PBS celebrity chefs and Pensacola's rising stars join forces for 'legendary' event

Deceitfully complicated French recipes, a high-pitched, proper accent and a deep infatuation with butter were all characteristics that helped to seal Julia Child’s place in history as a culinary “legend.”

Now, educational broadcast network WSRE-TV, the Pensacola area's PBS affiliate, is calling on Pensacola’s very own culinary legends to pay tribute to the greats who appeared on PBS cooking shows, like Child, by putting a creative twist on their most iconic recipes.

This October, the 33rd WSRE PBS Wine and Food Classic will unite PBS cooking TV stars alongside Pensacola rising chefs and Pensacola State College culinary students under one kitchen for “A Legendary Dinner” from 6 to 10 p.m. on Oct.14 at the WSRE Jean & Paul Amos Performance Studio located at 1000 College Boulevard.

The final three contestants from season two of televised cooking series “The Great American Recipe” will be working together with some of Pensacola’s top chefs, including Darian Hernandez, executive chef for Brother Fox, Ed Lordman, founder of Southern GRIT Culinary, Rusty Strain, founder of A Rustyc Spoon, Laura Bernardi Piovesana of The Italian Wooden Spoon and Jordan Hewes of Craft Gourmet Bakery.

The Pensacola chefs will be tasked to take a deep dive into the cookbooks of some of PBS’ past culinary legends, choose a recipe that inspires them, make the recipe their own, then work alongside a current PBS chef to execute it.

The Legendary Dinner will consist of a champagne reception, five-course meal with free-flowing wine service, live music and live auction bidding at $150 per ticket. For those looking for just a taste of what the local chefs are up to and not the PBS stars, a Walkabout Tasting event from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Oct. 21 at Pensacola’s downtown SCI building, 220 W. Garden St., will be available for $65 a ticket.

"Each glass of wine tells a story, and I'm thrilled to share the epic tales of flavor, culture and craftsmanship of Pensacola with the world through this PBS wine dinner," Lordman said.

Not only will the event offer a smorgasbord of culinary delight for Pensacola's foodies but provide hands-on experience for Pensacola’s “future legends” currently involved in Pensacola State College’s culinary program.

WSRE General Manager Jill Hubbs, who has been part of the Wine and Food Classic for decades, said the event is special in the way it bring so many different chefs of varying backgrounds together.

“She (WSRE PBS Development and Community Engagement Director Jennifer Knisbell) tried to find people who were making their own mark in the local culinary scene,” Hubbs told the News Journal. “It reflects the exciting things that are happening at PBS that we also tie in with our local chefs, restaurants and foodies … I love the way students are going to be part of this.”

The Wine and Food Classic is the network’s largest fundraiser of the year and helps support their mission of providing educational and cultural experiences to half million people watching at home, including Escambia and Santa Rosa counties. The proceeds from the event go toward educational outreach event and programming for PBS shows such "The Great American Recipe" that the winning chefs will be visiting from.

They also will be showcasing Pensacola State College’s state-of-the-art culinary facilities, where the chefs will spend the entirety of the day together in preparation for the dinner.

Find more ticket and event information on the WSRE PBS website here.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pensacola, PBS chefs join WSRE Wine and Food Classic at PSC