Bay Area Chefs Play to Sold-Out Crowd At North Lake Tahoe's Autumn Food & Wine Festival; Celebrity Chefs Jerry Anne DiVecchio and Sharon Tyler-Herbst Share Culinary Secrets.

TAHOE CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 8, 199--

Celebrity chefs Jerry Anne DiVecchio and Sharon Tyler-Herbst played to a sold-out crowd at North Lake Tahoe's 14th Annual Autumn Food & Wine Festival (Oct. 22-24).

Held at the luxurious Resort at Squaw Creek in Squaw Valley, the Festival attracted over 1,200 attendees from Northern California.

An accomplished chef and food and entertainment editor of Sunset Magazine, DiVecchio wooed Festival attendees with her Pacific Rim cooking seminar, preparing succulent dishes like Homestyle Chicken Curry, Thai Salad and Hasty Habanero Jelly. Sunset Magazine, headquartered in Menlo Park, Calif., was the title sponsor of the 1999 event.

Like DiVecchio, Sharon Tyler-Herbst is no stranger to the cooking industry. A resident of Greenbrae, Calif., Tyler-Herbst is the award-winning author of 13 best-selling books on food and drink, including The Food Lover's Companion.

A popular cooking instructor, Tyler-Herbst thrilled attendees with her Secrets & Shortcuts: What Cookbooks Never Tell You seminar. Festival attendees got a first-hand look at preparing creme fraiche on a budget and what to do when you can't get the champagne cork out.

Along with other prestigious industry chefs, DiVecchio and Tyler-Herbst served as judges for the Autumn Food & Wine Festival's Grand Tasting & Culinary Competition. A favorite with attendees, the Grand Tasting & Culinary Competition pairs over 35 of North Lake Tahoe and Truckee's finest restaurants and caterers with world-class wineries.

Judges cast their ballot for the best marriage of food and wine, red wine, white wine, food and dessert.

The Autumn Food & Wine Festival is a fund-raiser for the North Lake Tahoe Resort Association. Event sponsors included Sunset Magazine, Weber Grills, Beringer Wine Estates, KitchenAid Appliances & Cookware, Lincoln Vehicles, Calio Groves Olive Oil, KOLO TV-8 Reno, Duckhorn, Joseph Phelps, Rosemount Estates Wineries and Ambrosia.