This Dominican Republic Resort Is Handing Its Beach to Michael Mina and Eight Chefs This Fall
A 7,000-acre Dominican resort is staging its biggest culinary weekend yet, capped by a beachfront dinner under the stars.
One of the Dominican Republic's largest luxury resorts is turning its beach and marina into a two-day food event. The Casa de Campo Food & Wine Festival returns Oct. 9-10 to Casa de Campo Resort & Villas in La Romana, and the resort is calling this fourth edition its biggest — more than 3,000 attendees, eight chefs and over 30 food, wine and spirits exhibitors.
The headline addition is Michael Mina, the award-winning founder of the Mina Group and one of the most prominent American chefs of the past two decades. He joins returning names Hubert Keller and Joe Isidori, the Black Tap founder, along with Dominican chef Gabriel Tejada Nunez, who anchors the local side of the lineup. Univision's Raul de Molina returns as host.
Main programming — live demonstrations, tastings and sessions with chefs and winemakers — runs inside the Grand Tasting Pavilion at the Marina Riverside Center on both days. The weekend then closes Saturday with Dinner Under the Stars at Minitas Beach Club, an open-air, multi-course beachfront dinner led by Top Chef finalist Adam Pawlak.
Casa de Campo has increasingly built its calendar around destination events, from an inaugural fashion week in June to a cigars-and-golf festival. Its 7,000 acres give the program room to spread across the marina, the beach and the hilltop village of Altos de Chavon. The resort also recently completed a $15 million restoration of Teeth of the Dog, its signature Pete Dye course, giving golfers a reason to add a day.
A festival package starts at $650 per person, per night for stays Oct. 9-11, including accommodations, two Grand Tasting Pavilion passes for both days and two seats at Dinner Under the Stars. It's a different kind of Dominican trip from the all-inclusive scene in Punta Cana — a resort community built for a long, unhurried weekend.