Top foodies from around the globe are getting their epicurean groove on in Jamaica

Foodies and wine lover fans alike are in for a delicious treat this June at Grand Lido Negril Resort & Spa’s 10th annual Epicurean Escape.  Guests of the five-day event will get up close and personal with some of today’s most renowned chefs and sommeliers, including England’s Royal Chef Darren McGrady.  Organized with Food & Wine magazine, the June 24 – 28 festival will feature cooking demonstrations, pastry classes, and tasting seminars devoted to champagne, wine, rum and martinis.  The week culminates with an eight-course grand gala dinner, with signature dishes from guest chefs, paired with wines selected by master sommeliers.

The all-suite AAA Four Diamond resort’s chef Gary Robertson will be welcoming a host of celebrated culinarians including:

Darren McGrady, “The Royal Chef,” spent 11 years cooking for the Queen of England and the Duke of Edinburgh at Buckingham Palace, and four years as private chef to Princess Diana and her family at Kensington Palace.  After his royal service, McGrady published his first cookbook, “Eating Royally,” and is currently a private chef in Dallas where he also teaches cooking classes.

Kerry Simon, a victorious contender on the Food Network’s “Iron Chef America,” is known as the “Rock and Roll Chef” for his legendary flavor combinations.  Simon’s various eponymous restaurants in Las Vegas, Los Angeles and San Francisco attract celebrities, musicians and foodies alike.

Perhaps best known for her “Quick Fire” culinary skills as seen on Bravo TV’s “Top Chef Season 4,” Nikki Cascone is the chef and co-owner of 24 Prince in New York.  Influenced by her Italian background but not restricted to any one particular cuisine, Cascone has a penchant to experiment with flavors and ingredients from all over the world.

Marie-Chantal Lepage of Quebec’s Le Château Bonne Entente is not only an esteemed chef, but also an inspiration for budding at-home gourmets.  Active in haute cuisine since she was 16 years old, the self-taught cook has received various accolades, including being named the first woman "Québec Chef of the Year" by Société des Chefs, Cuisiniers et Pâtissiers du Québec.

Rounding out the carte du jour are Wendy Jordan and Mary Clarke, chef instructors at Le Cordon Bleu Las Vegas; Jean-Francois Bonnet, executive pastry chef at Tumbador Chocolate, New York (formerly of renowned NYC restaurant Daniel); Bertrand Chemel, executive chef at 2941 of Falls Church, Virginia (formerly of Café Boulud in New York); Michael Jordan, co-owner and chef of Rosemary’s Las Vegas; and Mario Machado of Mac’s Chop House in Kingston, Jamaica.

The bibulous set won’t be disappointed as sommeliers at this year’s event include returning wine experts Jason Quinn, head sommelier at PRIME Las Vegas, and Anthony Giglio, a wine educator who has penned a number of wine guides and articles for Food & Wine, Travel + Leisure and Esquire.  Also on tap are Robert Bigelow, master sommelier of DeLuca Liquor & Wine in Las Vegas, Michael A. Jordan, general manager and master sommelier of Napa Rose located at Disneyland®’s Grand Californian Hotel®, and Jamaica’s local wine-wonder, Christopher Reckford. 

Named one of Travel + Leisure’s 2008 “Top 25 Hotels in the Caribbean, Bermuda and The Bahamas,” the Super-Inclusive Grand Lido Negril Resort & Spa features seaside accommodations and topnotch service. 

The resort’s 22 acres of elegantly manicured grounds and private two-mile stretch of white sand beach offer the ideal Caribbean respite with its five restaurants, two swimming pools, an array of complimentary land and water sports including scuba diving, snorkeling, and tennis, complimentary manicures and pedicures, plus complimentary 24-hour room service and dry cleaning.  Guests can also unwind and rejuvenate at the resort’s signature Blue Mahoe Spa, with purifying treatments, holistic therapies and body scrubs.  And, as always with SuperClubs, no tipping is allowed. 

Four-night/five day Epicurean Escape packages start at $1,992 per couple, and include all event activities, except the eight-course grand gala dinner, which is an additional charge.  For more information or to make a reservation, visit http://www.grandlidonegril.com/ or call 1-800-GO-SUPER (467-8737).