The Scottsdale Culinary Festival releases it's Event Fact Sheet for details about all of 2009's fantastic culinary events.

Warm sunshine, palm trees and the sights, sounds and scents of the country’s longest-running food festival: It’s Scottsdale at its finest! As frigid weather grips much of the country, it hardly seems possible. But it’s just around the corner…

If you brought together superstar chefs from San Francisco, Scottsdale, Las Vegas and New York City, what would you have? Answer: the “Friends of James Beard” dinner, a unique, collaborative experience featuring seven renowned James Beard Award-winning chefs – the perfect kickoff to the 31st annual Scottsdale Culinary Festival.

It’s the toast of the town! For the second successive year, the Scottsdale Culinary Festival is presenting an event that will have guests bubbling with delight. This intimate soiree for the senses will take place at Shade, the open-air lounge at the ultra-hip, new W Scottsdale. The finest in Asian cuisine will be procured by Sushi Roku, the sleek, sophisticated restaurant that has been turning heads all over California and the Southwest. During the event, you can take a break to say ‘ahhh’ with Bliss’ Spa Squad who will be distributing Bliss spa-at-home samples and ‘handing’ out arm massages.

Renowned Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s newest creation, J&G Steakhouse, provides the backdrop for an evening of mixing and mingling with some of the valley’s top chefs for the Scottsdale Culinary Festival’s Chef Tribute Dinner. This is your opportunity to sit down for dinner with one of Arizona’s acclaimed chefs and enjoy a four course wine paired menu crafted by J&G Steakhouse’s own Chef Jacques Qualin. The Chef Tribute Dinner gets chefs out of the kitchen and to the dining room allowing you to ask questions and enjoy their company. Celebrated food writer John Mariani of Esquire Magazine and Bloomberg News will be on hand to provide a few words on culinary trends.

Looking for a hot, urban vibe in cool surroundings? It’s happening at the Mondrian Scottsdale, which has been described by the Los Angeles Times as “an oasis of cool in the desert.” The occasion is “On the Rocks,” featuring sizzling hors d’oeuvres and unique cocktails created by innovative mixologists.

The 2009 Scottsdale Culinary Festival presents the Oscars of the culinary world: the 17th annual Arizona Culinary Hall of Fame Awards Dinner. Paparazzi, a red carpet entrance, prestigious culinary aficionados along with glitz and glam will prevail at the Wrigley Mansion as this highly esteemed event inducts influential chefs, food writers, industry promoters and culinary icons into the Arizona Culinary Hall of Fame.

Drinks will flow, fine cuisine will be served and live music will fill the air as the 31st annual Scottsdale Culinary Festival transforms the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts into a spectacular culinary experience called the Eat, Drink and Be Pretty Party Friday, April 17 from 7 to 11 p.m. Dress to impress at this fashion-forward food and wine tasting.

SunWest Appliance Distributing, the exclusive distributor of Viking appliances in the southwest, will be partnering with the Scottsdale Culinary Festival to present Cooks & Corks, a renowned culinary event at the heart of the Great Arizona Picnic and the Scottsdale Culinary Festival.

Join award-winning chefs at some of the Valley’s top restaurants for a series of exclusive four-course dinners paired with rich vintage wines at the Chefs’ Wine Dinners as a part of the Scottsdale Culinary Festival. At each restaurant, the chef will work with a prestigious vintner to create exciting food and wine pairings, and both the chef and winemaker will be on-hand to answer questions and talk about the dinner. In order to ensure each dinner is an exclusive and intimate culinary event, attendance will be limited to 24 attendees per restaurant.

Challenge to the Chefs presented by Bombay Sapphire, just one of the many exciting events at the Scottsdale Culinary Festival’s Great Arizona Picnic, pits four chefs against each other in a culinary showdown in a timed race to please the judges’ palates utilizing the contents of a mystery basket. Each chef will have to prepare an appetizer and an entrée in the allotted time using identical Viking cooktops provided by Westar Kitchen and Bath while using the same mix of surprise ingredients as their opponents. Mixologists will compete alongside the chefs using Bombay Sapphire Gin to create new and innovative drinks as a part of the challenge.

Treat yourself to a satisfying brunch in the lavish Sonoran mountainside. Come sample the delicious fare at the Wine Country Brunch on Sunday, April 19. The event will take place at the pristine InterContinental Montelucia Resort & Spa, a resort inspired by Spanish architecture in addition to Roman, Greek and Moorish influences. A chance to see this newly-created utopian resort paired with an exclusive brunch makes this event a must.

One of the most popular events at this year’s Scottsdale Culinary Festival, the 31st year and longest running festival of its kind, is the Great Arizona Picnic on the beautiful grounds of the Scottsdale Civic Plaza. Dine on picnic inspired favorites while sipping fine spirits at the Absolut Tent, top-shelf Patron margaritas from Camarones Margarita Village, or sample frosty beers at the Southwest Festival of Beers sponsored by New Belgium, all while enjoying 16 hours of live entertainment over two days.

The Scottsdale League for the Arts, the nonprofit organization behind the 2009 Scottsdale Culinary Festival, puts on the Southwest Festival of Beers, hosted during the festival’s Great Arizona Picnic. On Saturday, April 18, and Sunday, April 19, guests can sample more than 200 beers, enjoy live music on the main stage, taste fabulous food from vendors all over the Valley — and even take home a souvenir New Belgium mug.

The 31st Annual Scottsdale Culinary Festival deserves a spectacular finale to its six-day celebration of the senses – and this is it! Hosted at the Hyatt Regency Scottsdale, the annual Best of the Fest™ extravaganza is an exciting, music-filled, open-air event that will lift the spirits and please the palate. Some of the Valley’s finest chefs will share the stage, working together to craft a sumptuous a five-course, wine- paired feast served in a beautiful outdoor setting. It’s the perfect ending to the nation’s longest-running food festival.