Deliciousness comes to Seattle on July 13th in the form of the Seattle Luxury Chocolate Salon. The show takes place at the Bell Harbor International Conference Center, 2211 Alaskan Way, Pier 66 from 11:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. The show will include a variety of chocolatiers and confectioners include Amano Artisan Chocolate, Kekau Chocolatier, Cocoa Chai Chocolates, Petit Noirs, Guittard Chocolate, Theo Chocolate,Alma Chocolate, Lula's Chocolates, Dilettante Chocolates, Posh Chocolat and more. The event will also include chocolate demos by local talent. The salon will also hold the Luxury Chocolate Salon Awards and members of the tasting panel include Seattle food and city journalists Molly Wizenberg (Orangette, Bon Appetit), Eric Scigliano (Seattle Metropolitan Magazine), Viv (Seattle Bon Vivant), Ritzy Ryciak (Conscious Choice Magazine) and Dana Cree (TastingMenu.com, Pastry Chef - Veil Restaurant). Tickets are $20 for adults at the door or $17.50 in advance.

Spring in London just got a little sweeter. The Wine & Food Academy, a school which offers wine education, tours and courses in "cooking and quaffing" is now offering Champagne In The City, a series of Champagne tastings upstairs at Jamies Bar. The tastings feature samples from the major Champagne houses hosted by Chris Hambleton the Wine & Food Academy's expert on Champagne. The first event is on May 3 and the tasting costs £69 and includes supper.

Food and wine festivals are always happily decadent events but when an event is hosted by the Jumeirah hotel group, luxury takes on a whole new level. Th  first annual Jumeirah Festival of Taste takes place May 21-26, 2006 in Dubai and features perhaps the most over-the-top dining event I have ever heard of. It is called the Ultimate Dinner Party and will take four people on an unparalleled dining experience. It starts with a cocktail reception at the Jumeirah Emirates Towers where they can mingle with the celebrity chefs participating in A Festival of Taste, then they are taken by helicopter to the  Burj Al Arab for a first and second course. A luxury car then takes them to the Villa Beach Restaurant at Jumeirah Beach Hotel for a hot entrée. Then a limo takes them to the Pisces in Souk Madinat Jumeirah for the main course, followed by a short walk to Napa for dessert, coffee, cigars and digestifs. The evening ends with an overnight stay in a suite at Burj Al Arab and a morning breakfast as well as a receive a gift from Jumeirah to commemorate the night. The party costs AED 100,000 for four (around $27,230). Other more traditional events that are part of the festival include cooking demonstrations, wine tastings and book signings.  The festival kicks off with the ‘1001 Nights Meet the Stars Opening Event’ which includes a champagne reception,wine tasting, live cooking stations featuring renowned chefs and live entertainment.

Another excuse to jet to a warm locale and sample wine and food, the Scottsdale Culinary Festival is a six-day event held from April 18-23. There are a wide variety of events held during the week including the James Beard dinner, the Culinary Hall of Fame Awards Dinner and "Le Tour Culinaire"  where guests are chauffeured to three different restaurants to sample cuisine paired with prominent wines. Over 250 wineries will be on hand to offer tastings during the week.  Admission ranges from $5 for the Great Arizona Picnic to $200 for the James Beard Dinner. Proceeds benefits arts and arts education in the Scottsdale area.

Being a celebrity chef is not a bad life indeed. While many chefs will be golfing and soaking up the sun in South Beach later this month, others are at Beaver Creek in Colorado this week. The Beaver Creek Culinary Classic runs from February 1-5, 2006 and features Eric Ripert, Ming Tsai, Laurent Tourondel and many others. Special events include the Celebrity Chef Ski Race on February 3, pastry competitions including the Cake Relay and the Sugar Showdown which will be filmed by the Food Network, a 'Master Chef Challenge' and the Grand Tasting at the Park Hyatt Resort and Spa on Saturday February 4. Tickets to the Grand Tasting cost $95.

What could be better than food, wine and fun in South Beach? The South Beach Wine & Food Festival is a three-day celebration of food and wine indulgence February 24 – Sunday, February 26. Events include the Moët & Chandon BubbleQ with grillmaster Bobby Flay & friends, wine tasting seminars and luncheons and a special dinner to honor the grand master of quirky cuisine, Ferran Adrià that will be attended by top chefs like Emeril Lagasse, Thomas Keller and Nobu Matsuhisa and hosted by Anthony Bourdain. The dinner is followed by a dessert party and the next day dessert chef Maida Heatter receives a lifetime achievement award at a special tribute brunch. Many of the most noted food and wine personalities are attending the event and there are even cooking demonstrations for kids that will include Emeril Lagasse, Alton Brown and Rachael Ray. Weekend passes are already sold out but many of the ala carte ticket options are still available including the Celebrity Chefs Golf Invitational which costs $500 per person. The picture shown here is of Todd English at last year's festival. English will also be participating this year in the Sunday tribute brunch and Wine Spectator's Best of the Best event on Friday night.