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 Recognizing
the importance and bounty of America’s diverse cuisine,
the first ever National Food Festival hosted by the James Beard
Foundation is coming to a city near you on September 28th. On
that night across the U.S., 20 cities will celebrate the world-renowned
culinary organization’s 20th anniversary and the legacy
of James Beard. Called Taste America, the event headlines some
of the most accomplished and influential chefs working in America
today, including Daniel Boulud, Thomas Keller, Marcus Samuelsson,
Nancy Silverton and Charlie Trotter. Also volunteering their
culinary skills will be the James Beard Foundation Trustee Chefs:
Robert Del Grande, Emily Luchetti, Patrick O’Connell and
Norman Van Aken.
“Every American should embrace and be proud of America’s
sophisticated and diverse cuisine,” notes Susan Ungaro,
President of the James Beard Foundation. “The James Beard
Foundation’s Taste America celebrates this diversity
as we honor and continue James Beard’s lifelong mission
to educate Americans of all ages about food. As Beard once
said, ‘the way people eat is an unconscious reflection
of the way people live.’ ”
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 James
Beard Foundation continues in the same spirit with a number
of diverse programs that include educational initiatives,
publications, food industry awards, scholarships to culinary
schools, and by maintaining the historic James Beard House
in New York City’s Greenwich Village as a “performance
space” for visiting chefs. Celebrating its 20th anniversary
this year, 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.
With the landmark event Taste America, the Foundation continues
to celebrate and nurture culinary skills and knowledge by
bringing chefs to the public as they host fundraising dinners
on September 28th and in-store Williams-Sonoma food festivals
on September 29th across the country.
 In
Chicago, the Taste America fundraising dinner will take place
at the Signature Room at the 95th, 875 N. Michigan Avenue.
The event will be hosted by Chef Charlie Trotter with Chicago
Chefs Alexander Cheswick, May Street Market; Bill Kim, Le
Lan; Mike Sheerin, Blackbird; Patrick Sheerin, the Signature
Room at the 95th; and Bruce Sherman, North Pond, creating
the evening’s Harvest themed menu which honors Midwest
seasonal dining. The Taste America event in Chicago is being
planned and marketed locally, bringing together local business
leaders, media, food and wine producers and experts and James
Beard Foundation members. In addition, a portion of the proceeds
from each dinner will be donated to local charity Common Threads.
The next day, the James Beard Foundation and Williams-Sonoma
will host a free event open to the public in the Williams-Sonoma
store, Oakbrook from 10am to 5pm. Activities at this store
include a cookbook signing by Chef and author Charlie Trotter,
cooking demonstrations and by chef/owner Alexander Cheswick,
tastings and children’s activities for our “foodies
of the future,” encouraging children and parents to learn
about and experience the fun of preparing food together.
With this Taste America program, destination dining around
the country has a revived purpose in continuing the culinary
excellence that is American cuisine.
For more information on the James Beard Foundation’s
Taste America, and to order tickets for the event in a city
near you, please visit jbftasteamerica.com.
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