Tom Colicchio

After announcing the dates, July 26-29, Caesars Entertainment Atlantic City has announced a few of the celebrity chef participants for the Atlantic City Food and Wine Festival, namely Anne Burrell, Tom Colicchio, Robert Irvine, Aaron Sanchez, Buddy Valastro and Andrew Zimmern, with further announcements to come.

The event, which sells-out annually and is the largest food and wine festival in the market, takes place across all four Caesars Entertainment Atlantic City casinos and resorts – Caesars, Harrah’s Resort, Showboat & Bally’s. The past three Atlantic City Food and Wine Festival’s have been a major success in the market. Here is the Web site.

This year Caesars Entertainment has partnered with local charity, The Community Food Bank of New Jersey, to be the official charity sponsor of The Atlantic City Food and Wine Festival.  The community Food Bank of New Jersey fights hunger and poverty by distributing food and groceries, providing education and training and developing new programs to help low income individuals meet their basic needs.

ATLANTIC CITY — Join an array of celebrity chefs from 5-9pm Thursday, July 28, at The Chelsea hotel for the official Atlantic City Food and Wine Festival pre-party. Kick off the festival in chic summer style at the Chelsea’s Cabana Club, the only open air nightlife experience in Atlantic City, located on the fifth floor.

For just $55, guests will savor tasty treats from “Iron Chef” Jose Garces, while mixing and mingling with other Food Network Stars including Ron Duprat (pictured left), Darryl Harmon and J. Geoffrey Johnson.  The Chelsea will offer complimentary cocktails, including the “Montini,” a signature beer martini hand crafted by award-winning writer and brew master Gary Monterosso (right).  

Guests can also catch a glimpse of this year’s hottest swimwear, as models don designs from Nicole Miller’s summer 2011 collection. DJ Chef “The Chef that Rocks” Marc Weiss will provide the soundtrack for the evening. The first 100 guests to attend the party will receive an exclusive Chelsea hotel swag-bag full of treats.

For those looking to make a night of it, guests can book the Chelsea’s “Bikinis and Martinis” package, which will include an overnight stay with beautiful accommodations, a ticket to the Bikinis and Martinis event (one ticket per person per room), and a swag bag. For more information, go here or call 1-800-548-3030.

Paula Deen’s big event at the Atlantic City Food and Wine Festival, a party under a tent outdoors at Bally’s Dennis Courtyard, delivered a great combination of terrific food and delightful stories from the “Queen of Southern Cuisine.” Go here for the story.

Go here for video of Pat & Gina Neely and their “Play With Your Food” Event.