If you would like to sit with friends who purchased tickets in a seperate order, please email us at info@vlfoodwine.com no later than 3 days before the event, so we can try our best to accomodate you. If you or anyone in your party has dietary restrictions, please email us no later than 3 days before the event, so we can try our best to accomodate them.

About Chef Brandon Salomon

At the helm of Evelyn’s Fort Lauderdale is Chef Brandon Salomon who joins the Fort Lauderdale team from Four Seasons Resort Palm Beach, where he played a major role at the Five-Star, Five Diamond Resort’s signature restaurant Florie’s by three-Michelin-starred, World’s Best Chef Mauro Colagreco. Evelyn’s eastern Mediterranean meets Florida coastal cuisine shares flavour-rich dishes influenced by locality, seasonality, and culture. A native of Long Island, New York, born into a family of cooks, Chef Brandon fell in love with cooking at a young age and had the fortunate opportunity to be surrounded by a variety of cuisines and cultures.

After training at The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, he worked at acclaimed restaurants and hotels in New York, Florida, and San Francisco. Now in Fort Lauderdale, Salomon is bringing the flavours of the Mediterranean to one of the world’s top yachting destinations.

Brandon has always been around food, eager to assist his mother Kim and grandmother Sadie in the kitchen, which often felt like a dreamy Sunday morning with the unforgettable aromas of their famous tomato sauce filling the air and embracing their rich Italian heritage. Brandon’s grandmother on his father’s side, Yvonne, is Israeli and was born in French Morocco. Some of his earliest memories include her mezze table, carefully curated with flavours from the Mediterranean, as well as her famous harissa, which is his favourite hand-me-down recipe. There’s no denying that family cooking has paved the way for the chef that Brandon is today with enough memories to continue to inspire him for years to come.

Chef Brandon began working at his grandparents’ bakery as his entryway into the hospitality industry at the age of 12. After training at The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, Chef Brandon worked at acclaimed restaurants and hotels in Washington, DC, New York, Florida, and San Francisco. In 2015, he joined Four Seasons Resort Palm Beach as a cook at the Resort’s signature restaurant Jové Restaurant and Bar. In the summer of 2018, the Resort went through a multi-million-dollar renovation, giving Chef Brandon had the opportunity to join the task force at Four Seasons properties in Orlando, Chicago, and Montreal, gaining valuable operations experience first hand. Chef Brandon’s journey led him to Menton, France where he had the opportunity to learn directly from Chef Mauro Colagreco at restaurant Mirazur, awarded the #1 restaurant in the world in 2019. He spent four weeks in the French Riviera with the Mirazur team mastering his craft and love for food, fuelling his passion for Mediterranean cuisine and lifestyle of sharing meals with friends and family.

Upon returning from his travels, back to Four Seasons Resort Palm Beach in the fall of 2018, Chef Brandon was appointed as Sous Chef for Florie’s by Chef Mauro Colagreco.

As an innovator in the world of culinary, Chef Brandon is continuously looking for ways to innovate food by testing his imagination and culinary creativeness. His spare time is often spent exploring different restaurants and cuisines and curating his culinary artistry on social media, of which he has amassed a following of more than 17,000 on Instagram.

About Chef Rogelio Garcia

As Executive Chef of Auro at Four Seasons Resort Napa Valley, Chef Rogelio Garcia blends impressive culinary prowess with a deep respect for Napa Valley’s legendary terroir, produce, and ingredients.

Born in Mexico City and raised in Los Angeles and Napa, Garcia’s culinary philosophy is rooted in strong relationships with local farmers, ranchers, and purveyors. His cooking seamlessly integrates classical French techniques with Japanese and Mexican influences, celebrating the vibrancy of locally sourced ingredients. At just 31, he earned his first Michelin star - an achievement that places him among an elite group of Mexican chefs worldwide - and has now secured this prestigious honour at two establishments, most recently at Auro (2023, 2024).

At Auro, Garcia’s culinary artistry perfectly complements the restaurant's stunning vineyard setting in Calistoga. Under his leadership, Auro has quickly risen to critical acclaim, earning prestigious accolades, including Wine Spectator's 2023 Best of Award of Excellence and a Michelin star just eight months after opening - making it Calistoga’s only Michelin-starred restaurant. The restaurant retained its star in 2024 and continues to be recognized for its exceptional 450-label wine program, curated by Sommelier Derek Stevenson.

"For me, cooking is storytelling," Chef Garcia shares. "This menu begins in the fields and farms of Northern California. It reflects my joy of ingredient sourcing; the anticipation of a new season; the essence of the sea and the soil; and my friendships with our ranchers, farmers and fishermen."

2024 James Beard Foundation finalist for Best Chef: California, Garcia gained national recognition on Bravo’s Top Chef Season 15. His debut cookbook, Convivir: Modern Mexican Cuisine in California’s Wine Country, was published in September 2024, further cementing his reputation as an innovator of modern Mexican cuisine.

Opened in fall 2022, Auro offers an intimate dining experience where floor-to-ceiling windows showcase both the culinary team at work and a semi-private alfresco terrace with sweeping vineyard views. Garcia’s hyper-seasonal seven-course tasting menu, featuring his signature oro (golden touch), is thoughtfully paired with wines that reflect Napa’s rich viticultural landscape.

“At Auro, we honour the ingredients and the labour that brought them to us,” reflects Chef Garcia. “The tasting menu is a tribute to my evolution as a chef, influenced by the brilliant chefs I have had the privilege to work with. It is my hope that through gathering with friends and family around a meal, we can find common ground on the plate.”

Garcia’s interest in cooking was sparked at 15, when he took an after-school job as a dishwasher in Yountville. Rising through the ranks, he honed his skills at some of wine country’s most acclaimed restaurants, including the two Michelin-starred Cyrus in Healdsburg under Chef Douglas Keane and the three Michelin-starred The French Laundry as chef de partie. He later led the kitchen at Angèle along Napa’s riverfront before refining his expertise in San Francisco at The Commissary under Traci Des Jardins, eventually earning Michelin stars at Spruce in both 2018 and 2019.

Returning to wine country, Garcia embraces his heritage and deep connection to the land. At Auro, he continues to push the boundaries of fine dining, crafting an experience that lingers in memory long after the last bite.

Collaboration Dinner at Evelyn's with Michelin-Starred Auro