Support a Great Cause at a Most Unique Culinary Event | Don't Miss the 11th Annual Flavors of San Diego Culinary Gala on Sunday, September 7

August 17, 2014

The American Liver Foundation will host its 11th Annual Flavors of San Diego Culinary Gala on Sunday, September 7, at the Grand Del Mar from 5:30-10pm. This event offers a most unique dining experience, featuring 30 of San Diego’s best chefs showcasing their talents and representing their restaurants. While many organizations host tasting events where participating chefs prepare a small dish for everyone in attendance to sample, Flavors assigns one chef to each table of ten guests. Each chef then stages the entire table and cooks a creative, multi-course meal for the attendees that differs from table to table and chef to chef.

Unleash your inner "foodie" as you experience gourmet delights, sure to please your palate. The Flavors of San Diego Culinary Gala will begin with a wine reception and silent auction, followed by dinner and a live auction. At Flavors you’ll do more than just eat the food - you will have an unforgettable dining experience while helping to fund the research, education, and advocacy efforts of the American Liver Foundation. Each chef is not only responsible for preparing and serving a multi-course culinary masterpiece but they are also responsible for the table décor, from linens to silverware, plate ware, stemware and magnificent centerpieces.

"The Flavors Gala is a national culinary event that spotlights up to 30 of San Diego’s premier chefs and creates an extraordinary gourmet experience for each guest," explained Michele DeMotto,
Executive Director of the American Liver Foundation Pacific Coast & Hawaii Division. "Proceeds from the Gala will directly benefit the American Liver Foundation, helping fund our mission of providing educational programs, advocacy, support and to fund research for better treatments and cures of all liver diseases."

This year’s chef chairs are Christopher Gardner, Jeffrey Strauss with Pamplemousse Grill and Kevin Templeton of barleymash and the Verant Group. Honorees are Tarek Hassanein, MD, of Southern California Liver Centers and Richard Bartell of Humphreys Restaurant. Chefs currently slated to participate in the Flavors event include:
  •     Jake Andrews, Sally’s Seafood on the Water
  •     Humberto Aviles, La Caza Club
  •     Conor Ball, Morada - The Inn at Rancho Santa Fe
  •     Brian Bonney, Oceanaire Seafood Room
  •     Abe Botello, West Coast Tavern
  •     Kevin Bryan, Spike Africa’s Fresh Fish Grill
  •     Mario Cassineri & Francesca Penoncelli, BiCE Restorante
  •     Adam Cho & Nicolas Bour, Mistral at Loews Coronado Bay
  •     Dennis Cortez, The Grand Del Mar Culinary Team
  •     Drew Deckman, Deckmans en el Mogor
  •     Flor Franco, Zarco & Conviva
  •     Christopher Gardner, Volunteers of America, Southwest Division
  •     Chris Idso, Pacifica Del Mar
  •     Chad Kilgore, Pfizer La Jolla
  •     Carmine Lopez, Great Maple
  •     Paul Murphy, Humphreys Restaurant
  •     Jeffrey Rottinghaus, Seasons 52 Downtown San Diego
  •     Aron Schwartz, Marina Kitchen at the Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina
  •     Christopher Spayde, Blue Waver Bar and Grill
  •     Jeffrey Strauss, Pamplemousse Grille
  •     Kevin Templeton, Barleymash
  •     Lincoln Williams, The 3rd Corner
Tickets to the Flavors of San Diego Culinary Gala are $400 per person, and sponsors at the $10K level have pick of restaurant, otherwise it is done by random drawing.

Flavors was first stirred together in 1991 by James Beard Award winning chef Christopher Gross in Phoenix. Chef Gross and other area chefs were interested in supporting the mission of the American Liver Foundation. Today the event is hosted by the organization in 20 cities across the country and raises millions of dollars annually to support the work of the American Liver Foundation. Participating culinary masters include local celebrity chefs, James Beard Award winners, and even a past winner of Bravo’s Top Chef.

The American Liver Foundation has plans for the first annual Flavors of Coronado, anticipated to take place March 2015. For more information, to purchase tickets, or to donate to the American Liver Foundation of San Diego, visit liverfoundation.org/chapters/sandiego.