COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho-- The Coeur d'Alene Resort hosted its first ever Food and Wine Festival on Saturday.
Former Top Chef contestant and Spokane resident, Chad White, demonstrated the art of ceviche as a classroom of food enthusiasts watched in awe.
The class was one of many offered as part of the resort's weekend full of events.
Justin Schorzman is the beverage manager at the resort and he is also known as the "cocktail master."
Schorzman said the festival is a way to bring together a growing culinary community for guests and foodies to enjoy.
"We really wanted to accentuate the great things we are doing here at the Court d'Alene Resort and the Pacific Northwest, not just us here at the resort, (but) a lot of the great bars that we have, a lot of the great wineries that are adjacent to us, (and) a lot of great chefs," he said.
Many who collaborate with the resort said it is at the center of trends and business in Coeur d'Alene.
"The resort is a trendsetter," said Greg Lipsker, owner and winemaker at Barrister Winery.
"We are passionate about what we do, we don't just lay idle with what worked, we are always looking forward to seeing what we can do better and so we have a great team here that is investigating what is trending in other areas, other metropolitan areas, what are guest wants? Guest feedback is a huge insight for us," said Schorzman.
The resort is working on a long list of new events.
"We are looking for more concerts, we are trying to do more entertainment when it comes to music to the area," said Schorzman.
A beer festival at the resort is also in the works.
"We have the ability to take those guest suggestions, we have the ability to those reviews or a good writer or a chef that's doing some amazing stuff and collaborate with those people and say we would like to implement that into our program here at the resort and we are able to put it in front of the guests to enjoy," stated Schorzman.