In celebration of its 10th birthday, Raglan Road is staging a Master Chef competition for amateur cooks. Submit a video of a three-course meal (appetizer, entree, dessert) and if chef Kevin Dundon puts you on the shortlist, you'll be off on an all-expenses-paid trip to Ireland, where you'll hone your kitchen chops at Dundon's Dunbrody Country House Hotel. Visit raglanroad.com for details.
Food-focused events on the horizon: The Four Seasons Resort Orlando teams up with St. Augustine Distillery to present a four-course gin pairing dinner at 7:30 p.m. Monday, March 23; cost is $95 per person. IKEA hosts its annual Paskbord Swedish Easter Feast Friday, March 27, at the Millenia Mall locale. Cost is $15.99 person, $4.99 kids 12 and under. And the fourth annual Pints n' Paws Craft Beer Festival is Saturday, March 28, in downtown Sanford.
After being open just a few months, the Alpine Café in Ivanhoe Village is closing. Owner Edward Varlamov sold the espresso-and-sandwich joint, but says the café may open in a different iteration. Other closings to announce: Tijuana Flats in Thornton Park will shut its doors March 22 and Penzeys Spices on Park Avenue will close March 25.
OPENINGS:
Downtown Credo has opened another space next to the Florida Hospital SunRail stop in Health Village ... Another coffee house, Propagation, has opened in Mills 50 ... On I-Drive, McFadden's Restaurant & Saloon opened for a sneak preview on St. Paddy's Day ... R.W. Blue American Bar & Grill is shooting for an end-of-the-month opening in the same plaza as Stonewood Tavern and Panera Bread in Heathrow ... Maddey's Craft & Cru, a restaurant specializing in "New York style new Americana cuisine," will open at a yet-to-be-disclosed location downtown ... Look for a Noodles & Co. to open near Fashion Square Mall, and another one south of downtown ... Café Mineiro will be Orlando's largest churrascaria when it opens in a 10,000-square-foot space near the Florida Mall sometime next month ... New food kiosks U Roll Sushi Express, the Belgian Waffles, Le Petit Café and Yogen Fruz will open at Artegon Marketplace this month.
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