Top Female Chefs of San Francisco Cook Up A Storm for
"The James Beard Foundation's Taste America™"
The Foundation's First-Ever National Food Festival

San Francisco, CA -August, 2007- On September 28-29, 2007, San Francisco will join 19 other U.S. cities to host "The James Beard Foundation's Taste America™," (www.jbftastamerica.com) a national food festival celebrating the world-renowned culinary organization's 20th anniversary and the legacy of James Beard. "The James Beard Foundation's Taste America™" will feature several culinary experiences presided over by some of America's pre-eminent regional and national restaurateurs, including renowned Pastry Chef Gale Gand of Tru, James Beard Award-winning cookbook author Joanne Weir, and several of San Francisco's James Beard Award-winning chefs - among them, Traci des Jardins of Jardinere and Nancy Oakes of Boulevard.

"The James Beard Foundation's Taste America™" is headlined by 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.

"When James Beard completed his signature cookbook American Cookery in 1972, he couldn't have imagined that American chefs would one day become household names," says Susan Ungaro, President of the James Beard Foundation. "Along the way to their celebrity status, our chefs have elevated the profession of cooking, establishing America as one of the great food nations of the world. The James Beard Foundation has played an important role in this dramatic trend."

Through "The James Beard Foundation's Taste America™" festival, the foundation will continue to celebrate and nurture culinary skills and knowledge by bringing these chefs to the public and hosting culinary events and marketplaces in Williams-Sonoma stores across the country. Chuck Williams, founder of Williams-Sonoma and a close friend and collaborator of James Beard since 1959, says, "This is a wonderful opportunity for Williams-Sonoma to honor James Beard's legacy and to support his commitment to reengage people in the kitchen and teach them how to cook."

Ingredients of San Francisco's "The James Beard Foundation's Taste America™"
On Friday evening, September 28, 2007, a fundraising dinner to benefit the James Beard Foundation will take place at the St. Regis Hotel. The event will spotlight four of the best James Beard Foundation Award-winning female chefs in the Bay Area and be lead by 2007 James Beard Foundation Award-winner for Best Chef: Pacific, Traci des Jardins of Jardinere. Jardins will collaborate to create a four-course dinner menu alongside Nancy Oakes of Boulevard, James Beard Award-winning cookbook author Joanne Weir, and nationally renowned Pastry Chef Gale Gand. The benefit dinner will bring together local business leaders, media, food and wine producers and experts and James Beard Foundation members. In addition, a portion of the proceeds from the dinner will be donated to a local charity.

On Saturday, September 29, 2007, the James Beard Foundation and Williams-Sonoma will host a free event open to the public. The event will offer a range of interactive educational opportunities within the Williams-Sonoma store. Some of the activities will include:

* Cooking Demonstrations performed by well-known local chefs, designed to stimulate the audience's minds and engage their senses.

* Cookbook Signings with celebrated American chefs, giving participants a chance to hear from and interact with a culinary master.

* Children's Activities for our "Foodies of the Future," encouraging children and parents to learn about and experience the fun of preparing food together.

* Festival Marketplace featuring tastings and treats from local artisans and farmers - a place where people can taste, talk, and educate themselves about purveyors, farmers, products and cooking schools in their own backyard.

Details:
St. Regis Hotel, On the Terrace
125 Third Street, San Francisco
Reception at 6:30pm, Dinner at 7:30pm
Dessert Buffet at 9:30pm, Silent auction at 10:00pm
http://www.jbftasteamerica.com

Tickets: $250.00 for dinner
Call Andrew Freeman & Co. 415-781-7766, or email tasteamerica@andrewfreemanandco.com

"The James Beard Foundation's Taste America™" Sponsors

"The James Beard Foundation's Taste America™" is presented in association with Every Day with Rachael Ray and Williams-Sonoma¼. Additional national sponsors include All-Clad Metalcrafters, Canon, Hyundai, The Luxury Collection (Starwood Hotels and Resorts), Plymouth Gin; JetBlue Airways, the official airline of Taste America and American Express, the official card of the James Beard Foundation.

About the James Beard Foundation
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. 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 www.jamesbeard.org.