Top Chef Master and James Beard Foundation Award winner Tony Mantuano will lead a cooking class June 11 at Portobello at Disney Springs from noon to 2 p.m. Guests will learn how to prepare risotto primavera and how to cook a brisket braised in barolo. The class kicks off with an aperitivo hour, and each course is accompanied by Italian wines. Cost is $50; call 407-828-8996 to reserve a spot.
Also at Disney Springs, Mantuano's fellow Top Chef Master, Art Smith, is hiring for all front-of-house and back-of-house positions at his soon-to-open Homecoming Kitchen. Go to homecomingkitchen.com to download an application.
On the move: Brianto's Original Hoagies has closed its Avalon Park shop, but they've opened a new location in Waterford Lakes.
EVENTS
Sierra Nevada's Bitchin' Belgian Beer Dinner is May 25 at the Parkview in Winter Park. Tickets are $50 plus tax and tip; to reserve, call 407-647-9103 ... The 2016 Epcot Food & Wine Festival runs 62 days (up from 53 last year), from Sept. 14 to Nov. 14.
OPENINGS
Brandon McGlamery, of Luma on Park and Prato fame, will open a new restaurant in the old SoNapa Grille/Blackfin/Steak & Ale space in Maitland. Look for a formal announcement in the next two or three weeks ... STK, the swanky steakhouse chain, opens May 25 in Disney Springs ... Elsewhere at Disney, Ample Hills Creamery, a Brooklyn-based ice cream joint, has opened on Disney's BoardWalk ... Mesa 21 will open in Clermont on Highway 50 this June, before opening another location in the former Gargi's space in Ivanhoe Village ... 1921 by Norman Van Aken opens to the public in Mount Dora this July ... F&D Cantina, a Mexican gastropub and sister property to F&D Kitchen in Lake Mary, has opened in Waterford Lakes ... Look for Pizza Bruno to open in the former Soprano's Ristorante-Pizzeria space on Curry Ford Road this July ... Grape & the Grain, a wine and beer bar from husband-and-wife team Alexie and Christian Arqueros, will open adjacent to Ten10 Brewery this fall ... Fuzzy's Taco Shop, a national Tex-Mex chain known for its all-day breakfast, has opened in Altamonte Springs.
CLOSINGS
DaVi Vietnamese Cuisine on Colonial Drive has closed ... After 27 years in business, Ming Court, the I-Drive dim sum mainstay, will close at the end of the month.
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