Third Annual Fork and Cork to be held

The third annual igourmet.com Fork & the Cork in support of the MU Women with Children Program offers two opportunities for food, wine and cheese connoisseurs to enjoy the delightful pairings of their favorite gourmet dishes and wines at the Wine Maker’s Dinner and Grand Tasting event on Oct. 10 and 11.

America’s premier food and wine tasting festival benefits the Women with Children program, which was established in 2000 to provide support for single mothers and their children by helping them realize their full potential through higher education. The eight-year-old program offers single mothers the opportunity to earn their bachelor’s or master’s degrees while providing free housing for their children.

The program also offers significant financial aid, subsidized childcare and a built-in support system that prepares WWC’s students for life after graduation. The program’s goal is to break the cycle of poverty that sometime ensues when single women raise their children without the benefit of a college education.

“All of us involved in the Women with Children program endowment campaign are very excited about the third annual event, which has expanded offerings due to the popularity of the festival and the program it supports’’ said Vicki Austin, director of Women with Children Program. “Fork & the Cork is one of the chief fundraisers for this much-needed program. The repeated success of Fork & the Cork will help us to endow and expand Women with Children as quickly as possible.’’

The first two igourmet.com Fork & the Cork events attracted more than 2,000 people to the Back Mountain campus and raised more than $35,000 for the program’s endowment. Proceeds from this year’s two-day igourmet.com Fork & the Cork event will also benefit WWC, which has grown steadily from a pilot project to a successful educational model. Due to limited facilities and funding, enrollment is capped at six students and up to 12 children, falling well short of the demand.

“igourmet.com proudly supports the Women with Children Program at Misericordia University,’’ said Spencer Chesman, founder and CEO of igourmet.com. “Proceeds from our annual Fork & the Cork event, which is rapidly becoming America’s premier food and wine tasting, help fund and sustain this valuable and benevolent organization.’’

The Grand Tasting event on Oct. 11 from 1-5 p.m. at Misericordia University features international gourmet foods paired with distinctive wines at more than 50 tables organized by country, including Italy, France, Spain, South America, Australia and Germany, and the live cooking demonstration from a master chef and culinary educator Trish Sebben-Krupka from Viking. igourmet.com Fork & the Cork is the only culinary event in the county where the audience experiences a planned pairing by industry experts of wines with award-winning cheeses and fine international foods.

In addition to the unparalleled selection of fine wines and beers from Kobrand Wine & Spirits, Robert Hall Winery, Bertolai Winery, BreweryBedford International, Chimay, Pilsner Urquell, and Dogfish Head Brewery, the event will feature the fare of local gourmet restaurants, including Café Olivia, Cuvenee, Harry and Billy’s, River Street Ale House, 31 Lake Street, Bakehouse and Wolfgang Puck Express. Exhibitors include Viking, Ah! Some Chocolates, Caffee Vergnano, Electric City Roasting Company, Hillside Farms, The Cheese Works, Atalanta Corporation, Truly Scrumptious Cakes, Beemster US, Acetum, and Kerrygold.

A VIP Grand Cru Tasting is also available to festival participants for $135 from 1-5 p.m. VIP tickets grant full access to the VIP lounge, where ticket holders can enjoy the live contemporary sounds of Jimmy Mancuse while also sampling Grand Cru wines, caviar, champagne and a host of delectable goodies in a private VIP area. Grand Tasting event tickets are $85.

igourmet.com Fork & the Cork kicks off with a Wine Maker’s Dinner on Friday, Oct. 10 from 6-9 p.m. at the Westmoreland Club in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. The Westmoreland Club’s culinary team, under the direction of Executive Chef Frank Priore, will prepare a five-course menu featuring the finest gourmet dishes from igourmet.com. Each course will be expertly paired with premium wines. Tickets for the Wine Maker’s Dinner are $150 each.

The annual event also has the added attraction of four wine seminars this year.

In the seminar, “The Language of Wine,’’ participants will learn what wine-industry words like tannic, flinty or petrol mean from renowned certified wine educator Michael Schaefer and wine writer David Falchek of Times-Shamrock Newspapers on Oct. 11 at 11 a.m.

In “The Perfect Cup’’ seminar by Stefano Morandi of Caffe Vergnano at 11 a.m., the secrets to the ultimate cup of espresso are revealed. Caffee Vergnano has been brewing espresso in Italy since 1882. Morandi and Mary Hepner of Ah! Some Chocolates will pair a steaming shot of espresso with handmade rich, silky chocolate truffles. Participants will learn about the finer points of appreciating fine chocolates and the perfect cup of espresso.

“The Love Affair with Triple Crème’’ seminar at noon on Oct. 11 incorporates the infamous French triple crème cheeses that are known to be one of the world’s most addictive and delectable indulgences. Sample some of the finest cheeses France has to offer through a journey with Felix Forte, a world renowned exporter of French cheeses. Seminar participants will sample these unique French treasures with full bodied, big, bold red wines.

Lou DiPalo, also known as the mayor of Little Italy, leads the seminar, “Amore — An Adventure in Italian Food & Wine.’’ DiPalo, the owner of DiPalo Fine Foods in New York, pairs great Italian cheeses with luscious Italian wine.

The seminars will be held in the third floor Catherine Evans McGowan Room of the Mary Kintz Bevevino Library and in Mercy Hall, rooms 200, 230 and 232.

igourmet.com is America’s leading online gourmet food and gift retailer, voted number one by Consumer  Reports in 2006 and 2007, and by Forbes Magazine for the past five years.