Taverna Opa Orlando, the award-winning Greek restaurant known for its authentic cuisine and live entertainment, will celebrate the end of summer with the final installment of its annual wine dinner series themed Air, Land & Sea, on August 27. The August dinner features a five-course tasting and wine pairing menu, available for $45, inspired by Sea, highlighting imported fish as the main dish of the evening.

On August 27, the restaurant’s host, Katerina Coumbaros and wine partners, Trinchero Family Estates, will create an interactive dining experience for guests, including a unique menu and carefully-selected wine selections. The evening will commence with an introduction to Taverna Opa Orlando’s traditional Greek cuisine followed by a dinner at6:45 p.m. The Taverna Opa Orlando team will interact with guests, walking them through each course and wine pairing.

WHERE: Taverna Opa Orlando at Pointe Orlando

WHEN: Thursday, August 27 from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.

COST: $45 per person

Last week we grazed at Orlando’s Taste of the Nation, if you’ve never been to this event you MUST go next year! As food lovers, there’s nothing better than walking into a massive room filled with culinary delights to sample at your leisure.

Over forty leading chefs and restaurants served up fabulous plates during last week’s event. Even better, all proceeds combat efforts to end childhood hunger. Just $50 provides a week of nutritious meals to 34 homeless children, so each ticket purchased made a significant impact to fight hunger! Local beneficiaries included Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida and Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida.

After hours of sampling dishes from the area’s finest chefs, we rolled ourselves out of the Marriott. Here’s a few of our favorite dishes from the night, can’t wait to visit these chefs in-restaurant!

Capa at Four Seasons: Blistered peppers and chared chorizo with smoked sea salt and preserved lemon. Not a visually stunning presentation, but the plate was unique and flavor-packed. Bonus points to the Four Seasons for serving an exceptional rosemary sangria alongside the meat and peppers.

The Capital Grille: Porcini Crusted Filet Mignon with Sam’s Mashed Potatoes. Our favorite dish of the evening and the superior beef dish among all the restaurants. Capital Grille, you can do no wrong, thanks for serving up perfection.

4Rivers Smokehouse & The Coop: Of course John Rivers brought an entire pig, we wouldn’t expect anything less. This whole smoked pig was served with their signature BBQ sauce and cilantro mango chutney.

American Q: Hickory Smoked Brisket Slider with red onion marmalade and fried quail egg wedged between a potato roll. Anyone that brings quail to a tasting event is a winner in my book. Plus, their swine candy is to-die-for. Thanks Chef Leo for bringing your best to Taste of the Nation.

Tito’s: Homemade vodka paired with San Pellegrino, a nice change from wine, and the vodka paired well with the sparkling flavored water. I’m totally making this concoction at home next time we want cocktails.

Yak & Yeti at Disney’s Animal Kingdom: Pork cheeks slow-smoked over cherry and applewood. Served with spicy thai peanut sauce and thai vegetable slaw. I’ve walked by this restaurant countless times in the park, but after tasting this dish, I’m so looking forward to visiting in-person!

Universal Orlando: Pork Belly Slider with a myriad of toppings, but most impressive, the chocolate dipped applewood smoked bacon. Bacon on top of bacon dipped in chocolate….what more could you want a mini-sandwich?

Three 20H Ice Cream: Truly made right before your eyes, their strawberry ice cream was fresh and a delightful sweet treat in the middle of so many savory dishes.

SeaWorld: Waffle cone filled with smoked brisket, jalapeño mash and sweet BBQ sauce. I’m so glad SeaWorld served meat instead of ceviche, last year’s irony was too funny. Their presentation is always notable and their waffle cone, delightful.

Soco Thornton Park: Pickled Florida Rock Shrimp Taco with salsa, refried black eyed peas and sour cream. PS: have you seen our review of their South Meets South dinner?

Dragonfly Sushi: Sporting a similar ramen dish that we tasted last month, we always enjoy the friendliness and flavor of Dr. Phillip’s Dragonfly.

Emeril’s Tchoup Chop: Possibly the oddest, yet tastiest combination of ingredients, this cotton candy hurricane with truffle popcorn sushi was full of delight and surprise. And yes, that’s real cotton candy garnishing the plate.

Fulton’s Crab House: Crab Ceviche with jumbo lump blue crab tossed with avocado, bell peppers and a variety of other fresh ingredients. A clean, non-fishy dish and something I’d venture over to Fulton’s to taste!

Thanks for all the yummy bites and sips Taste of the Nation, we’re already looking forward to next year’s event.

World Food Championships and Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida linked aprons today in an innovative partnership to bring together culinary food athletes and an organization that supports people living without food security.

“One in six people in America will struggle with hunger at some point during the year,” said Dave Krepcho, president and CEO of Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida. “The success of our mission depends entirely on partners like the World Food Championships that help us to close the hunger gap in Central Florida.”

Statistics on hunger in the Central Florida area mirror the national ones with residents turning to charitable feeding programs for help with food 3,731,700 times last year, averaging 71,600 times in a typical week.

Mike McCloud, CEO of World Food Championships, said that food athletes have always understood hunger. That’s why World Food Championships have chosen to donate all leftover pantry food products from each day of the Nov. 3-10 World Food Championships competitions to Second Harvest.

“Our partnership with Second Harvest is in our DNA,” he said. “From day one of WFC, we have always worked with local food banks and charities, so this relationship is important to us as a culinary event. More importantly, it is a relationship that the competitors, judges and spectators feel very strongly about.”

The partnership between Second Harvest and WFC goes beyond food donations. It includes a Kick-Off Dinner hosted by Second Harvest’s award winning Chef, Israel Santiago, who, along with graduates of his culinary school, will host The Second Chance Dinner to further benefit Second Harvest on Nov 2.

Chef Santiago will also provide demonstrations at the Sizzle Spot during the competition dates of the WFC. He’ll show how to create innovative and amazing recipes with items often available through a food bank.

Krepcho explained that Second Harvest operates a culinary training program that offers people the opportunity for job security in the culinary industry.

“Chef Santiago is an amazingly creative instructor and has led many students into a new career,” Krepcho said.

The Grand Champion of the World Food Championships competition will be crowned on Tuesday, Nov 10, after which WFC and Second Harvest will host a Grand Tasting Awards dinner. During that dinner, Second Harvest will offer a silent auction. The proceeds of that auction will benefit the scholarship program at the Second Harvest Culinary School.

Photo Credits: WFC

We’re always looking for the new and hidden culinary gems in Orlando, so when my husband started talking about “eating the spoon,” I had to find out about the craze for myself. Jessica Lopez, founder of Eat the Spoon, is a hidden baking master on the brink of discovery. She recently treated us to an overflowing basket of sweets ranging from chocolate cake to chocolate spoons.

At first bite we were in love! The “Death by Chocolate” cake was unreal, rich, creamy and way better than anything boxed. Moist, but not overly rich, these elegant layers of chocolate were exceptional and a joy to taste. From chocolate cake we moved to chocolate spoons, s’more, piña colada and red velvet flavored, these treats are designed for you to enjoy the entire spoon. A unique concept with endless possibilities, these chocolate spoons are both innovate and a tasty chocolatey delight.

We recently spoke with Jessica about her growing business and exceptional gift for baking.