All the ingredients are in place to make Bermuda's first first Culinary Arts Festival a major event on the food calendar, celebrity chef Sara Moulton said last night.

The executive chef of Gourmet magazine, which is sponsoring the event, said her company was already looking ahead to holding a repeat festival next year.

Speaking last night at the Fairmont Southampton Princess before the reception to kick off the three day event, she said Bermuda's small size and beauty were important ingredients which should make the event a success.

"This is the guinea pig and we will learn from whatever mistakes me make, but all the pieces are together. Gourmet is already thinking about next year," she said.

"We've got 170 people coming which is great. Bermuda is a small, it is beautiful, the demonstrations are all in one place so you don't need cars to get around, so everyone wins.

"I think of Bermuda like one big English garden, albeit with some tropical palm trees thrown in, and you have all these wonderful chefs doing back to back demonstrations.

"These are some really top chefs with a lot of knowledge and if you go to back to back demonstrations you will come away with tons of information."

Leading chefs from the United States and London will be offering cookery demonstrations throughout today and tomorrow and cooking at night at Island restaurants.

Gourmet's wine consultant Michael Green will be giving a wine tasting on Sunday during a lunch at the Southampton Princess.

Ms Moulton revealed that every chef asked to come agreed, and none asked to be paid, which is unusual in a profession where the best can earn $5-10,000 a night.

"The most astounding thing to me was that no one turned us down. They are getting a beautiful weekend in Bermuda with their families and none of them asked if they were being paid."

The guest chefs are: Bill Judson, Walter Royal, Jeff Tunks, Matthew Harris, Guillermo Pernot, Jody Adams, Michel Richard, Michael Schlow, Jean-Francois Bruel, Diane Forley and Michael Otsuka.

Ms Moulton, who has been to Bermuda on half a dozen occasions before with Gourmet, said it will be exciting to see local chefs working with their overseas visitors.

Today, Sara will help local chef Joe Gibbons record a special edition of his show `Cooking with Friends'.

"I love Sherry Peppers and fish chowder and the fish is wonderful I am learning more about the indigenous cuisine and I know you have many European chefs doing other stuff."