The Perfect Date for Desert Foodies

Local chef Andie Hubka is taking a break from her busy schedule as owner of the Cooking With Class school to act as emcee for the Food and Wine Festival’s “Romancing the Plate with the Perfect Date" on March 25.

The event, a cooking demonstration and luncheon, will take place at the Big White Tent as part of Fashion Week from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

For $100, attendees will be treated to a four-course gourmet meal provided by New Leaf Catering paired with premium and sparkling wines from Sonoma-Cutrer and Korbel and a gift bag of goodies.

Celebrity chefs Duff Goldman from the Food Network’s Ace of Cakes and Jimmy Schmidt from Morgans in the Desert will also be challenged to come up with creative fare incorporating dates in front of the live audience.

Hubka is this year’s Executive Chef on the California Date Administrative Committee, which means she acts as a spokesperson to bring attention to the wonderful possibilities and healthy benefits of cooking with real California Dates.

“The best thing about cooking with dates is how they add a natural sweetness to any dish without refined sugar,” Hubka said. “My favorite thing to do is to pair them with something salty for that wonderful combination of salty and sweet that everyone loves. I stay away from obvious desserts and try to incorporate dates into savory dishes.”

She also gave me this list of five fun facts about dates:

• This year dates were named an antioxidant super-food in the Wall Street Journal.
• The word date comes from the Greek word for “finger.”
• Dates are high in potassium & dietary fiber.
• Dates range in color from red to yellow to brown, and in size from 1" to 3" depending on the variety.
• There are over 100 different varieties of dates.

It will be interesting to see what the chefs come up with at this event.  I would love to see a contemporary version of our region’s star date shake.

For more tickets and information, call 1-800-775-7256.