RELISH Comes Back for Seconds
Guests gather at VEA Newport Beach during the inaugural RELISH food, wine, and spirits festival in 2025. The festival returns Oct. 2-4.
Photo courtesy of RELISH
Last year, Irvinite Jamie Gwen and her longtime friend Nicole Hirsty brought a dream of nearly three years to life in the form of RELISH, a three-day food, wine, and spirits festival in Newport Beach. The inaugural event drew 1,300 guests to 13 experiences throughout the weekend. Encouraged by the community’s response to RELISH, Gwen and Hirsty began planning an encore the day after RELISH wrapped. They’ve spent the past year refining their vision for the second year while building on the events and partnerships that resonated with guests.
The second annual RELISH festival will be held Oct. 2 through 4 at VEA Newport Beach, with additional events at The Park Club in Costa Mesa and AnQi at Bloomingdale’s South Coast Plaza. Gwen, a celebrity chef, certified sommelier, radio host, and cookbook author, created the festival with Hirsty, owner of Cobalt Events. The two met on their first day of seventh grade and are celebrating 40 years of friendship this year.
“We are very humbled and very proud that we have an opportunity to continue RELISH,” said Gwen, who explained that it is a true passion project for both founders of RELISH.
Gwen and Hirsty went big during RELISH’s inaugural year. This time around, they have honed in on how to meet the expectations of festival goers with new events, new chefs, and new sommeliers, as well as some returning favorites. Their goal, Gwen explained, is to continue building an elevated food and wine festival that feels different from other culinary events in the area.
“There are other fabulous food and wine events,” said Gwen. “But our caliber of talent and our level of sophistication, we hope, is bar none. The experience is really what the goal is.”
That experience begins Friday evening with an Opening Night Cocktail Party and Grand Tasting on the Sunset Lawn at VEA Newport Beach. Guests will be able to sample food, wine, and cocktails, while mingling with chefs, winemakers, sommeliers, and spirits experts. For those who can attend only one event, Gwen recommended the opening-night party.
“Our opening-night cocktail party and grand tasting is an experience,” said Gwen, explaining that the party gives guests a taste, pun intended, of the entire weekend. “We are definitely ‘go big or go home’ when it comes to the Friday-night launch of RELISH. It’s a sight.”
The party will be followed by RELISH After Hours, which will include music, cocktails, wine, caviar, savory bites, and more opportunities to spend time with the visiting chefs.
The Culinary Line Up
Esteemed leaders of the culinary, wine, and spirits world will converge at RELISH. Pictured clockwise from top left are Geoffrey Zakarian, Scott Conant, Sherry Yard, Kat Turner, Afrim Pristine, Rebecca Rose Phillips, Katie Chin, and festival co-creator Jamie Gwen.
Photo courtesy of RELISH
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“Geoffrey Zakarian will be gracing Newport Beach, which, he’s so Newport Beach,” joked Gwen. “It’s fabulous, right? He changes his linen suit three times a day.”
Zakarian is an Iron Chef, restaurateur and longtime judge on Food Network’s Chopped
Zakarian will participate in several events throughout the festival, including Saturday afternoon’s Fashion + Food luncheon and Saturday night’s Culinary Icons Dinner.
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Scott Conant, who participated in the inaugural RELISH festival, is returning by popular demand.
“He is so beloved,” said Gwen. “He is my longtime friend, and he actually asked to come back. We are delighted.”
Conant will showcase his Martone Street tomato sauces in several ways throughout the weekend. The sauces honor his grandmother, who taught him to make tomato sauce at the stove when he was young.
The Food Network star and longtime Chopped judge will participate in several events, including Saturday afternoon’s Fashion + Food luncheon and Saturday night’s Culinary Icons Dinner.
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Sherry Yard, the former executive pastry chef at Spago, will make her RELISH debut this year. She spent nearly 20 years working with Wolfgang Puck and became known for creating the edible gold Oscar desserts served at the Academy Awards Governors Ball.
