Benchmark Chefs Invited to Cook at James Beard House, NY
Joined by Benchmark's Pastry Chef & Sommelier
NEW YORK, NY, November 14, 2006. Benchmark Hospitality chefs from hotels and resorts in West Virginia, Virginia, Long Island New York and New Jersey have been invited by The James Beard Foundation to cook at the prestigious James Beard House in Manhattan. The dinner, entitled the 'Benchmark Holiday Dinner,' will take place on Thursday, December 28, 2006.
This is the second time in as many years that Benchmark chefs have been invited to cook a Benchmark Holiday Dinner at the Beard House, which is located at 167 West 12th Street in Greenwich Village, Manhattan. Last year's event sold out weeks before the dinner took place and the expectation is for the same this year.
The Benchmark chefs include Dale Hawkins, executive chef at Stonewall Resort of Roanoke, West Virginia; Jason Lage of Lansdowne Resort, located near Leesburg, Virginia; Todd Wolfson, executive chef at Glen Cove Mansion in Glen Cove, New York; and Jennifer Chambers, pastry chef at North Maple Inn of Basking Ridge, New Jersey. Mary Watson, Benchmark's award-winning sommelier at Lansdowne Resort, has paired each course with wine.
The Benchmark Holiday Dinner begins at 7:00 p.m. with hors d'oeuvres and superb California wines. A five-course chefs' tasting menu will be served at 8:00 p.m. Reservations can be arranged by calling the James Beard House at 212-627-2308 and are $100 per person for members of the James Beard Foundation and $130 per person for the general public.
"We feel so honored to be invited back to the James Beard House," said Bob Zappatelli, vice president of food & beverage for Benchmark Hospitality International. "Three of our top executive chefs as well as our superb pastry chef and award-winning sommelier have planned an exquisite menu for the definitive Holiday Dinner. We expect to set a new culinary benchmark for extraordinary holiday dining."
Mildred Amico, director emeritus for The James Beard Foundation, which is housed in the Beard House, stated, "The Benchmark chefs cooked a fantastic Holiday Dinner last year to a sell-out group of gourmands. The chefs this year are equally wonderful and have planned a superb menu. We look forward to Benchmark once again setting a new standard in holiday dining."
The James Beard House was home to the Dean of American Cookery, James Beard, from 1976 until his death at 81 in 1985. The multifaceted Beard, who established cooking schools and published over 20 important cookbooks, many of which are still in print, left a legacy of culinary excellence and integrity to generations of home cooks and professional chefs. His name remains synonymous with American cuisine.
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