The nearly 100 celebrity chefs here for the 10th annual Vegas Uncork’d by Bon Appetit celebrate with tonight’s Grand Tasting at Garden of the Gods pool oasis at Caesars Palace.

Then TV uber-food stars Giada de Laurentiis and Gordon Ramsay host the after-party at Drai’s Nightclub atop the Cromwell. Our VUBBA preview posted Thursday includes the full Royal Robin Rundown of VUBBA’s events today, Saturday and Sunday.

Venetian F&B director Sebastien Silvestri didn’t let Thursday’s rainstorm interrupt his planned Strip-front dinner by Daniel Boulud and Emeril Lagasse (check out the photograph of them with supermodel and TV personality Tyra Banks).

As the weather forecast and overhead clouds darkened, he shut down the Palazzo porte-cochere and set up tables for more than 300 guests hosted by Bon Appetit’s Editor in Chief Adam Rapoport.

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Vegas Uncork’d by Bon Appetit day two introduced one new event, one fan favorite and the premiere event of the entire weekend, The Grand Tasting at Garden of the Gods Pool Oasis at Caesars Palace.

Chef Nobu Matsuhisa brought back the popular “Sushi Making and Sake Tasting” event, where he taught guests his original “Nobu Style” way of making sushi, while paired with premium sake.

Prior to the Grand Tasting, chefs from Caesars Palace, The Cromwell and more gathered for a pre-event Grand Toast on the terrace of MR CHOW. Caesars Palace Regional President, Gary Selesner, and The Cromwell Regional President, Eileen Moore, both led the toast and congratulated the chefs on what was sure to be, another successful Grand Tasting.

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“It was an evening of celebration as the 10^th annual Vegas Uncork’d by Bon Appetit kicked off with four exceptional Master Series dinners at Caesars Palace.” Michael Politz, publisher of Food and Beverage Magazine.

Chef Nobu Matsuhisa hosted a truly once-in-a-lifetime experience at his Ultimate Omakase dinner at Nobu Restaurant & Lounge. Omakase means, “from the heart,” in Japanese and that’s truly what last night’s experience was. The intimate 12 person, $1,000 per ticket meal was fully curated by Nobu himself as he hand cut and served each piece of sushi.

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It’s an incredible kickoff for the 10th anniversary Vegas Uncork’d four-day food festival of superstar chefs, and it started at lunchtime today with the sabering of a magnum of Mionetto Prosecco.

Celebrated chef Daniel Boulud raise the sword at the forecourt of the Venetian with fellow chefs Emeril Lagasse, Guy Savoy, Francois Payard, Frank Pellegrino Jr., Kim Canteenwalla, Olivier Dubreuil and the Too Hot Tamales, Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger.

Editor in Chief Adam Rapoport and publisher Pamela Drucker Mann represented Bon Appetit magazine. Cathy Tull, our VP of marketing for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, also attended. Adam talked with me in March about this year’s rundown of spectacular events.

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The winners of the 2016 National Magazines Awards for Print and Digital Media were announced tonight at the Ellie Awards Annual Dinner at the Grand Hyatt New York. The Atlantic was named Magazine of the Year for “advancing the national debate on issues of critical importance.”  Also honored was the former editor in chief of Better Homes and Gardens, Gayle Goodson Butler, to whom ASME presented the Magazine Editors’ Hall of Fame Award. The dinner was hosted by Tamron Hall, national correspondent for NBC News and day-side anchor for MSNBC.

Known as the Ellies, for the Alexander Calder stabile “Elephant” given to each winner, the National Magazine Awards are sponsored by the American Society of Magazine Editors in association with the Columbia Journalism School and are administered by ASME. This year marked the 50th anniversary of the awards; the first award was presented to Look in 1966. The Ellie Awards Annual Dinner was held in conjunction with the American Magazine Media Conference, the premier event for industry leaders. The 2016 Ellie Awards were sponsored by Texture by Next Issue and Publishers Press. Annual dinner ticket sales provide support for the Osborn Elliott Scholarship at the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism. Named in honor of the former Newsweek editor and Columbia dean, the scholarship is awarded to students who intend to pursue careers in magazine journalism.

More than 500 magazine editors and publishers attended the 2016 dinner. Sixty-seven media organizations were honored as finalists in 21 categories; 18 publications won awards. New York was the only publication to receive more than one award, winning Ellies for General Excellence, Magazine Section, Website and Multimedia. This was the 11th year in a row that New York was awarded at least one Ellie.

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The magazine industry gathered Monday night for the 50th annual National Magazine Awards or “Ellies,” which were held at the Grand Hyatt in Midtown East in New York. Sixty-seven media organizations duked it out across 21 categories that ranged from Magazine of the Year, Best Feature Photography, Design and General Excellence in a slew of areas including Service and Lifestyle, Design and News, Sports and Entertainment.

The big prize — Magazine of the Year — went to The Atlantic, which was up against The Hollywood Reporter, National Geographic, New York and The New Yorker.

General Excellence for News, Sports and Entertainment went to New York, while lifestyle-centric publications Bon Appétit; Golf Digest; Harper’s Bazaar; Lucky Peach; Parents; Seventeen, and T: The New York Times Style Magazine vied for General Excellence in the Service and Lifestyle category, with Lucky Peach emerging victorious.

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The Association of Magazine Media’s (MPA) annual American Media Conference just got a lot more interesting. First Lady Michelle Obama will be attending and participating in a panel discussion led by More editor in chief Lesley Jane Seymour.

Mrs. Obama will be giving her take on “Media With Purpose,” a discussion on how media companies can raise awareness on critical societal issues.

The conference begins Feb. 1 at the Grand Hyatt in New York. Obama’s panel is Feb. 2.

On December 14, “An Evening with Sting: Symphonicities,” a gala benefit concert, was held at Carnegie Hall’s Isaac Stern Auditorium, for a great turnout. It featured multi-Grammy-winning artist Sting.

As the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer took the Carnegie Hall stage, Sting was greeted with a warm standing ovation from the New York audience. He was backed by the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, which was under the musical direction of conductor Rob Mathes, who was also responsible for its musical arrangements.He began his set with “Englishman in New York,” where he had the crowd clapping along with him. “Thank you so much,” Sting said, prior to praising Carnegie Hall for being a “hallowed, sacred venue,” which is known for its “unique magic.”Speaking of magic, he immediately broke into his second song “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic,” which he dedicated to his manager, Kathryn Schenker, and thanked her for her gratitude and love. This was a bittersweet moment since the acclaimed musician noted that this was the last night that Schenker would be his manager after many years together.

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