And the winner is…. ME! Celebrity Chef Tour 2009

This morning when I checked my email I was stunned to see an email from Keren of FranticFoodie.blogspot.com.  In the Subject heading was: WINNER.  Say what? As I read her email I couldn’t believe what I was reading.  I won 2 tickets to the coveted Celebrity Chef Tour Benefiting the James Beard Foundation.  These tickets cost $175 each! I was having a Cinderella moment.  THANK YOU KEREN!!!  I had entered a contest on her site sharing what my most embarrassing moment in the kitchen was and she randomly picked my name.  In case you’re wondering what my response was, here it is.  “I’m not sure about the most embarrassing moment but I can tell you that 2 weeks ago I was making dinner and prepared a soy, garlic, fish sauce marinade in a drinking glass. While I was in the throws of cooking, I grabbed the glass and took a big swig of it thinking I was grabbing my diet coke. All I can recall is a whole bunch of $!?#$%! words coming out of my mouth.” Disgustingly true, every word of it. Nasty. I don’t recommend drinking fish sauce straight to anyone.  But in hindsight totally worth it for these tickets!

Because I won 2 tickets I called my sister to see if she would like to be my guest. (I’m a bad wife because my husband wasn’t even in the running).  My sister is a new mom with a 6 week old newborn.  Before having a baby she would often frequent nice restaurants with her husband.  Those days are gone for right now. So what better way to say Happy Mother’s Day to the both of us than with tickets to the Celebrity Chef Tour, right? Right!

I called her up immediately and she was as excited as I was.  My brother-in-law was even nice enough to offer to drive us because .. well.. lets just say he wants us to enjoy the evening without having to worry.  I’m on cloud 9.  My only dilemma is what to wear.  I don’t think my usual baseball cap/pony-tail yoga pant loving, baby food all over myself attire is going to make the cut.  I’ll figure it out.

For fun, I Googled “Celebrity Chef Tour” and I found Traca Savadago’s article on Examiner.com about the event. Here’s a blurp from the article…

“… the James Beard Foundation is taking their show on the road!  Thursday, May 14th twice-nominated Chef Ethan Stowell (Union, Tavolata, How to Cook a Wolf, Anchovies & Olives) will team up with Columbia Tower Club’s chef James Hassell for a sumptuous evening of wine & dine.”

And from Keren’s site, she writes:

“The Celebrity chef tour recreates the James beard experience with culinary artists from all over the U.S. The event will include a reception and multi-course dining experience complete with premium wine pairings. The host of the dinner is Chef James Hassell and Seattle’s own Ethan Stowell who will be cooking up a unique menu.”

From Press Release:
As such, the Celebrity Chef Tour dinner at the Columbia Tower Club on May 14th promises to delight the palates of the most discriminating epicureans. Chefs Ethan and James will begin the evening with an elegant reception, featuring unique hors d’oeuvre creations served with a complementary wine selection. An innovative, one-of-a-kind dinner will follow, throughout which the chefs will engage the audience and share their insights in an intimate and exclusive setting, as guests enjoy several meticulously crafted courses paired with an assortment of carefully selected wines.”

I have never dined at the Columbia Tower or any of Chef Ethan’s restaurant. But I have a sneaky suspicion that my husband and I may have to broaden the scope of restaurants we dine at after this dinner.  Already I can tell I’m ruined.  I’m looking forward to sharing with you all the highlights of the evening.

If you are interested in attending this wonderful event, Tickets are $175 (not including tax or gratuity).  For more information, contact Jeff Black at 720-201-1853 or jeff@innercirclecompanies.com.