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Flavors of Australia Wine & Dine Kick-Off Dinner

Date: June 05, 2023

Time: 6:00 PM

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Opening Night Wine Dinner

Join us for the kickoff of Wine & Food Week in The Woodlands. The Woodlands Resort is debuting the new renovated resort and new dining concept Harrison's for this special event.

This seven course meal is showcasing the culinary talent from the chefs from all three of The Woodlands signature restaurants including Back Table, E’terie and Sorriso. Chef Ricardo Bravo oversees culinary experiences for events and restaurants at Embassy Suites, The Westin and The Woodlands Resorts.

Cost per person is $95 and includes a seven-course dinner paired with Australian wines lead by Simon Solomon the Wine Ambassador for Winebow International.

The event starts at 6pm and will feature live music from a local electric violinist.

Reservations can be made at: 281.364.6250 or by clicking on the link below.

Payment in full required to reserve your spot.

Reserve your dinner spot here

Click here to reserve your spot

Simon Solomon

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Simon Solomon is an Import Specialist at Winebow Imports, an industry-leading wine & spirits company that operates in 50 states and represents 100+global suppliers. He is based in Houston, Texas and manages several states in the Southern US. His current, dedicated focus has been on representing pioneering family wineries and iconic brands from key growing regions in the Southern Hemisphere of the world. This mainly includes Argentina, Chile, Australia, and New Zealand.

He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in the world of wine by having worked in this industry 12+ years and has many different roles as a buyer, distributor, supplier/importer. This gives Simon a unique take having seen all sides of the industry at multiple levels which has helped him to understand the power of relationships, market trends, and an ever-so challenging global import market.

Simon enjoys spending time with family and friends in outdoor settings fishing, kayaking, camping, mountain biking, cooking over open-flame, and of course, drinking a great bottle of wine.

Jonathan Lestingi

Back Table Kitchen & Bar
Chef Jonathan Lestingi

An accoladed industry veteran, Lestingi brings national experience to Back Table Kitchen & Bar, including a chef de partie position under Patrick O’Connell at famed The Inn at Little Washington, the only 3 Star Michelin restaurant in the Washington, DC metropolitan area and the longest-tenured Forbes 5 Star and AAA Five Diamond restaurant in the world. For the past decade, he has been based in New Orleans, where he held sought-after culinary positions at destination dining spots such as Brennan’s, Red Fish Grill and James Beard Award-winning Willa Jean, before opening his well-received solo venture Oxalis – a stylish gastropub and whiskey bar in the hip Bywater neighborhood – as executive chef and owner. Chef Jonathan joined Back Table in late 2021.

Johana Gomez

E’terie (at Embassy Suites Hughes Landing)
Executive Chef, Johana Gomez

Johana began her culinary career at her family-owned restaurant in Mexico City. This is where she fell in love with the art of creating an amazing meal. Later, after studying a couple of years in Mexico and obtaining her certification in the United States, she completed the much-lauded College Program at Walt Disney World in Orlando serving over 1,000 people per day. Once in Texas, she worked at well-known Mark’s American Cuisine in Houston before moving up to North Houston to work at the Clubs at Carlton Woods, where she earned the position of Executive Sous Chef. There she honed her skills for creating memorable experiences for luxury events and after 9 years at the Clubs, she moved to The Westin at the Woodlands on the Waterway to open the property. She enjoyed the hotel industry so much that she stayed there for 7 years before moving to Conroe to open Margaritaville Resort as Executive Sous Chef. In 2021, she was promoted to Executive Chef at Embassy Suites at Hughes Landing where she currently oversees the guest dining experience, event catering, and the onsite restaurant, E’terie. Johana brings her culinary expertise and signature recipes for hotel guests and locals to enjoy.

David Buckley

Sorriso
Chef David Buckley

Helming Sorriso Modern Italian Kitchen in addition to overseeing all culinary offerings for The Westin at The Woodlands, ranging from room service to special events, Executive Chef David Buckley developed his love of cooking from his father and grew up harvesting herbs and vegetables in his back yard garden – a tradition that continues with his family today.

Before joining The Westin at The Woodlands, Buckley was executive sous chef at the hotel’s sister property, The Woodlands Resort. Prior to that, he spent a decade in San Diego. There, he held positions including senior sous chef on the opening team of coastal-inspired Vistal Bar + Restaurant at the InterContinental, chef de cuisine at Town and Country Resort, supporting the development of new dining concepts during a major renovation, sous chef of Michelin Guide recognized seafood restaurant and market The Fishery and general manager of famed Mexican destination Taco Surf –in a role that included oversight of offsite catering in addition to menu and recipe development. A graduate of San Diego Culinary Institute, Buckley was also a sous chef at the award-winning Turtle Bay Resort in Kahuku, HI.

Ricardo Brava

Chef Ricardo Brava

Ricardo Bravo is Executive Chef over the food and beverage experiences at AAA Four Diamond The Woodlands Resort, Westin at The Woodlands, Embassy Suites and each of the property’s signature dining outlets: Back Table, Harrison’s Sorriso, and E’terie.

Prior to joining The Woodlands Resort, Bravo served as an area executive chef and area director of food and beverage for North Palm Beach, FL-based Driftwood Hospitality Management, supporting seven full-service hotels under different brands and across multiple states. Before that, he worked in an executive chef capacity at the beachside Hilton Galveston Island Resort in Galveston, TX and at The Stella Hotel, an Autograph Collection boutique property in Bryan-College Station, TX.

Bravo began his hospitality career in Corpus Christi, TX with Marriott and Omni Hotels & Resorts and later went on to hold the executive chef, and later, director of food and beverage title at the Magnolia Hotel Houston in the city center. He is active in the community and is a past Assistant Director of the Texas Chefs Association Houston chapter.