[Palm Beach, Fla] The Palm Beach Chapter of the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association (FRLA) will host the fifth annual Palm Beach E.A.T.S. on Friday, Jan. 25 at the West Palm Beach Hilton. E.A.T.S. is the Education and Agriculture Together Showcase and was designed to highlight Palm Beach County’s tourism and agriculture industries and to benefit hospitality students. Each year, local high school students team up with Palm Beach chefs to create dishes using fresh ingredients from area farms. Open to the community, tickets are available online starting at $100.
“Palm Beach E.A.T.S. is an incredibly powerful event for the hospitality community,” said Nick Velardo, Committee Chair for E.A.T.S. and Vice President of Food and Beverage for The Breakers. “By pairing students who are interested in the culinary arts with seasoned experts, we strengthen the future of the hospitality industry overall. Further, when we add local farmers to the mix and open the event to the public, we promote our county’s top two industries and underscore their importance in Palm Beach.”
This year, E.A.T.S. will be held in the open-air garden of the West Palm Beach Hilton, and attendees will dine on dishes created by the culinary students / chef teams. In addition, guests will have the opportunity to bid on silent auction items including resort getaways, hotel stays, restaurant gift certificates, spa packages and golf rounds. Started in 2014, the Palm Beach E.A.T.S. event benefits high school culinary and hospitality students who wish to pursue an advanced degree. As a result of last year’s event, the Palm Beach Chapter of FRLA granted more than $14,000 in scholarships, and FRLA Regional Director Jodi Cross believes that E.A.T.S. 2019 will be even more successful.
“We have an unbelievable line-up of 12 area restaurants and farms participating this year,” Cross said. “Using locally-grown produce and homegrown goods, the students and chefs will prepare fabulous dishes for all attendees to enjoy.”
For more information on Palm Beach E.A.T.S., please visit FRLA.org/event/palm-beach-eats or contact Jodi Cross at 561-410-0035.