Star Studded Chef Demos: A Taste Of Old Florida

The Tropical Fruit Growers of South Florida, joining forces with the Southern Florida Tropical Growers, Inc. and the Miami-Dade Fruit & Spice Park, announce the chef line-up for the Tropical Ag Fiesta. Chef participants include James Beard award-winning chef Allen Susser, of Chef Allen's in Aventura, Florida, who is coordinating the demos; Andrea Curto-Randazzo and Frank Randazzo of Talula on Miami Beach; Dewey LoSasso of North 110 in North Miami; Jan Jorgensen of Two Chefs restaurant and cooking school in South Miami; and Hiro Terada, of Doraku, Miami Beach.

Tropical Ag Fiesta 2005, will take place on Saturday, June 11 and Sunday, June 12 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the beautiful Fruit & Spice Park. Reminiscent of old South Florida, the Fruit & Spice Park, located in the Homestead/Redland agricultural community, provides visitors with an escape from the city in a beautiful and expansive garden of over 500 varieties of tropical fruit, herbs and vegetables. Established 75 years ago, as a mango festival, this event now includes flowering trees, plants and palms, educational talks by tropical fruit and other plant experts, a comprehensive tropical plant sale, gardening tips, and down to earth children's activities. New activities for this year are the chef's demos using local tropical fruits, a tropical fruit wine tasting, a tropical themed art contest, for budding artists through 18 years old, a daily butterfly release and a tropical fruit dessert competition.

Also premiering this year at the Tropical Ag Fiesta, the consumer-oriented tropical fruit dessert recipe contest will select three winners from South Florida's gourmet home chefs. Cooks looking for help with their tropical fruit dishes can wander into the cooking demonstration tent, where award-winning Chef Allen and a crew of South Florida's top chefs will prepare their favorite tropical fruit recipes, and offer free samples of their flavorful creations. After a day of snacking and choosing plants, guests can stop by the Tropical Fruit Growers of South Florida's tent, which will feature tropical fruit wines from Schnebly Redland's Winery. While the adults sip lychee, carambola, or passion fruit wine, children can partake in old fashioned Florida farm activities, including a watermelon eating contest, lychee peeling contest, a petting zoo and hayrides. Those wanting to learn more about tropical fruits can visit tropical fruit displays prepared by local experts. They can also taste tropical fruit milkshakes prepared by members of local FFA (Future Farmers of America) clubs. With food booths, plant talks and farm tours, the Tropical Ag Fiesta is sure to offer a relaxing, old-fashioned Florida fun day for children of all ages.

Established in the 1930's, the Florida Mango Forum began to interest visitors to South Florida in the strange tropical fruit known as the mango. In 1981, Southern Florida Tropical Growers, Inc. was formed to showcase all agricultural commodities harvested in summer's peak season. This event became known as the Tropical Ag Fiesta. Recently moved back to the picturesque Fruit & Spice Park from a brief sojourn at the Gold Coast Railroad Museum, the Tropical Ag Fiesta hopes to draw individuals and families to a day surrounded by the undisturbed beauty of South Florida's tropical paradise.

The Tropical Ag Fiesta will be held Saturday, June 11 and Sunday, June 12, 2005, 10 a.m. to
5 p.m. at the Fruit & Spice Park located at 24801 S.W. 187th Avenue, in Homestead, Florida. For directions, call the Fruit & Spice Park at (305) 247-5727. Admission is free for children 12 and under; $6 for adults, with a $1 discount coupon available at www.tropicalag.org and www.fruitandspicepark.org. For an additional $1 off, bring a dessert and typed recipe for the tropical fruit dessert cooking contest or a tropical themed drawing or painting to enter the art contest. Prizes will b