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Award-Winning James Beard Celebrity Chefs Take Center Stage at Housewares Charity Foundation Gala
ROSEMONT, IL (March 4 , 2009)—Seven award-winning James Beard celebrity chefs from Chicago will be preparing their signature specialties for a once-in-a-lifetime dinner during the 12th Annual Housewares Charity Foundation (HCF) Gala, Monday, March 23 at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers. Participating in this unique culinary experience will be Grant Achatz of Alinea; Rick and Deann Bayless of Frontera Grill and Topolobampo; Paul Kahan of Blackbird, avec and The Publican; Tony Mantuano of Spiaggia; Bruce Sherman of North Pond and Art Smith of Table Fifty-Two.
The evening will begin with a cocktail reception hosted by John DiMartini, the executive chef of the Sheraton, along with special guest Grant Achatz. When guests are invited into dinner, the ballroom will be divided into four sections—each with its own three-course menu served simultaneously. Each chef will prepare a special appetizer and entrée and all guests will enjoy the same dessert prepared by Art Smith.
The event will benefit The Breast Cancer Research Foundation, the HCF’s legacy charity. Timothy M. Adams, chairman and chief executive officer of Macy’s Home Store, will be honored as Lifetime Humanitarian and Lyn P. Kirby, president and CEO of Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance, Inc., will receive the Creativity Leadership Award. The gala is held annually in conjunction with the International Home + Housewares Show.
To reserve seats for the 2009 HCF gala, contact Paul Murphy at 508-272-0717, visit the website at www.housewarescharity.org or make reservations onsite at the Show Store on Level 2.5 of the South Building.
Chef Bios
Grant Achatz, Chef/Owner, Alinea -- Born in Michigan in 1974, Grant Achatz grew up in the restaurant industry, literally, his parents and grandparents being restaurateurs. Early on he realized he wanted to be a chef, and upon graduating from high school immediately enrolled at the Culinary Institute of America (C.I.A.). Excelling at the C.I.A., Achatz graduated and ascended the culinary ladder at several prestigious restaurants, including the acclaimed French Laundry in the Napa Valley. Working closely with Thomas Keller, Achatz thrived in this highly creative and dedicated environment, and after two years became Sous Chef to Keller. After four years at the French Laundry, Achatz chose to broaden his knowledge and worked as an assistant winemaker at La Jota Vineyards. In 2001, he accepted the Executive
Chef position at the four-star Trio (Evanston, Il.). Achatz flourished at Trio, garnering accolades including being named the “Rising Star Chef in America,” James Beard Foundation, 2003 and one of 10 “Best New Chefs in America,” Food & Wine, 2002. Under Achatz’s lead, Trio received four stars from the Chicago Tribune and Chicago magazine and garnered five stars from the celebrated Mobil Travel Guide in 2004. Known worldwide in culinary circles as one of the leaders in the forward-thinking movement, Achatz realized a lifelong dream by opening Alinea in Chicago in May 2005. The restaurant received extraordinary attention from day one, and was nominated by the James Beard Foundation as the Best New Restaurant in America that same year. Alinea has received worldwide attention for its hypermodern, emotional approach to dining. Among its honors, Alinea has received four stars from both the Chicago Tribune and Chicago magazine, Achatz was named the “next great American chef” by The New York Times (September 2005) and in October 2006 Alinea received Five Diamonds from AAA and Ruth Reichl of Gourmet magazine declared Alinea the “Best Restaurant in America” in its twice-per-decade list of America’s Top 50 Restaurants.
Rick Bayless, Chef/Owner, Frontera Grill & Topolobampo -- Most people know Rick Bayless from his highly rated on-going Public Television Series, “Mexico—One Plate at a Time” and from his six cookbooks. His second book, Mexican Kitchen, won the Julia Childs IACP cookbook of the year award in 1996, and his fourth book, Mexico—One Plate at a Time won James Beard Best International Cookbook of the Year award in 2001. His side by side award-winning restaurants in Chicago were founded in 1987: The casual Frontera Grill and the 4-star Topolobampo. In 2007, Frontera Grill won for Outstanding Restaurant by the James Beard Organization. His award-winning Frontera line of salsas, grilling sauces and organic chips can be found coast to coast. On the local front, Bayless and his staff began the Frontera Farmer Foundation in 2003 to attract support for small Midwestern farms. Each year, grants are given to local farmers for capital improvements to their family farms. In 2007, he was awarded the Humanitarian of the Year by the International Association of Culinary Professionals for his work with local farmers. This year, Bayless and his team launched the Frontera Scholarship: a full tuition scholarship that will send a Mexican-American student to Kendall Culinary College to study the culinary arts. Bayless has won James Beard awards for: Midwest Chef of the Year, National Chef of the Year and Humanitarian of the Year. His cookbook with his now 17-year-old daughter, Lanie, titled Rick and Lanie’s Excellent Kitchen Adventures was nominated for a James Beard Award as well as Rick’s latest book Mexican Everyday. “Mexico—One Plate at a Time” is currently in its sixth season on PBS.
Rick Bayless will be joined by his wife, Deann Groen Bayless. After graduating from college, Deann’s path made an unexpected turn into the world of good food when she married Rick Bayless in 1979 and went on a two-month honeymoon/research trip to Mexico. Over the next six years, and between stints working with restaurants in Cleveland and Los Angeles, the Baylesses logged over 35,000 miles traveling through every state in Mexico, learning regional specialties made by local restaurants, market vendors and street stall cooks.
