Category Archives: Enticing Events

50th Anniversary of Taste & Tribute, Gott’s A Day of Giving, And More

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19th Annual Taste & Tribute

Chefs Jarad Gallagher and Peter Armellino plating at last year's Taste & Tribute. (Photo courtesy of the Tibetan Aid Project)
Chefs Jarad Gallagher and Peter Armellino plating at last year’s Taste & Tribute. (Photo courtesy of the Tibetan Aid Project)

The Tibetan Aid Project celebrates a milestone 50th anniversary, as well as its 19th annual Taste & Tribute gala, 5 p.m. Nov. 22 at the Four Seasons in San Francisco.

For half a century, the organization has worked to rebuild and preserve Tibet’s cultural heritage.

The unique gala features pairs of celebrated Bay Area chefs cooking a four-course dinner table-side for guests.

Chef Laurent Manrique of Cafe de la Presse in San Francisco has been instrumental in organizing the chef brigade over the years. He’s back again this time, joined by Chef Gerald Hirogoyen of San Francisco’s Piperade.

Chef Laurent Manrique receiving a Tibetan blessing.
Chef Laurent Manrique receiving a Tibetan blessing.

Some of the other chef duos who will be cooking together include Reylon Augustin of Madera in Menlo Park and Dustin Valette of Valette in Healdsburg; Peter Armellino of The Plumed Horse in Saratoga and Anthony Strong of Prairie in San Francisco; and Jason Pringle of Selby’s in Redwood City and Eric Upper of Alexander’s Steakhouse in San Francisco.

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Food Gal Contest: Win A Free Pair of Tickets to “Flavors of San Francisco: An Evening With the Masters”

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Join yours truly at the “Flavors of San Francisco: An Evening With the Masters,” 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. Nov. 13 at the H.L. Peninsula Restaurant in South San Francisco.

This gala dinner event benefits the research, education and advocacy efforts of the American Liver Foundation.

The evening includes a multi-course gourmet dinner, a cooking demo by celebrity Chef Martin Yan of San Francisco’s M.Y. China, and an auction.

There also will be a panel discussion about healthy eating, featuring myself, Yan, Chef Jesse Cool of Menlo Park’s Flea Street Cafe, and veteran broadcast journalist Alan Wang, founder of Newsworthy Media.

Tickets are $300. Food Gal readers receive a discounted price of $200 per ticket with the code: Foodie1.

I’ll be signing copies of my new cookbook, “East Bay Cooks: Signature Recipes from the Best Restaurants, Bars, and Bakeries” (Figure 1), at the event, with 10 percent of sales proceeds being donated to the American Liver Foundation.

CONTEST: One lucky Food Gal reader will win a free pair of tickets to the “Flavors of San Francisco” event (a total value of $600). Entries for the contest, open only to those who can attend the event on Nov. 13 in South San Francisco, will be accepted through midnight PST Nov. 2. Winner will be announced Nov. 4 on this blog.

How to win?

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A Special Time at Oakland’s Tamarindo Antojeria Mexicana with “East Bay Cooks”

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Get a taste of fresh, zingy and vibrant shrimp aguachile plus other delicious noshes at a special event at Tamarindo Antojeria Mexicana. (Photo by Eva Kolenko)
Get a taste of fresh, zingy and vibrant shrimp aguachile plus other delicious noshes at a special event at Tamarindo Antojeria Mexicana. (Photo by Eva Kolenko in “East Bay Cooks.”)

Join yours truly on Saturday, Sept. 28 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., at Oakland’s vibrant Tamarindo Antojeria Mexicana, when Chef-Owner Gloria Dominguez and I will be signing copies of my new cookbook, “East Bay Cooks: Signature Recipes from the Best Restaurants, Bars, and Bakeries” (Figure 1).

The cookbook spotlights more than 40 top restaurants and bakeries in the Bay Area’s most populous and diverse region, including Tamarindo Antojeria Mexicana.

That evening, if you purchase a copy of the book at the restaurant ($32.99), you’ll receive a ticket for special complimentary appetizers, including a taste of shrimp aquachile, one of the restaurant’s signature recipes in the book. You’ll also enjoy a free surprise dessert.

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SF Bakesale for Planned Parenthood, Mixology Fun & More

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Get your sweet tooth on at this wonderful bake sale for a great cause. (Photo by Molly Decourdreaux)
Get your sweet tooth on at this wonderful bake sale for a great cause. (Photo by Molly Decourdreaux)

Zuni Cafe and Guittard Chocolate Team Up With A Host of Bakers For A Grand Bakesale

Get your sweet fix — and support a worthy cause — at the “SF Bakesale for Planned Parenthood,” 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 13 in Rose Alley between Gough and Market streets (behind Zuni Cafe) in San Francisco.

Modeled after a similar event in New York City, this local one is presented by Annie Callahan of Zuni Cafe and Amy Guittard of Guittard Chocolate Company. It will feature a tantalizing array of baked goods for sale by some of the city’s top restaurants and bakeries. A live auction also will be held, with one of the items up for bids a dinner at NOMA Copenhagen.

All proceeds will benefit Planned Parenthood NorCal and Planned Parenthood Southeast Advocates.

Among those baking the sweet treats are: Atelier Crenn, Bi-Rite Creamery, Boulevard, Cala, Che Fico, Frances, Liholiho Yacht Club, Mister Jiu’s, Nightbird, Quince, Rich Table, Saison, Tartine Bakery, 20th Century Cafe, and Zuni Cafe.

Unable to attend the event, but still want to help? A GoFundMe site has been set up to take donations.

Mixology Classes From The Mulberry Guy

You know him as the Mulberry Guy, the farmer who brings prized, fresh-picked mulberries to sell at the Palo Alto Downtown Farmers Market in the summertime. Now, Kevin Lynch is putting a newfound hobby to work — he’s hosting mixology classes in his backyard full of mulberry trees.

Kevin Lynch is known for his home-grown mulberries. (Photo by Carolyn Jung)
Kevin Lynch is known for his home-grown mulberries. (Photo by Carolyn Jung)

Lynch and his wife are both teachers, so they know how to instruct so that the lessons stick.

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Win A Signed Copy of My New “East Bay Cooks” Cookbook

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Flourless chocolate cake from Old Towne Danville Bakery. (Photo by Eva Kolenko)
Flourless chocolate cake from Old Towne Danville Bakery. (Photo by Eva Kolenko)

Remember when you were a kid, and beamed with pride and happiness the first time you donned a snazzy new pair of red cowboy boots?

That’s how I feel about my newest cookbook, “East Bay Cooks: Signature Recipes from the Best Restaurants, Bars, and Bakeries” (Figure 1), which debuts this week. Thanks to a lot of hard work by a lot of people, it turned out more beautiful than I could have ever imagined. Just get a load of the images here from the book, all of them shot by the incredibly talented Bay Area photographer Eva Kolenko.

Chorizo sourdough toast from Sabio on Main in Pleasanton. (Photo by Eva Kolenko)
Chorizo sourdough toast from Sabio on Main in Pleasanton. (Photo by Eva Kolenko)

Whether you’re a Bay Area native or not, this book will have you enthralled with the East Bay, the most populous region in the Bay Area. It spotlights 41 restaurants and bakeries, some brand new, and others that have endured for decades — no easy feat in this challenging and competitive market.

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