Lakeview Golf Resort & Spa hosted the 33rd Annual Festival of Food & Wine from Jan. 20-22 under the theme "A Taste Of It All: A Culinary Celebration of Food & Wine Festivals Past."

This festival is always intriguing to me because they bill it as this sort of weekend getaway, but for locals, all the main events happen mostly on Saturday. I reached out to the organizers to see if I could cover it and to get more information about the schedule of events. They invited me to join them.

One cool part of the festival is that they have all sorts of vendors set up along the main exhibit hallway - candies, cookware, jewelry, dog treats - all sorts of things in the Artisan Marketplace!

Another big part of the weekend is the workshops and seminars - like "The Art of Tea Tasting," "The Art of Dessert," "The Art of Craft Beers," and "On The Farm."

Eating, of course, is also a big part - like the "Nuevo Mexican Lunch Buffet" and the 7th Annual Iron Chef Competition, which featured returning champion Chef Donnie Orr vs. Chef Jason "JJ" McFarland.

An incredible lineup of chefs were featured: Chef Jessie Teasdale from Lakeview Golf Resort & Spa, Chef Brandon Devoe from Hilton Charlotte University Place (Charlotte, North Carolina), Chef Donnie Orr from Bourbon Prime Steakhouse, Chef Joshua Brickey from Bourbon Prime Steakhouse, Chef Marion Ohlinger from Hill & Hollow, Chef Ahmed Azizy from Edgewater Bar & Grille (Charlotte, North Carolina), Chef Jason "JJ" McFarland from O Cocina & Flights (Tampa, Florida), Chef Mark Tasker of Table 9 and Lisa Biafore from The Tea Shoppe at Seneca Center.

I didn't get a chance to stay for the whole day, but I did swing by the "Nuevo Mexican Lunch Buffet," which featured tortilla soup, ensalada de la casa, salmon a la parrilla with grilled oyster mushrooms and charred tomato vinaigrette, spice rubbed pork chops with pipian red mole and smoked paprika vinaigrette, Mexican-style street corn, arroz verde and spiced rum bread pudding.

It's really a nice way to spend a lovely Saturday - whether that's if you want to stay overnight and get away or come for the day's festivities. Just give them a call beforehand to get an idea of the schedule so you can plan your day accordingly.

Who went this year? What was your favorite part?