Paul Kahan, Executive Chef/Partner, Blackbird -- Paul Kahan has become the nationally recognizable face for a new guard of Chicago chefs. With an ever-growing list of international accolades for Blackbird, avec and The Publican, Kahan was honored by his selection as a James Beard nominee for Outstanding Chef in 2007 and winner of James Beard Best Chef of the Midwest in 2004. Passionately seasonal, unconventionally creative and dedicated to the inspiration of classical cuisine, Kahan has earned the praise of many who claim him to be one of America's most influential working chefs. After a brief post-college stint as a computer scientist, Kahan took a job in the kitchen of Erwin Drechsler's Metropolis, where Kahan quickly realized his own true calling. Throughout his 15-year apprenticeship and advancement in Drechsler's kitchens at Metropolis and erwin, Kahan developed his own relationships with Midwestern farmers and integrated many of their offerings into dishes that he created for those restaurants, and later for award-winning Chef Rick Bayless at Topolobampo. In 1999, shortly after Blackbird opened, Food & Wine placed Kahan on its Best New Chefs list, recognizing his highly individual approach to cooking and the talent that Chicago diners have celebrated for years. Years of accolades and awards followed until, in 2007, Kahan was honored with a nomination for James Beard Outstanding Chef, an amazing achievement for a chef from a small restaurant without a cookbook or TV show to promote his name nationally. He earned his nomination by working five days a week in the kitchen with "his guys," commuting year-round on his bicycle.
Tony Manuano, Chef/Partner, Spiaggia -- James Beard Award Winner Chef Tony Mantuano is chef/partner of Spiaggia, Chicago’s only four-star Italian restaurant, which has remained so for 25 years. Under Mantuano’s guidance, Spiaggia received the James Beard Foundation nomination for “Outstanding Restaurant in America” in 2006 and 2007 and “Outstanding Service” in 2008. Prior to opening Spiaggia, Mantuano worked in several Michelin-starred restaurants in Italy including the three-star Dal Pescatore in Lombardia. Mantuano has co-authored two books with Cathy Mantuano, The Spiaggia Cookbook – Eleganza Italian in Cucina (Chronicle Books) and Wine Bar Food (Clarkson Potter). Mantuano was most currently seen at the U.S. Open Tennis Championship in Queens, N.Y., where he operated WINE BAR FOOD, a stand-only wine bar that featured recipes from his latest cookbook. Up next for Mantuano includes celebrating the 25th anniversary of Spiaggia and the opening of an Italian/Mediterranean restaurant at the new Renzo Piano-designed Modern Wing at the Art Institute of Chicago.
Bruce Sherman, Chef/Partner, North Pond -- A native Chicagoan, Bruce Sherman traveled the world developing his culinary knowledge before returning home to the delight of Chicago’s dining community. As Chef and Partner at Lincoln Park’s North Pond, Sherman utilizes influences he picked up in Paris, Southeast Asia and London to produce his contemporary French-American, innovative, seasonal cuisine. In New Delhi, Sherman immersed himself for nearly four years in the local culture, particularly the cuisine of India. While in India, Sherman acted as consultant for Palace Hotels, teaching the local Rajasthani cooks how to prepare Western food for visiting tourists. He also completed personal studies to develop a greater understanding and appreciation of the indigenous spices of the Malabar Coast. In 1996, Sherman moved to Paris and enrolled at the Ecole Superieure de Cuisine Francaise for the purpose of furthering his culinary knowledge. He completed the year-long comprehensive program and supplemented his studies with jobs at a number of highly regarded restaurants. In 1999, Sherman accepted the position as Chef at North Pond and has been dazzling diners with his broadly influenced, subtle, seasonal cuisine ever since. Sherman was honored by Food & Wine as one of America’s “Best New Chefs” of 2003 and in both 2007 and 2008, was nominated by the esteemed James Beard Foundation in the “Best Chef: Great Lakes Region” category. In 2008, Share Our Strength named him “Most Sustainable Chef” at the Chicago Taste of the Nation event and later that year, he accepted the position as Chair of Chefs Collaborative.
Art Smith, Executive Chef/co-Owner, Table Fifty-Two -- Art Smith has received the culinary profession's highest awards and has cooked for some of the world's most famous celebrities as personal chef to Oprah Winfrey. A native of Jasper, Fla., where he grew up on his family's farm, Smith is the former executive chef of the Florida Governor's Mansion during the tenure of Bob Graham, now a United States Senator. A graduate of the prestigious Walt Disney Magic Kingdom College culinary program, Smith also was chosen for, and completed, two highly selective internships at The Greenbrier Resort. In addition he has studied at the Florida State University School of Business. In 1997, Smith became the personal, day-to-day chef to Oprah Winfrey, a position that lasted 10 years. Smith now coordinates and cooks for the headline-grabbing special events that Winfrey hosts all around the world. A contributing editor to O, the Oprah Magazine, Smith is also the author of three award-winning cookbooks: Back to the Table; Kitchen Life: Real Food for Real Families; and Back to the Family. Most recently he contributed recipes and cooking advice to The Spectrum, the newest book by ground-breaking cardiologist and New York Times bestselling author Dr. Dean Ornish. Smith has made regular television appearances on programs such as Iron Chef America, The Today Show and Oprah in addition to having served as a Williams-Sonoma culinary instructor and the special events chef for Martha Stewart Living magazine. Smith's cooking and writing talents have earned him highest praise, but perhaps his greatest gift to the community at large has been his philanthropy. In 2003, he founded Common Threads, a non-profit organization that teaches children about diversity and tolerance through the world's great cultures. For his tireless Common Threads leadership, Smith was honored by Chicago magazine as a "Chicagoan of the Year" in 2007. That same year, the prestigious James Beard Foundation named him "Humanitarian of the Year."
EDITOR’S NOTE:Download a zip file containing all chef photos at: http://www.housewares.org/images/chefImages.zip
