About :Festa Italiana Charlotte: Ciao! St. Anthony Foundation of Charlotte welcomes you to The 21st Annual Festa Italiana Charlotte: An Italian Food & Wine Festival.

Our All-inclusive event features 25+ Culinary Partners showcasing Italian and Italian-American cuisine and beverages during our Grand Tasting experience. Guest can anticipate Live Performances, Chef Demonstrations, Italian Sports Car Exhibit, Art Show, an Italian Village Market and more in the heart of Uptown Charlotte, NC. Spring Cocktail Attire is encouraged.

We invite you to join us for one the premier Italian Food & Wine events in the Southeastern U.S.

Bio:Chef and entrepreneur Majid Amoorpour is the driving force behind The Everyday Market, a European-style cafe and market with locations in Belmont and Charlotte, North Carolina. An internationally trained pastry chef who began his career in Sweden and worked across Europe before co-founding Charlotte’s Bistro La Bon, Amoorpour centers his culinary philosophy on the "everyday" rather than the occasional. He prioritizes technique over complexity, advocating for focused, small menus of 10 to 15 scratch-made items perfected to the highest quality within a community-centered environment.

Bio:Dr. Vincent E. Voci is a board-certified, fellowship-trained plastic surgeon based in Charlotte, North Carolina, with over 35 years of private practice experience and a distinguished medical background including degrees from the University of Louisville and training at Duke University. Beyond his clinical expertise—which includes pioneering the first medical spa in North Carolina and introducing procedures like Botox and liposuction to the region—Dr. Voci is widely recognized as the Founder and Chair of Festa Italiana Charlotte. Inspired by his family’s Italian roots, he established the festival in 2006 as a cultural and humanitarian event hosted by the St. Anthony Foundation of Charlotte, which he also chairs. Under his leadership, the festival has grown from a small gathering to a major annual gala in Uptown Charlotte, raising over $300,000 for Nevins Inc. to support individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. A Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, Dr. Voci continues to balance his surgical milestones in reconstructive and cosmetic surgery with a deep commitment to community service and Italian heritage.

Website: https://www.festaitalianacharlotte.org/

Well Seasoned Librarian Podcast Season 17 Episode 2

Guest: Emmanuel Laroche

Bio: Award-winning author, born in Versailles, France, close to the famous chateau of King Louis XIV, Emmanuel Laroche grew up savoring the best food and drink that France offers, eventually earning him the American nickname: “Champagne Charlie.” His mother taught him to cook when he was six, starting with a simple yogurt cake, and moving on to Lorraine quiche, from the region his mother grew up. He married a woman who also loved to cook, and during the first four years of their marriage, they never ate the same dish twice!

In 2002 he moved to the United States for his role as VP of Marketing with Symrise North America—a global manufacturer of flavors for the food and beverage industry. He now has more than twenty years of experience in the food and beverage industry, both in Europe and in the US.

Through his job, Emmanuel has access to a variety of acclaimed people in the food industry.

Since 2008, he has attended the yearly StarChefs Congress in New York City. In 2015, Emmanuel developed an exclusive partnership with StarChefs for Symrise and began moderating panel discussions with successful chefs, pastry chefs, and mixologists. In 2018, Emmanuel launched a personal podcast called Flavors Unknown, featuring a series of conversations with trending and award-winning chefs, pastry chefs, and mixologists from around the United States. Emmanuel currently resides in New Jersey, which acts as a home base for his travels around the country, conducting tastings, lectures and presentations on food and consumer trends.

Podcast: https://flavorsunknown.com/about-show-host-emmanuel-laroche-podcast-flavors-unknown/

A Taste of Madagascar: Culinary Riches of the Red Island

Conversations Behind the Kitchen Door: 50 American Chefs Chart Today's Food Culture

Cookbook lovers, this one’s for you! Get 25% off a subscription to ckbk with code WELLSEASONED — the ultimate digital cookbook library.

Access nearly 1,000 full cookbooks from top authors Use on web and mobile app for cooking anytime, anywhere Save favorites, create custom "recipe playlists", search by ingredient and dietary preference Sync with your print cookbook collection via Eat Your Books

Perfect for serious home cooks and cookbook collectors alike.

Go to the link

⁠⁠https://join.ckbk.com/ckbk?code=WELLSEASONED⁠⁠

___________________________________________________________

About the Well Seasoned Librarian (Reviewer)

Hailing from San Diego and spending his teenage years in the Pacific Northwest, Dean Jones has become a seasoned resident of the San Francisco Bay Area for over 30 years. A true foodie and lover of the written word, Dean wears many hats: librarian, Podcaster, cookbook reviewer, and writer.

Catch him at book festivals, farmers’ markets, bookstores, or savoring a delicious meal at a local restaurant. Dean’s passion for food and literature shines through his published works. You can find his reviews in “Amoral Beatitudes Magazine” and his insightful articles on platforms like Medium’s “One Table One World,” “The Cookbook for All,” “An Idea,” and “Authors What Are You Reading?” Currently, Dean keeps Benicia Times Herald readers informed with his regular cookbook review column.

Connect with Dean:

• Email: wellseasonedlibrarian@gmail.com
• Podcast: ⁠⁠Linktree⁠⁠ (Spotify, Amazon, iTunes, YouTube)

YouTube: ⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsibP5oAUIam8sOT-MZdXig

Guest: Carolyn Haeler

Bio: Carolyn is the founder and CEO of Mightylicious Gluten Free. After being diagnosed with Celiac disease, she left her finance career to create cookies she, and now 1.3 million Americans on gluten free diets, could truly love. Her clean label cookies and flours are certified gluten free, kosher, non GMO, and vegan/vegetarian friendly. You’ll find all seven varieties in Walmart and stores nationwide, with Mightylicious winning Best Product from Food & Beverage Magazine two years running. The Coconut Oatmeal cookies were just named one of Good Housekeeping’s Best Snacks of 2025.

Website: https://mightylicious.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mightyliciousfoods/

Cookbook lovers, this one’s for you! Get 25% off a subscription to ckbk with code WELLSEASONED — the ultimate digital cookbook library.

Access nearly 1,000 full cookbooks from top authors Use on web and mobile app for cooking anytime, anywhere Save favorites, create custom "recipe playlists", search by ingredient and dietary preference Sync with your print cookbook collection via Eat Your Books

Perfect for serious home cooks and cookbook collectors alike.

Go to the link

⁠https://join.ckbk.com/ckbk?code=WELLSEASONED⁠

___________________________________________________________

About the Well Seasoned Librarian (Reviewer)

Hailing from San Diego and spending his teenage years in the Pacific Northwest, Dean Jones has become a seasoned resident of the San Francisco Bay Area for over 30 years. A true foodie and lover of the written word, Dean wears many hats: librarian, Podcaster, cookbook reviewer, and writer.

Catch him at book festivals, farmers’ markets, bookstores, or savoring a delicious meal at a local restaurant. Dean’s passion for food and literature shines through his published works. You can find his reviews in “Amoral Beatitudes Magazine” and his insightful articles on platforms like Medium’s “One Table One World,” “The Cookbook for All,” “An Idea,” and “Authors What Are You Reading?” Currently, Dean keeps Benicia Times Herald readers informed with his regular cookbook review column.

Connect with Dean:

• Email: wellseasonedlibrarian@gmail.com
• Podcast: ⁠Linktree⁠ (Spotify, Amazon, iTunes, YouTube)

YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsibP5oAUIam8sOT-MZdXig