Which Austin Chef Will "Live Fire" An Entire Cow?

The Austin Food & Wine Alliance has just released the official menu for their Live Fire beef-oriented event on April 26th at the Salt Lick BBQ Pavilion and, uh, holy cow. Or maybe, WHOLLY cow. As in, Chef John Bullington at the Alamo Drafthouse is going to be cooking a whole cow.

Also in attendance: Foreign & Domestic's Ned Elliott cooking "dolce de leche beef tongue with Maker's Mark® sauce and salsa verde," Contigo's Andrew Wiseheart cooking "cured beef heart with chicory salad" and Dai Due's Jesse Griffiths making "grilled beef blood sausage served with rutabaga puree with red wine, tortillas and charred onion salsa."

Also cooking: Aaron Franklin, Josh Watkins of the Carillon and more. The chefs will also compete American Idol-style for the fan favorite dish. Tickets to the event are $75 and benefit the alliance, which is "dedicated to fostering awareness and innovation in the Central Texas food and beverage community."

LIVE FIRE! BRINGS ON THE SIZZLE WITH TOP CHEFS & FIRE MASTERY
Menu Announced, Tickets on Sale Now
13 Chefs Battle the Flames at Salt Lick BBQ Pavilion Joined by
18 Wine & Spirit Makers, 4 Austin Craft Brews & 1 Whole Cow

AUSTIN, TX (April 11, 2012) The Austin Food and Wine Alliance announced today the
full chef lineup and menu for Austin¹s most anticipated celebration of all things meat Live Fire!
The event will be held at the famed Salt Lick Bar-B-Que Pavilion in the Texas Hill Country on Thursday, April 26, 6:30 9 pm, and will raise funds for culinary grants. Tickets are $75 each and are on sale now at austinfoodwinealliance.org.

"Live Fire! is truly one of the country's foremost celebrations of beef," said Cathy Cochran-Lewis, president of the Austin Food and Wine Alliance. In addition to having a supreme lineup of chef mastery and amazing wine, craft brews and artisan spirits, we're excited that the funds raised will directly benefit our community with culinary grants for chefs, farmers, artisan producers and non-profits.

Attendees won¹t want to miss a single bite from the fired-up chefs cooking at Live Fire! to prepare for the first-ever Greenling Fan Favorite competition. The online grocer that provides home delivery of the best of organic, local and sustainable ingredients will host an American Idol-style text-vote competition for fans to name their overall Live Fire! favorite.

The menu for Live Fire! promises the best in beef with the skillfulness of award-winning chefs including:

Aaron Franklin of Franklin Barbecue, Austin
The Tipsy Texan featuring Franklin Barbecue¹s famed chopped brisket and sausage piled high on a bun with purple coleslaw and pickles

Naomi Pomeroy of Beast, Portland, OR
Grape-wood smoked New York strip loin with caramelized onion and horseradish mustard. Served with bone marrow and caramelized tomato tarts

Adam Sappington of the Country Cat, Portland, OR
Grilled beef shanks tossed in roasted garlic and sherry vinegar sauce with bone marrow butter and Maker¹s Mark® sauce. Served with smoked beef brisket, black eyed peas and collard greens

Jason Dady of Jason Dady Restaurants, San Antonio
Charred brisket with blue cheese spoonbread, caramelized onion puree and housemade pickles with Guinness gastrique

Ned Elliott of Foreign & Domestic, Austin
Dolce de leche beef tongue with Maker¹s Mark® sauce and salsa verde

Josh Watkins of The Carillon, Austin
Beef cheeks and beef ribs served with corn pudding and pickled vegetables

Andrew Wiseheart of Contigo, Austin
Cured beef heart with chicory salad

John Bullington of Alamo Drafthouse, Austin
Whole cow with coal corn mescal pudding

Reece Lagunas of Whole Foods Market®, Austin
Barbacoa with marrow butter

Scott Roberts of Salt Lick Bar-B-Que, Driftwood
Brisket tacos and brisket hush puppies

Jonathan Gelman of The Driskill Hotel, Austin
Fire-grilled and smoked beef tri tip served with cast-iron cornbread puree and fire-grilled corn relish

Damian Mandola of Mandola¹s Italian Market & John Lichtenberger of Trattoria Lisina, Austin
Italian steak pizza, beef spiedini served with risotto

Jesse Griffiths of Dai Due Supper Club & Butcher Shop, Austin
Grilled beef blood sausage served with rutabaga puree with red wine, tortillas and charred onion salsa

Wine and spirit makers will be on hand to pour featured premium wines and spirits including Dulce Vida Organic Tequila (Mexico), Maker¹s Mark® (Kentucky), Cape Classics (South Africa), Chat Greysac (France), Robert Hall Winery (California), Frederick Wildan (France & Spain), Feudo Arancio (Italy), Angoves Family (Australia), Donna Paula (Argentina), Terlato Wines International, Trinchero Family Estates (California), Becker Vineyards (Texas) and Fall Creek Vineyards (Texas).

New for this year, Live Fire! features three new cutting-edge local craft breweries, Jester King, Twisted X Brewing Company and Hops & Grain, and also will offer classic Austin brews from stalwart Live Oak Brewing Company.

Local spirit favorites Savvy Vodka, Deep Eddy Sweet Tea Vodka, Cypress Creek Rum, Paula¹s Texas Orange and Paula's Texas Lemon also will be offered, along with Austin¹s own Cuvée Coffee, Honest Tea and Texas¹ own Crazy Water.

Legendary fiddle player Elana James of Hot Club of Cowtown will play Western Swing tunes as TheElana James Trio for an evening of sizzling dancing and dining.

Live Fire! is a fundraising benefit for the Austin Food & Wine Alliance, Central Texas¹ newest culinary nonprofit, which is dedicated to fostering awareness and innovation in the Central Texas food and beverage community. The Alliance will give back to the local culinary community through a vibrant grant program for chefs, farmers, artisan producers and nonprofits by funding projects focused on culinary innovation.

As the key beneficiary of the new Austin FOOD & WINE Festival, April 27 29, the Alliance features educational programming and culinary events showcasing Central Texas¹ chef talent along with artisan and local producers, world-class wine and spirit makers, and craft brewers. Live Fire!leads into the inaugural three-day fest which brings a slate of national and internationally recognized chefs to Austin.

Tickets are expected to sell out and are available for online purchase.

Live Fire! also will feature a selection of finalists from the inaugural 2012 CultureMap Tastemaker Awards, a competition recognizing and celebrating the best of Austin¹s culinary and cocktail scene, held at The Driskill Hotel on April 12. A percentage of proceeds from the event will benefit the Alliance¹s mission and grants.

The Alliance is gaining tremendous community support with Whole Foods Market® becoming annual presenting sponsor and other key year-round supporters including Maker¹s Mark® Bourbon, Texas Beef Council, AT&T Executive Education & Conference Center, Greenling, Texas Monthly, Twin Liquors, The Salt Lick Bar-B-Que, CultureMap, and Field Branding & Design.

For more information about the AFWA, visit AustinFoodWineAlliance.org, call 512. 659.7153 or emailInfo@AustinFoodWineAlliance.org. Stay up to date with Austin Food & Wine Alliance happenings on Facebook http://facebook.com/austinfoodwinealliance and Twitter http://twitter.com/ATXFoodWineAlly.

· Live Fire! [Official]
· All Austin Food & Wine Alliance Coverage on Eater Austin [-EATX-]
· All Beef Coverage on Eater Austin [-EATX-]
· All Competitions Coverage on Eater Austin [-EATX-]

The Salt Lick Pavilion. [Photo: Austin Food And Wine Alliance/Facebook]