Getting Ready for Taste of the Nation '09

For the second year in a row, I will be co-chairing the restaurant committee for Share Our Strength's annual Taste of the Nation event. Talk about fun volunteer work! This has always been one of my favorite events to attend - all the best restaurants are there, the Aquarium is a killer setting and they always have a fun honorary chef (last year was Tom Colicchio!).

Last night was the first planning meeting of the year. There are some great new restaurants attending the event for the first time this year and an honorary chef that I am excited to meet (stay tuned to find out who...)! So mark your calendars for Wednesday, May 6, 2009 at the Georgia Aquarium.

Next up for the restaurant committee - getting 40+ chefs to show up on the same day and time for a group photo. No easy feat I assure you!

Me, Tom Colicchio and a Taste of the Nation

Oh yes, that is me and celeb chef Tom Colicchio standing arm in arm at last night's Taste of the Nation event at the Georgia Aquarium. Talk about a good time! This was the 20th anniversary of this event, and every year it is a huge funraiser for Share Our Strength.

There were more than 50 of Atlanta's best restaurants present last night, and the food was exceptional. Some of the most memorable dishes for me were The Globe's green curry & coconut soup shooter, Aria's housemade pork schnitzel with tomato ginger jam, Beleza's tuna & watermelon skewer, and, my favorite, Craft's braised pork lettuce wraps.

Now, I know what you really want to know is, where was honorary guest chef Tom Colicchio during this full-house event? He was standing at Craft's table all night, shaking hands, taking photos and serving up lettuce wraps. He even auctioned off his chef's coat from the evening. Poor man must have been asked a million times if Richard Blais will win this season's Top Chef. Chef Colicchio held his tongue and didn't give away any secrets.

The evening ended with a exceptional live auction. The highest auctioned item was a special Atlanta Chef's dinner for 11 at home. The dinner included the participation of some of Atlanta's most darling chefs - Gerry Klaskala, Gary Mennie, Carvel Grant Gould, etc. The bidding got so high that the chefs actually huddled on stage, mid-bid, and declared they were changing the dinner from 11 guests to 14. Then Ted Turner, honorary chairperson for this year's event, chimed in and offered to match the top bid. In the end, the dinner went for $17,000! Incredible!