Puerto Vallarta, Mexico - Once again Puerto Vallarta's status as a gourmet destination has been confirmed. The American Academy of Hospitality Sciences announced that 11 restaurants in Mexico received the prestigious Star Diamond Award 2011, and that ten out of the eleven are right here in Puerto Vallarta.

On Friday, May 27, the ten award-winning restaurants will be recognized in a ceremony at one of the most renowned restaurants in Vallarta, and indeed the country, the Cafe des Artistes. It will be a night of jazz, tapas and wine.

The destination restaurants that won the prestigious medal are: Café des Artistes, Thierry's Prime, La Palapa, Vista Grill, Kaiser Maximilian, Trio, Vitea, Le Kliff, Los Xitomates and Tikul.

According to the founding chef and owner of Café des Artistes, Thierry Blouet, the announcement confirms that Puerto Vallarta is a gourmet destination par excellence, since it has a large number of restaurants with different specialties.

"Here you can find a wide variety of restaurants of the best food in the world, from Mexican, seafood, Mediterranean, Asian, French,Italian and fusion cuisines," he said.

He also said that Puerto Vallarta is the ideal place to learn the exquisite variety of Mexican cuisine. The culinary offerings of this destination are inexhaustible, from simple dishes to the most sophisticated culinary offerings. "There are restaurants to suit all budgets, tastes and preferences, and Puerto Vallarta restaurants also offer lovely views of the magnificent Banderas Bay, the beautiful,lush hills surrounding the city and the picturesque downtown."

He noted that during the year there are two culinary events that highlight the cuisine of this wonderful place and give you the opportunity to meet many of the best restaurants in Puerto Vallarta and Riviera Nayarit: the Gourmet Festival in November and Restaurant Week in May.

The Gourmet Festival was born about 15 years ago with the idea of promoting internationally the excellent restaurants in this tourist destination. The first festival was held in 1995 with six five-star hotels and six separate restaurants, each with a chef of international renown as a guest of honor.

Though the initial format has not changed much since then, it has been enriched with more events and guests and over 20 participating hotels and restaurants each year.