Three Benchmark Hospitality Chefs Invited to Cook Holiday Dinner at James Beard House in New York
NEW YORK, NY, October 31, 2005. Executive Chefs from three Benchmark Hospitality International Inns & Resorts have been invited to cook at the renowned James Beard House in New York on Thursday, December 29, 2005.
The chefs include Scott Lahey, executive chef at North Maple Inn of Basking Ridge, New Jersey; Anthony Loos, executive chef and director of food & beverage at The Founders Inn of Virginia Beach, Virginia; and Konrad Meier, executive chef at Lansdowne Resort of Leesburg, Virginia, near Washington, DC. Lansdowne's Sommelier, Mary Watson, will assist.
The five-course Benchmark Holiday Dinner begins at 7:00 p.m. with cocktails and hors d'oeuvres and dinner will be served at 8:00 p.m. Reservations can be arranged by calling The James Beard House at 212-627-2308 and are $90 per person for members of the James Beard Foundation and $115 per person for the general public.
"It is an honor to be invited to cook at the James Beard House," said Bob Zappatelli, Benchmark's corporate food & beverage director and general manager of The Founders Inn. "To have chefs from three of our properties invited to cook by the definitive culinary arts organization in the United States, the James Beard Foundation, is extremely gratifying and rewarding. We are anticipating an exquisite evening!"
Mildred Amico, program director for The James Beard Foundation, which is housed in the Beard House, stated, "December is an enormously popular month for dinners at The James Beard House. We're billing this as The Benchmark Holiday Dinner, playing on the double meaning, in this case, for 'Benchmark'." Amico went on to say, "We look forward to a wonderful evening and to Benchmark's chefs setting a new standard in holiday dining."
The James Beard House, located at 167 West 12th Street in Greenwich Village, was home to the Dean of American Cookery, James Beard, from 1976 until his death at 81 in 1985. The prolific 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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