For culinary inspiration and a lesson in logistical planning, this event wins hands down.

For the past 10 years or so, the CIA at Greystone, in Napa, stages a global event that examines a cuisine that is influencing (big time) the American food scene. This year, Nov 1-3, it was all about Asia.

I had never been to one of these World of Flavors wing dings, but had heard plenty about them. And since they always sell out with a limited number of attendees that can be accommodated, all the more to covet the opportunity to attend. This year, I did go because one of my clients, The Coca-Cola Company, is a sponsor and invited me along.

I was amazed at the scope and scale of the activities with no less than some 75 culinary personnel who were flown in from all over the Asian map…from Singapore, Vietnam, Korea, Thailand, Japan, and many other locations. And not only is it enough to bring these folks in, but many did not speak English and, thus, translators were on hand during cooking demonstrations making sure the finer points of culinary detail were well represented.

The only problem with these food lollapaloozas are that it is sensory overload; too much to taste and absorb in so little time. This is not a criticism but just the reality of trying to give value to those who journey all the way to Napa for a total 2 and a half day immersion. There were simultaneous kitchen workshops and seminars going on (sometimes 15 at once!) not to mention the World Marketplace each evening. Each evening the Historic Barrel Room ( a great space in its own right) was transformed into an Asian street marketplace, complete with tin roofs, hanging dragons, live musical performers and scads of food booths from which to taste and test. Check out the photo of the Golden Gate Bridge done in raw fish and vegetables. Though not clearly visible, it was garnished with flecks of edible gold leaf. Food stalls were created by country cuisine as well as by sponsor products; the idea here was to showcase how American commodity foods and packaged foods can be used to create Asian-inspired dishes that are a fit for the American restaurant marketplace.

After all this nibbling at the CIA, the bad part is that there was no room left to go sample the fabulous restaurants Napa has to offer. But let’s get real. Who goes to Napa without doing some winery visits? I’ve had the pleasure of getting out to Napa almost annually over the past few years, but this time, I visited my favorite Champagne house, Schramsberg. And I learned it truly can be labeled “method champenoise” because it’s the only vineyard in the States producing sparkling in the same method as those across the pond. Nothing like sipping some good bubbly at 10am, in a candel-lit cave, to start off the day.