that he says should be torn rather than cut. And Osso slings dessert, described on the menu simply as “chocolate decadence.” Sounds like a party. Wish I had a ticket.

DAY ONE — SATURDAY

11:07 a.m. – Chefs trading notes

The gates will open in a little less than an hour, and chefs Doug Robson of Otro Cafe and Scott Holmes of Little Miss BBQ are trading notes about — what else? — fire. Robson is showing off a nifty wood grill parked behind Otro’s table, where he’ll be cooking up pork belly for the day’s tacos. As the conversation drifts into the esoterica of wood choices, I move on to see what else is warming up.

11:45 a.m. — Olfactory explosion

The gates open in 15 minutes, and all of a sudden the grounds are engulfed by intoxicating aromas as the chefs start to fire their dishes, preparing for the crowds that are waiting at the gate. A pair of cooks from Proof Canteen sear scallops and cook up Hawaiian fried rice. I make a mental note to return later.

Noon — A double dose of Mario

Guests are seated in one of the dining orchards and anxiously await the appearance of Mario Batali, who is hosting a special lunch and presentation. I talk to Linda Donewald of Mesa, who bought tickets not knowing she’d run into Batali even before the Food and Wine Experience. “I saw that Mario was going to be here and I thought it would be a great opportunity to try some of the food that he’s prepared,” she says. But since buying her ticket, she was fortunate enough to see him on his show, ”The Chew,” on a visit to New York. “We sat at his tasting table,” Donewald says. “It was amazing.” She appears all to happy to have the opportunity to experience a repeat performance here in Arizona.

12:08 p.m. — Juggling tomatoes

Rather than wait, I decide to crash the kitchen where lunch is being prepared. Batali is exactly as jovial as you expect. As I frame up a candid photo, he stealthily reaches down into a carton of tomatoes, pulls out three of them, and starts to juggle without missing a beat in his conversation with one of the cooks helping him prepare lunch.

12:27 p.m. — An array of flavors

The VIP tasting is in full swing, and tables are covered with beautifully presented plates. As I work my way around one of the tents, I sample a fabulous lamb pozole from chef Matt Carter of The Mission, and a mighty fine tomatillo chicken taco from Gadzooks Enchiladas and Soup. I remind myself that it’s a marathon, not a sprint.

12:45 p.m. — Running wire

I run into chef Robert McGrath, who at 62 has achieved the dream. Since stepping down as the host of “Check, Please!” he’s been out of the restaurant business and he tells me he’s been running wire and tending to cattle on a ranch while his son, Jason McGrath, takes up the torch as executive chef of Second Story Liquor Bar.

1:36 p.m. – Cooking wasn’t cool

Next to me at the panelists table are Mario Batali, Alex Stratta, Kevin Fink, Bruce Kalman and Gio Osso, a heavyweight collection of Italian chefs if ever there were one. Batali is talking about how the restaurant industry has changed since he first got into the business. “When I started, cooking wasn’t cool. Your mom wouldn’t say, oh, my son is becoming a chef. She’d say, well, my son Mario is in between jobs right now.”

1:57 p.m. — Like eating a jalapeño

Over in the classroom tent, Trey Zoeller of Jefferson Small Batch Bourbon of Kentucky is leading a panel on bourbon tasting. “For the first taste, I just let it hit my palate, let it shock it. It’s like eating a jalapeño,” Zoeller says. “It’s that second taste when I let it roll around and get the full flavor.”

2:37 p.m. — The experience

Most tables have set out some serving ware and table pieces, but Tommy Plato, owner of Second Story Liquor Bar and ever the showman, has set up a massive black tent which contains the mysterious “Second Story Experience.” I ask him if we’ll need VR goggles. He says nothing quite that elaborate. Inside, he’s set up a table beneath a dim chandelier, where guests can stop to relax for a few minutes while sampling the restaurant’s shrimp ceviche.

3:20 p.m. — Top Home Chef

The winner of our Top Home Chef competition, Jordan Urnovitz, is cashing in part of his prize by cooking up some shakshuka with lamb for a crowd on the demo stage. His joyous embrace of unfamiliar ingredients is part of what won over the judges, and he’s urging the crowd not to be intimidated by unfamiliar recipes. “A lot of ingredients people think are hard to find, but they’re really not that hard to find. We have some great international markets,” he says, before rattling off the names of a few as some viewers scribble notes.

3:33 p.m. — Geeking out on grains

The panel for the heritage grains seminar sits at the glorious intersection of food and science, and I watch Marc Bianco of Pane Bianco, Jeff Zimmerman of Hayden Flour Mills and Kevin Fink of Emmer & Rye talking about heritage grains in a way that makes it seem as though they should be wearing lab coats and safety goggles. And it’s amazing to see how for the them, the science of food is all about making food better, figuring out ways to make it taste better and be more nutritious for the people who are eating it.

3:57 p.m. – Scotch, steaks and stogies

“They had me at scotch and steaks,” says Scott Spillman, of Chandler. Spillman and three of his buddies — Rick Rhoden, Larry Rosinski and Cort Nikolaev — decided that this was their kind of event. They’re enjoying cigars while the staff pours whiskey flights and chefs James Porter, Christopher Gross and Matt Carter prepare food to accompany. “I’ve never had bone marrow or beef tongue before,” says Rhoden, “but this is really good.”

5:12 p.m. – Whole roasted lamb

The crowd at the “Not Your Average BBQ and Brews” dinner is getting antsy. Scott Holmes of Little Miss BBQ is tending two whole lambs that are roasting over an open coal pit, while Stephen Jones of DeSoto Central Market and Jacob Cutino of Homeboy’s Hot Sauce prep squash that have been roasted, whole, right in the coals. They’re blackened and covered with ash, but bright orange inside when Jones splits them open. I snag a bite of lamb when Holmes hacks off a chunk, and it’s absurdly good — tender and meaty and dripping with juice.

MORE AZCENTRAL ON SOCIAL: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

Things To Do app: Get the best in events, dining and travel right on your device