Helping to Rebuild Tibetan Culture

Twenty-four top toques will be cooking at the 10th annual “Taste and Tribute” by the Tibetan Aid Project on Nov. 19 at the Four Seasons Hotel in San Francisco.

The chefs will cook in teams of two to prepare four courses, with each table experiencing a different menu. Among those pairing up for the night to intertwine their culinary skills are: Bruce Hill of Bix, Picco and Zero Zero, all in San Francisco, with Liza Shaw of A16 in San Francisco; and Bruno Chemel of Baume in Palo Alto with Martin Brock of Gary Danko in San Francisco.

A silent auction will feature items such as vacation packages, wine tastings, and handmade Tibetan art.

Tickets are $350 per person.

Proceeds will help preserve and ship traditional Tibetan texts, art prints and prayer wheels to Tibetan refugees in the Himalayan region.

Aiding Mission District Youths

Mark your calendar for Nov. 10, when more than 30 restaurants, cafes, markets, ice cream shops and even food trucks in San Francisco will be donating 25 percent or more of sales to Mission Graduates, a non-profit that helps neighborhood youths prepare for and complete college.

The “Food for Thought’‘ event last year enabled more than 100 kids to attend a five-week summer program, and helped secure more than $250,000 in college scholarships to support high school students and their families.

Among those participating this year are: Bi-Rite Creamery, Little Star Pizza, Range, Spencer on the Go, and Pica Pica. For a complete list, click here.

Meet Bon Appetit Magazine’s Barbara Fairchild

Meet Barbara Fairchild, editor in chief of Bon Appetit magazine, on what will be her final book tour for the magazine.

Fairchild, who has been with the publication since 1978, will be stepping down when the magazine moves its headquarters from Los Angeles to New York.

She’ll be in the Bay Area this month, though, to do meet-and-greets and signings of the new “Bon Appetit Desserts Cookbook” (Andrews McMeel). Come meet Fairchild at these events:

* Nov. 10, 5 p.m. to 5:45 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 6:45 p.m., at Blue Bottle Coffee, 315 Linden Street in San Francisco. Tickets are $75 per person, which includes one copy of the book per person. Blue Bottle coffee will be served, along with desserts from the book.

* Nov. 11 at 6 p.m. at Macy’s Union Square, 170 O’ Farrell St. in San Francisco. This Q&A session in the Cellar Kitchen will feature desserts from the book. RSVP at (415) 397-3333.

* Nov. 12 at 6 p.m. at Omnivore Books, 3885 Caesar Chavez St. in San Francisco.  The event is free.

Ubuntu Garden Tour & Dinner

Napa’s one-Michelin-star restaurant, Ubuntu invites you to take a tour of its organic and biodynamic garden, which produces 80 percent of the food served at the restaurant, followed by a six-course tasting menu with wine pairings.

The tour and dinner, Nov. 18, will feature a tasting of Lion’s Run Cabarnet Sauvignon at the garden, which is right next to the vineyard. The price of the dinner event is $120 per person, all inclusive. For reservations, call (707) 251-5656.

Silicon Valley Restaurant Week

That means a deal on three-course dinners at participating restaurants for $25, $35 or $45, from now through Nov. 10.

Among the Peninsula and South Bay restaurants participating in “Silicon Valley Restaurant Week’‘ are: Arcadia in San Jose, Eulipia in San Jose, Ginger Cafe in Sunnyvale, Junnoon in Palo Alto, Parcel 104 in Santa Clara, and Quattro at the Four Seasons in East Palo Alto.

For a complete list with specific pricing for the dinners at each locale, click here.