Palm Desert Food and Wine Festival Kicks Off This Weekend with Michelin-Star Chef Curtis Stone

The Palm Desert Food and Wine Festival returns this weekend, and Michelin-star chef Curtis Stone is headlining as lead celebrity chef for the four-day event running March 19 through 22 along the tree-lined El Paseo shopping district.

Stone sat down with NBC Palm Springs anchor Mary Strong ahead of the festivities, saying he's been coming to the desert for 30 years.

The festival, produced by Palm Springs Life and presented by Agua Caliente Casinos, kicks off Thursday, with tons of events including a curated wine experience from Counter Reformation at the Parker Palm Springs. From there, it's a whole weekend of grand tastings, where attendees can sample food from local and regional restaurants, taste more than 60 wines, and explore craft brews, IPAs, and draught ciders.

Stone called the grand tastings a must-do. "You walk into this incredible marquee, and there's literally every winemaker and all sorts of incredible food purveyors, stuff that you may never have even thought existed," he said. "You get to talk directly to the winemakers in a lot of instances."

He'll lead a cooking demonstration Saturday morning, leaning into what's in season. "We've got beautiful spring ingredients coming into season right now," Stone said, adding that he gets audience members on stage and makes it interactive, with everyone getting to taste what's made.

Tickets are still available at palmdesertfoodandwine.com.