GourmetFest brings a world of fine food to Carmel this weekend.

Global gourmands will gather in Carmel this week for the sixth annual GourmetFest, March 14-17. The four-day festival celebrates world-class food and wine from the portfolio of Relais & Châteaux hospitality properties around the world.

Festival founder and local restaurateur David Fink is excited for the weekend’s festivities, “It’s a gathering of the best Relais & Châteaux chefs, incredible wine estates, partners and guests all in Carmel-by-the-Sea,” he says. “The camaraderie among the chefs and the bridges that are built between the guests and participants is wonderful.”

This year includes some notable additions, including the event’s first chef from Mexico, Eduardo Marin from La Antigua Casona Restaurante at Solar de las Animas, as well as the first Austrian chef, Anton Mörwald of the two-Michelin-star TONI M. GourmetFest will welcome famed winery Château Lafite Rothschild—whose wines command record-breaking prices at auctions—and Domaine Yves Boyer Martenot, a small-scale French winery operated by fourth-generation winemaker Vincent Boyer.

Aubergine restaurant inside L’Auberge Carmel is the host for GourmetFest and Executive Chef/Director Justin Cogley has seen the event grow over the years. 

“Eight years ago when I started here, I was told it would be impossible for Carmel to get any culinary attention,” he recalls. “Now look at it.”

As the quaint town welcomes legends of the world of food and wine this week, attendees are buzzing at the prospect of Cogley (finally) getting recognition from Michelin with this summer’s release of a regional California guide. Cogley is flattered at the prospect, but is quick to pivot to the humbling caliber of culinary talent he’ll be welcoming to town,

“It’s a great time to learn from everyone that’s coming,” the chef says. “You always learn one or two simple tricks or new ways of doing things.”

Beyond the chance for chefs to learn from their peers, Cogley underscores how special the weekend will be for everyone that attends, adding “GourmetFest is unique due to its size and the quality of what people are pouring and what the chefs are preparing.”

The Welcome Party on Thursday, March 14, kicks things off with a star-studded lineup of international epicures like Mark Lundgaard (Restaurant Kong Hans Kælder, Denmark), Anton Mörwald (TONI M, Austria) and Adriano Venturini (Eden Roc at Cap Cana, Dominican Republic), plus some of America’s top chefs from coast to coast, including Michael Mina, Walter Manzke (République, Los Angeles), Melissa Rodriguez (Del Posto, New York City) and Loic Leperlier (The Point, Upstate New York). Cogley and Yulanda Santos represent GourmetFest’s home contingent at Aubergine at L’Auberge Carmel, alongside local pastry superstars Ron Mendoza (Ad Astra Bread Co.) and Ben Spungin (Alta Bakery + Cafe). Look for more than 30 wineries, from local favorites to world-famous prized picks (6-9pm, La Playa Carmel, $250).

The weekend brings a pair of chef cooking demos and lunches benefiting the Ment’Or, a non-profit organization created by Thomas Keller, Daniel Boulud and Jérôme Bocuse to inspire young people to pursue culinary careers. Friday features famed chef-restaurateur Michael Mina and Saturday brings Walter Manzke back to Carmel. (Manzke previously worked with Fink to open local hotspots Bouchée, Aubergine and Cantinetta Luca 15 years ago.) Both will do a demonstration from 11am-noon, followed by lunch with invited Relais & Châteaux chefs (11am-3pm, La Playa Carmel $225).

New this year, GourmetFest extends its footprint over to Carmel Valley, and takes over The Wine House for Bluegrass & BBQ on Friday (noon-3pm, $125). Enjoy rare and library wines from Joyce and Testarossa, plus a strolling barbecue lunch by Relais & Châteaux chefs AJ Buchanio (Magee Homestead, Wyoming), Eduardo Marin (La Antigua Casona Restaurante at Solar de las Animas, Mexico) and Adriano Venturini (Eden Roc at Cap Cana, Dominican Republic).

And on Saturday, intrepid epicures can partake in a mushroom hunt and lunch at the Santa Lucia Preserve. Retired Point Lobos ranger Chuck Bancroft and local mycologists will lead a walk to spot mushrooms growing on the preserve’s pristine 20,000-acre property, which is likely to be full of fungi after recent rains. Then Lou Rossi—executive chef for Rhode Island’s Castle Hill Inn—joins the preserve’s chef Daniela Ramos for lunch featuring locally foraged fungi paired with rare vintages from Albatross Ridge, Dawn’s Dream Winery and Galante Vineyards (9:30am-2pm, $245, includes round-trip transportation from L’Auberge Carmel).

Explore the world of wine with tasting seminars throughout the weekend. The intimate tastings offer sips of rare wines, many drawn from wine estates’ cellars exclusively for GourmetFest. Tasting seminars include Opus One: An Expression of Time and Place (Friday, March 15, 3:30-5pm, La Playa Carmel, $495), the Climats of Meursault (Saturday, March 16, 10:30am-noon, La Playa Carmel, $495), Château Lafite: An Exceptional Terroir (Saturday, March 16, 3:30-5pm, La Playa Carmel, $595) and a Sunday morning tasting with Clovis Taittinger (Sunday, March 17, 10:30am-noon, La Playa Carmel, $495).

And Jose Cuervo will have a tasting seminar on tequila and chocolate on Friday, March 15 (10:30am-noon, La Playa Carmel, $250). Master of Tequila Sonia Espinola de la Llave—the first woman to be designated a Tequila Connoisseur by the National Mexican Chamber of Tequila—will explore the aromas and flavors of agave and cocoa with unique tequilas drawn from Cuervo’s Reserva de la Familia collection.

In the evenings, there’s the Black Truffle & Black River Caviar Dinner (Friday, March 15, 6:30pm, La Playa Carmel, $325) continuing an annual tradition at GourmetFest to celebrate these indulgent ingredients from land and sea. And the weekend winds down with the Grande Finale Dinner on Saturday night, featuring five-courses by notable Relais & Châteaux chefs, including Aubergine’s Cogley and Santos (6:30pm, La Playa Carmel, $375).

Sunday brings a final flourish with the Taste of Relais & Châteaux. Enjoy final bites from celebrated Relais & Châteaux chefs from across the country—AJ Buchanio (Magee Homestead, Wyoming), Loic Leperlier (The Post, Upstate New York), Lou Rossi (Castle Hill Inn, Rhode Island) and Nathan Rich and Christopher Wilson (Twin Farms, Vermont)—and more. Local talent also takes the stage with Aubergine’s Justin Cogley and Yulanda Santos joining Cantinetta Luca executive chef Aaron Rayor and Akaoni chef-owner Shin Yamada. And local Monterey County wineries will pour estate selections to pair with the chefs’ world-class cuisine (noon-3pm, La Playa Carmel, $175).

For more information and tickets, visit gourmetfestcarmel.com.