Go Back To School! Caesar's Palace Food University Coming Up!

Limited space is available for Las Vegas’ first Food University taking place at Caesars Palace on March 27 through 29. The culinary event is designed to transform fun-loving foodies from average cooks into exceptional home chefs in just 72 hours with a dynamic schedule of classes.

Food University is the collaboration among Caesars Palace, philanthropist and hospitality industry leader Larry Ruvo, Food Network co-founder Robin Leach and veteran culinary entertainment producer Richard Gore. Participating personalities and chefs include (in alphabetical order):

Colman Andrews, editorial director, The Daily Meal: The Daily Meal delivers a fresh take on dining news and trends, helping readers succeed in the kitchen while highlighting the unifying aspects of food and drink and celebrating the people who create them. In addition to hosting Food University, Andrews will be discussing the latest food trends with students.

Jeffrey Elliott, author of “The Zwilling J.A. Henckels Complete Book of Knife Skills”: Jeffrey will be kicking off the program with a one hour knife skills program which will provide inside tips used by top chefs while also keeping usage safety top of mind.

Chef Patrick “Paddy” Glennon, Santa Monica Seafood: Glennon, vice president of sales for the West Coast’s premier purveyor of seafood, is an acclaimed chef, restaurateur and businessman whose career has found him cooking in kitchens around the world, as well as everyone from celebrities to U.S. Presidents. At Food University, he will be teaching Seafood 101.

Duff Goldman, star of Food Network’s “Ace of Cakes”: Goldman, owner of Charm City Cakes bakeries in Baltimore and Los Angeles, as well as the do-it-yourself cake bakery Cakemix in West Hollywood, will present a hands-on cake-decorating seminar during Food University’s three-day curriculum.

Robin Leach: World-renowned television personality best known for hosting “Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous” throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s, Leach serve as Food University’s master of ceremonies.

Chef Steve Martorano: South Philadelphia native, Chef Martorano is an unconventional cook and author known as the “Godfather of Italian-American cooking.” He currently owns restaurants in Ft. Lauderdale and Hollywood, Fla. and Las Vegas. He will be teaching the “Mostly Meatballs” seminar at Food University.

Chef François Payard: Legendary pastry chef and owner of more than a dozen popular pâtisseries and bakeries worldwide, including Payard Pâtisserie & Bistro at Caesars Palace, Payard will teach a class called “Chocolate Epiphany.”

Claudine Pépin, culinary TV personality: Pépin, who will serve as co-host for Food University at Caesars Palace Las Vegas, is familiar to many for appearing alongside her father, world-renowned chef Jacques Pépin, preparing delicious meals and sharing cooking techniques on  “Jacques Pépin’s Kitchen: Cooking With Claudine” and “Jacques Pépin’s Kitchen: Encore With Claudine.” All three of their public television shows have received the notable James Beard Award.

Frank Pellegrino, Jr., Owner, Rao’s: Proprietor of the storied Rao’s restaurants in New York and Las Vegas inside Caesars Palace, will lead a class focused on “Classic Italian.”

Chef Alex Stratta: He is James Beard award-winning chef now serving as executive chef at Scarpatta in Beverly Hills, Calif. He will be teaching a seminar on “Secret Sauces.”

Laura Werlin, acclaimed cheese expert, author of the James Beard Award-winning “All-American Cheese and Wine Book”: Werlin is known for her expertise in the fields of all things cheese—especially American artisan cheeses. She is the author of six books, including the “All-American Cheese and Wine Book,” which won a James Beard Award and is the first book to focus exclusively on wine and American cheese pairing. At Food University Caesars Palace, Werlin will be conducting a seminar called “An Intro to Cheese.”

Christina Wilson, winner of season 10 of “Hell’s Kitchen,” Head chef at Gordon Ramsay Steak: After a successful early career acclaimed Philadelphia restaurants, Wilson experienced the opportunity of a lifetime with the debut of “Hell’s Kitchen” grand prize: a head chef position working under Executive Chef Kevin Hee at Gordon Ramsay Steak at Paris Las Vegas. She will teach “Finding Flavor” at Food University.

Food University’s schedule will comprise three days packed with classes and epicurean experiences. Unlike any other food festival or culinary event, Food University offers food lovers a chance to rub elbows with top chefs, sommeliers, mixologists, cheese experts, fine food purveyors and even farmers—all of whom will serve as Food U faculty. Food U “scholars” will not merely eat, drink and learn in the presence of lauded chefs; indeed, they will enthusiastically don their own chef whites and hone their cooking skills alongside celebrity chef “professors.”

“Tuition” of $1,995 per person includes:

Nine distinctive, hands-on cooking classes taught by some of the most accomplished and recognized chefs of our time

Three in-depth seminars covering topics such as wine, eating healthy and food trends

Two “field trips” offering an “insiders’” look at what it’s like behind the scenes at some of the Las Vegas’ most exciting restaurants

An exclusive and highly entertaining seminar featuring Francesco LaFranconi of the Southern Wine and Spirits Hospitality Mixology Program, normally available only to hotel and restaurant executives

Three breakfasts and three lunches

An interactive celebrity chef competition presentation

A celebratory graduation ceremony where guests receive their “Enlightened Palate” degree

Special rates on Caesars Palace accommodations

All utencils, tools cookware and ingredients

The inaugural event will culminate in a festive—and well-deserved—ceremony for Food U’s first graduating class. They will receive the coveted Food University “Enlightened Palate” diploma. In addition, each student enrolled for the first classes will receive a private VIP invitation for a never-before-seen prestigious wineries tour in Napa Valley previously off-limits to the public.

Sponsors for the inaugural Food University Las Vegas at Caesars Palace are cookware manufacturer Fagor America, Swiss Diamond Cookware, Hamilton Beach and The Daily Meal, Spanfeller Media Group's (SMG) mega food site, which will be the digital media sponsor of the event.

For hotel accommodations, please call Caesars Palace for special rates at (866) 227-5938. To purchase tickets, call (866) 840-8822 or go towww.FoodUniversityLasVegas.com; gift certificates are also available by emailing info@FoodUniversityLasVegas.com.

ABOUT FOOD UNIVERSITY

Food University is revolutionary and immersive culinary travel experience for curious and fun-loving foodies seeking to raise their culinary IQ. Unlike any other food festival or culinary event, Food University literally offers food lovers a chance to rub elbows with top chefs, sommeliers, mixologists, fine food purveyors—the Food U “faculty”—as they learn alongside them during three days of exhilarating culinary curriculum. Food University at Caesars Palace is committed to supporting Keep Memory Alive, dedicated to finding cures for brain disorders such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and ALS. Find us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. For more information, go to www.FoodUniversityLasVegas.com.