Wine & Food Week will welcome back 20th anniversary special guests this year

THE WOODLANDS, TX – The 20th annual Wine & Food Week is returning to The Woodlands June 3 - 9. This eagerly anticipated Township-wide week is of the nation’s top culinary and wine events spanning a full week of offerings. 500 wines, 60+ chefs from across the globe. This year is presented by H-E-B and features the Chef of Chefs competition presented by Goya Foods.

Event organizers have announced that, in honor of the 20th anniversary, they will be bringing some special guests. Winner of the Chef of Chefs Award in 2016 for a Yellowfin Ahi Tuna Tiradito in a Passion Fruit Leche de Tigre with quinoa and purple potato chips, Chef Carlos Ramos returns in 2024 as a Culinary Judge.

Ramos was born and raised in Peru and has worked in restaurants since he was 15 years old.That passion and love of food led him to opening Latin Bites and Latin Bites Catering in 2010. With a Master of Arts in Teaching, Ramos also shares his passion with others as a Culinary Educator.

Ramos’ natural fusion of flavors has landed Latin Bites in Top 100 restaurant list by the Houston Chronicle for eight years, as the 2016 Chef of Chefs Award Winner at Wine & Food Week, and as a Top 10 Finalist twice in the NASA Culinary Competition on behalf of his culinary class.

Additionally, Chef Michael Cordua and his son David will take part in the Wine Rendezvous Grand Tasting & Chef Showcase on June 8. In 2013, the Chef of Chefs Hall of Fame was created at Wine & Food Week to honor individuals with a lifetime of culinary achievements. Michael Cordua was the first recipient of that award, having just been recognized as Food & Wine Magazine’s Top 10 Chefs of America, and for his innovative restaurants, years of charitable work and for making a huge mark on the Houston restaurant scene. Event organizers are pleased to welcome Michael Cordua back as one of our culinary gems and a 20th Anniversary Special Guest.

Michael is a pioneer of the Latin-American culinary movement in the United States and created award-winning Houston-area restaurants including Américas in River Oaks and The Woodlands; Churrascos in River Oaks, Westchase, Sugar Land, Memorial City and Champions; Amazón Grill; and Artista.

Born in Managua, Nicaragua, Cordua moved to the United States in 1976 to study at Texas A&M University, graduating in 1980 with a Bachelor of Science in Economics and a minor in Finance. Here he began to hone his cooking skills by preparing meals for his friends that reminded him of food from home. He also worked in the Sbisa Dining Hall at Texas A&M and got his first restaurant experience as a pot washer at Pepe Taco, a fast-food establishment.

Cordua was the only Texas chef to be included in the prestigious Food & Wine magazine “Best New Chefs” Hall of Fame in 2008. He was named one of America’s “Top Ten Chefs” by Food & Wine Magazine and received the Robert Mondavi Award for Culinary Excellence in 1994. He has been a James Beard Award semifinalist three times. In 2013, he was one of 25 chefs selected for the Food & Wine: Best New Chefs All-Star Cookbook, in which Food & Wine selected one chef per year from its annual crop of 10 “Best New Chefs.” The only Texas chef in the book, Cordua is featured alongside American culinary royalty such as Thomas Keller, Nobu Matsuhisa, Tom Colicchio, John Besh, and David Chang.

To learn more about Wine & Food Week and to secure tickets, visit https://www.woodlandsonline.com/evps/evitem.cfm?evid=175642.

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