Whom You Know: NIGHTLIGHT: American Icons: James Beard Foundation Celebrates American Cuisine Annual Gala Dinner and Auction at the Four Seasons Restaurant Features Cuisine of Dan Barber, Larry Forgione, Gale Gand, Charlie Palmer, Christopher Lee, and Alfred Portale

Friday, November 13, 2009

NIGHTLIGHT: American Icons: James Beard Foundation Celebrates American Cuisine Annual Gala Dinner and Auction at the Four Seasons Restaurant Features Cuisine of Dan Barber, Larry Forgione, Gale Gand, Charlie Palmer, Christopher Lee, and Alfred Portale

The James Beard Foundation celebrated American cuisine on Wednesday night November 11th at American Icons, a sold out gala dinner and fundraising auction. The event gathered iconic American chefs and other culinary luminaries for an extraordinary evening at the Four Seasons Restaurant in New York City. James Beard Foundation Award-winning chefs prepared a multi-course dinner paired with American wines from Napa Valley Vintners for over 250 guests.

The evening began with a reception menu created by Fabio Trabocchi of The Four Seasons Restaurant and cocktails from mixologist Dale DeGroff. The dinner was prepared by Dan Barber of Blue Hill in NYC and Blue Hill at Stone Barns in Pocantico, NY; Larry Forgione of An American Place in St. Louis, MO and Monkey Bar in NYC; Alfred Portale of Gotham Bar and Grill in NYC; Charlie Palmer and Christopher Lee of Aureole in Las Vegas and NYC; and Pastry Chef Gale Gand of Tru in Chicago. The décor was created by Marc Wilson of Marc Wilson Design.

Notable guests included Alec Baldwin, Daniel Boulud, B. Smith, CBS Early Show co-host Harry Smith, author Mireille Guiliano, one of our loved Movers and Shakers: http://www.whomyouknow.com/2009/10/movers-and-shakers-mireille-guiliano.html and Alex Guarnaschelli, host of Food Network’s "Alex's Day Off" and judge on "Chopped." The event featured once-in-a-lifetime live auction packages, including an auction lot sold for $16,000 that included a private dinner in your home prepared by former White House chef Walter Scheib and served on Tin Can Alley dinnerware by Lenox which the winner will keep. The top-selling package of the evening was the Boulud Burger Blowout, a private burger, banger, beer and bubbly event at the James Beard House with Daniel Boulud, which sold for $24,000. In all, the silent and live auctions raised more than $235,000 to support the James Beard Foundation’s mission and programs.

Peachy Deegan enjoyed talking to Harry Smith! Last year she appeared on the CBS Early Show, and if you were lucky enough to see the CBS Early Show on Halloween you will remember that Harry Smith was a FABULOUS Julia Child this year. We enjoyed hearing about that experience from Harry on Wednesday night and we only wish that Harry as Julia was making eggs at the Four Seasons! If the video is still up on the CBS site you should check it out and you will see that Mover and Shaker Lonnie Quinn: http://www.whomyouknow.com/2009/07/movers-and-shakers-lonnie-quinn-chief.html did not escape being "egged!" We are glad to know now that this was not premeditated by Julia and it did make for some great tv...as they say, a lot does happen early. B and Dan Smith were a charming couple to chat with as well and we look forward to featuring more of B Smith!

Other wonderful guests Peachy Deegan loved meeting included:

Alec Baldwin (we loved your book)

Grace Friary

William Boylan

Lydia Zakim

Jack Zakim

Diane Gordon

Alison Liu

Karen Chin

Nancy Kull

Mica Duffy

Rachel Rivkind

Wendy Jeffers
Kris Moon

About the James Beard Foundation
Founded in 1986, the James Beard Foundation is dedicated to celebrating, preserving, and nurturing America’s culinary heritage and diversity in order to elevate the appreciation of our culinary excellence. A cookbook author and teacher with an encyclopedic knowledge about food, James Beard, who died in 1985, was a champion of American cuisine. He helped educate and mentor generations of professional chefs and food enthusiasts. Today, the Beard Foundation continues in the same spirit by administering a number of diverse programs that include educational initiatives, food industry awards, scholarships to culinary schools, and publications, and by maintaining the historic James Beard House in New York City’s Greenwich Village as a “performance space” for visiting chefs. For more information, please visit http://www.jamesbeard.org/. Find insights on food at the James Beard Foundation’s blog Delights & Prejudices. Join the James Beard Foundation on Facebook. Follow the James Beard Foundation on Twitter.

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