“She is coming to celebrate sweets with us, and we’re very excited,” said Gwen.
A James Beard Award winning pastry chef, Yard will also provide the sweet final course to Saturday’s Culinary Icons Dinner. She will also provide dessert at the Burgers and Bubbles brunch on Sunday.
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Kat Turner was a stand out competitor in the 22nd season of Top Chef. Turner is about to open the 5th location of Highly Likely, her all day restaurant concept. Operating as a full service restaurant for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, Highly Likely prioritizes farmers, vendors, and suppliers from Southern California.
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Cheese expert Afrim Pristine will also return for the second annual RELISH festival.
Pristine, a maître fromager and owner of Toronto’s Cheese Boutique, will lead The Art of Cheese & Wine at The Park Club on Saturday afternoon.
The class will examine how factors such as aging, milk type, production techniques and terroir affect the taste and texture of cheese. Each cheese will be paired with wine.
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Rebecca Rose Phillips is a certified master sommelier.
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Celebrity chef Katie Chin will dazzle RELISH attendees with her exquisite dumplings and more.
On Saturday, the festivities will move to nearby Costa Mesa.
“We are sharing the love between two cities this year,” said Gwen.
Saturday begins with Fashion + Food at AnQi inside Bloomingdale’s at South Coast Plaza. The event will combine a multicourse luncheon by Zakarian and Conant with a runway fashion show. Conant’s Martone Street sauces will be featured and Zakarian will create a specialty cocktail for the occasion.
That afternoon RELISH will also take over the first floor of Bloomingdale’s with an exhibition that will be entirely free to the public. For those curious about the festival but not quite ready to buy a ticket, drop in to see the best of the culinary world and explore innovative food and beverage brands.
A select few guests (limited to 25 people) will be sharp enough to nab tickets to a hands-on knife skills class. Experts from WOLFE Cutlery will teach participants about safe knife handling, sharpening, and classic cutting techniques. Also that afternoon, Pristine will present a rarified selection of cheeses to taste along with a lesson on what makes each of them unique. Pristine’s cheese course will take place at The Park Club in Costa Mesa.
Saturday evening’s Culinary Icons Dinner will also take place at The Park Club. The night begins with a Sip & Savor cocktail hour hosted by Pristine, followed by a multicourse dinner prepared by Zakarian and Conant. Yard will provide dessert. The Park Club’s culinary team will work alongside the visiting chefs to prepare the dinner.
“We will essentially be taking over the club all day Saturday and Saturday night,” said Gwen.
The club’s different rooms will be used for a variety of experiences, including whiskey and tequila tastings. Gwen said its extensive art collection and event spaces made it an ideal addition to the festival.
RELISH returns to VEA on Sunday morning for a Burgers and Bubbles brunch. Yard will offer her signature sweets, Turner will prepare dishes featuring her global flavors, and Pristine will contribute cheese selections. The weekend will conclude with RELISH in Wellness, an outdoor afternoon focused on movement, mindfulness, nutrition, beauty and self-care.
While RELISH is designed to delight its guests, the festival is not just about culinary decadence. A portion of the festival’s proceeds will benefit a charitable partner that directly benefits Orange County. The local partnership is still being finalized, but an announcement will be made closer to the event.
“We’ve always been focused on the community,” said, Gwen, “and we felt that it was important to support a local cause.”
Individual tickets and weekend packages are available online and tickets currently start at $200, before fees, for The Art of Cheese & Wine. The Opening Night Cocktail Party is $350, Sunday brunch is $250, and the Culinary Icons Dinner is $750 for one seat or $1,400 for two. A VIP package for the entire weekend is $3,000 before fees. Tickets for Fashion + Food and the Wolfe Cutlery class are expected to go on sale at a later date.
RELISH will be held Oct. 2 through 4 at VEA Newport Beach, The Park Club in Costa Mesa, and AnQi at Bloomingdale’s South Coast Plaza. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit relishfoodwine.com.