What: The Celebrity Chef Tour
Where: City Club of Washington, Washington DC
When: Saturday April 25th at 7pm

The Celebrity Chef Tour benefiting the James Beard Foundation is delighted to announce that Celebrity Chef Marc Vetri, owner of the eponymous Vetri in Philadelphia, James Beard Award recipient and Food and Wine “Ten Best New Chefs List” honoree, will make his debut with the Tour at the beautifully-appointed City Club in the heart of DC. Along with Host Executive Chef Reid Badger, Chef Marc will share his passion for simple, yet pronounced flavors inspired by his native Italy at the City Club on Saturday, April 25th, 2009 at 7pm. In addition to its wine pairing courses, the Tour will feature a selection of premium beer pairings at the dinner, provided by Stella Artois, Leffe and Hoegaarden.

Since 2004, the Celebrity Chef Tour has been recreating the “Once-in-a-Lifetime” experience of dining at the historic James Beard House, for which the nation’s top chefs come to prepare menus at the Foundation’s invitation, by featuring the greatest culinary artists in major markets across the United States. While harnessing the excitement and huge popular culture interest in all things food, the Celebrity Chef Tour benefits the James Beard Foundation, whose mission is to “celebrate, preserve and nurture America’s culinary heritage and diversity in order to elevate the appreciation of our culinary excellence.”

As such, the Celebrity Chef Tour dinner at the City Club on April 25th promises to delight the palates of the most discriminating epicureans. Chefs Marc and Reid will begin the evening with an elegant reception, featuring unique hors d’oeuvre creations served with a complementary premium wine and beer 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 and beers.

Tickets are available to the public for $195 (plus state sales tax). For more information and to purchase tickets, please contact Jeff Black at 720-201-1853 or jeff@innercirclecompanies.com.

Celebrity Chef Marc Vetri
Trained in Bergamo, Italy, by some of the region’s most noted chefs, Marc Vetri brings a bold, contemporary sensibility to classic Italian cooking. Within two years of opening his eponymous Philadelphia restaurant, Vetri was named one of Food & Wine’s Ten Best New Chefs and received the Philadelphia Inquirer’s highest restaurant rating. In 2005, Vetri won the James Beard Award for “Best Chef Mid-Atlantic.”

Vetri opened his intimate 40-seat restaurant in the heart of Center City Philadelphia. His outstanding pastas, innovative flavor combinations and artful presentations captured diners’ imaginations and propelled Vetri to the forefront of culinary trends. In February 2007, nine years later, he opened Osteria just north of Center City at 640 North Broad Street. While Vetri is exclusive and refined, Osteria is larger and more casual. It’s the perfect place to grab a counter seat and enjoy a slice of thin-crust pizza or settle into a plate of wood-grilled meat such as spit-roasted lamb stuffed with Parmesan and herbs.

In both restaurants, Vetri’s flavors are simple yet pronounced. Freshness is his muse. He chooses the finest seasonal ingredients from local farm markets and premium purveyors around the US and Italy. He keeps cooking to a minimum and preparations straightforward. “Cooking is about finding high-quality, regional ingredients,” he says, “then using the simplest techniques to convey their purity.”

Vetri’s culinary training began early. As a boy, he cooked on the weekends with his Sicilian grandmother in South Philly. As a young man, he cooked his way through school while studying business and music. In California, he got more serious about food and took a job cooking at Wolfgang Puck’s Granita. Disillusioned with California’s fusion of cuisines, he followed his passion to Italy, his roots, where he immersed himself in Italian food and culture. He cooked all over Italy, learning to butcher meat, make prosciutto, and roll supple fresh pastas.

James Beard House and the James Beard Foundation
James Beard is widely recognized as the father of American culinary arts. Throughout his life, he pursued and advocated the highest standards, and served as a mentor to emerging talents. The James Beard House is where Beard lived, taught, and welcomed friends and colleagues who shared his love for food. Shortly after he passed away, a group of friends sparked a drive to save his home and create a living memorial and a center for the culinary community. It has become what Founding President Peter Kump envisioned it could be, “a culinary place to see and taste the work of this country’s most talented chef’s, wine makers, cookbook authors, and teachers.” The James Beard House’s sister non-profit organization, the James Beard Foundation, whose mission is to “celebrate, preserve and nurture America’s culinary heritage and diversity in order to elevate the appreciation of our culinary excellence,” furthers Mr. Kump’s vision by providing scholarships and volunteer opportunities for aspiring culinary professionals, educating today’s youth on the importance of good food and essential nutrition.

City Club of Washington Columbia Square
Columbia Square: Beautiful artwork, period furnishings and baronial Old World woodworking distinguish this flagship jewel in the Nations Capital. Located in the heart of the business and theater district, convenient to Capital Hill, The White House, The Smithsonian and many of the worlds’s most visited museums and institutions. Club quarters include an intimate e-lounge and bar, where Members may make phone calls and check e-mail simultaneously. Private dining rooms are equipped with all day meeting chairs, complete audiovisual equipment, Internet capabilities, video conferencing and lighting and temperature controls accessible to Members. Member’s may also stay connected in the business center, equipped with personal computers phones a printer, fax, copy and shredding machines. The Club also has an elegant Main Dining room and classic Grille.
For more information, visit http://www.sonesta.com/ROYALNEWORLEANS/.