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Celebrity Chef Celebration Special Benefit May 28, 29 & 30, 2008
Eat, drink and be merry! It’s for a good cause.
The Arts Center’s popular Celebrity Chef Celebration returns this spring with six world-class chefs, among them Charleston Grill’s much-celebrated Bob Waggoner. The chefs will be preparing their favorite specialties, accompanied by exquisite wines, the evenings of May 28, 29 and 30 in some of the area’s most beautiful private homes.
Proceeds from the fundraising event help pay for the Arts Center’s extensive education and outreach programming, including student field trips, after school programs, community events and ArtsReach, which sends professional artists into schools to work with students and teachers on special projects.
Designated one of the “Rising Stars of the 21st Century” by the prestigious James Beard Foundation, Waggoner also was honored in 2001 and 2002 with “Best Chef in the South” nominations and Food & Wine’s “Reader’s Favorite Chef in America” award.
As in year’s past, this nationally renowned chef enlisted some of America’s most brilliant culinary minds to help with the event.
Among them is Chris Hastings, owner/chef of Birmingham’s famed Hot & Hot Fish Company. Recently nominated for James Beard’s “Best Chef in the South” award, Hastings is known for his scintillating fish, seafood and fresh seasonal creations.
Also hailing from the south is Chef Jim Gerhardt of Kentucky’s Limestone restaurant. He’s known for his “new southern cooking with old southern charm.”
The all-star lineup also will include Kevin Rathbun who opened his own restaurant in Atlanta four years ago. Esquire Magazine named Rathbun’s one of the “Top Restaurants in the Country.” It also was voted Travel & Leisure’s “Best New American Restaurant” and “Restaurant of the Year” by Atlanta Magazine.
Making a return visit to the event is Chef Wally Joe of Brushmark Restaurant in the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art. Prior to moving to Tennessee, Joe was the first chef from the state of Mississippi to be invited to cook atthe James Beard House.
Rounding out the epicurean dream team are Chef Jeff Tunks of DC Coast Restaurant in Washington, D.C., hailed by Gourmet, Bon Appétit, Food & Wine, Travel & Leisure, Wine Spectator, The New York Times and The Washington Post.
“This event is very different,” Waggoner said. “It’s an exciting, fun evening where a very special camaraderie is born. People leave as friends.”
Be sure to make your reservations early for the Celebrity Chef Celebration as seating is limited. The cost is $250 per person. Call the Arts Center development office at 686-3945, ext. 277, today!
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