Executive Chefs Larry Kolar and Gretchen Menser to be Featured at the James Beard Foundation’s Chefs & Champagne New York

On Saturday, July 21, Larry Kolar of The Backyard Restaurant at Solé East (90 Second House Road, Montauk, NY, 11954, 631-668-2105, www.soleeast.com/restaurant) and On The Forks Catering (646-573-2325, www.ontheforks.com) and Gretchen Menser of Fresno (8 Fresno Place, East Hampton, NY 631-324-8700, www.fresnorestaurant.com) will be two of the few East End chefs featured at the James Beard Foundation’s Chefs & Champagne New York event to honor Emmy Award–winning television personality and author of In My Kitchen, JBF Award Winner Ted Allen, and the judges of Food Network's Chopped: JBF Award Winners Maneet Chauhan, Scott Conant, Amanda Freitag, Alex Guarnaschelli, Marc Murphy, Marcus Samuelsson, Aarón Sanchez, Chris Santos, and Geoffrey Zakarian.  The annual tasting party and fundraiser at the Wölffer Estate Vineyard (139 Sagg Road, Sagaponack, NY 11962) features flowing Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte, the wines of Wölffer Estate Vineyard, beers from Stella Artois and culinary offerings from a select group of more than 30 chefs.

Kolar, a Chicago native formerly of Quilted Giraffe, Tapas Lounge, Eros, Casa La Femme, Sign of the Dove, Bolivar, Kenney's Commune and Commissary restaurants and Camino Sur, will prepare Long Island duck breast with frisée salad and sherry vinaigrette for the event.

The Bolivan-born Menser, raised in Europe and Asia, has traveled and eaten extensively all over the world and cooks with a European sensibility, keeping flavors exciting and clean and working with as local a product as possible.   For Chefs and Champagne, Chef Menser will prepare market fresh ceviche.

About Chefs & Champagne

Chefs & Champagne is considered the East End’s premiere culinary event. Funds raised at the event help support the James Beard Foundation’s mission and programs, including culinary student scholarships and the organization's annual food conference on sustainability, public health, and nutrition. A silent auction will also raise funds for the non-profit James Beard Foundation’s educational and leadership awards programs.

Chefs & Champagne’s main event will take place from 6 to 8:30 pm on Saturday, July 21, and is open to the public—reservations are $200 for James Beard Foundation members and $275 for non-members. General admission includes tastings and silent auction bidding opportunities. VIP premium admission, beginning at 5 pm, is $375 for both Foundation members and non-members. VIP tables of 10 are available for $4.000.  The VIP experience includes a pre-event reception, silent auction preview, after-party and reserved seating during the main event. Reservations can be made by calling (212) 627-2308 or at www.jamesbeard.org/chefsandchampagne.

 About the James Beard Foundation

Founded in 1986, the James Beard Foundation is dedicated to celebrating, nurturing, and preserving America's diverse culinary heritage and future. A cookbook author and teacher with an encyclopedic knowledge about food, James Beard, who died in 1985, was a champion of American cuisine. He helped educate and mentor generations of professional chefs and food enthusiasts. Today, the Beard Foundation continues in the same spirit by administering a number of diverse programs that include educational initiatives, food industry awards, scholarships to culinary schools, and publications, and by maintaining the historic James Beard House in New York City’s Greenwich Village as a “performance space” for visiting chefs. For more information, please visit www.jamesbeard.org.