Gala Dinner Chefs
Chef D’Honneur – Daniel Boulud, Restaurant DANIEL 
Daniel Boulud is Chef-Owner of several award-winning restaurants and the Feast & Fêtes catering company. While he hails from Lyon, France, it is in New York that he has truly mastered the dining scene and is today considered one of America’s leading culinary authorities. Raised on his family’s farm in the village of St Pierre de Chandieu, the chef remains inspired by the rhythm of the seasons and menus driven by fine ingredients. Since arriving in the US in 1982, Boulud has become renowned for the contemporary appeal he adds to soulful cooking rooted in French tradition.…more
Romain Chapel, Restaurant Alain Chapel
Romain Chapel is a young French chef, 28 years old. In 2011, the Champerard Guide named him “Young Chef of the Year” for his exceptional cuisine. Love of gastronomy was given to Romain by his father, cuisine being a family specialty.
The story begins near Lyon in Mionnay where his grandparents opened the bistro “La Mère Charles.” Then Romain’s father, Alain Chapel, became Executive Chef of his own restaurant, for which he received the title “Meilleur Ouvrier de France” (top worker of France) and was awarded three Michelin stars. A recipient of the Chevalier de l'Ordre National du Mérite, Chef Alain Chapel created the new standard for French gastronomy. In this prestigious restaurant, future greats such as Chef Alain Ducasse would make a name for themselves. Considered to be the "Mozart" of French cuisine, Alain Chapel died suddenly on July 10th 1990, leaving behind an enormous culinary heritage. Romain was only seven at the time.
Romain Chapel never imagined doing anything other than gastronomy. The young man made a name for himself as an apprentice to the greats Guy Guilloux, Olivier Roellinger, Marc Haeberlin, and Jacques Maximin. From Alsace to Brittany by way of the Côte d'Azur, Chapel’s formative "tour de France" allowed him to discover various terroirs. In February 2011 Suzanne Chapel left her sons David and Romain in charge of the family business.
In cuisine, Romain seeks neither to imitate nor to compare himself to his father; he looks to express his own personality. While excelling with the classic recipes, cooking techniques, and flavors worthy of his distinguished peers, Romain Chapel constantly reinvents the restaurant’s menu.
Meticulous effort and attention to detail are the cornerstones of Romain’s dishes. Prepared with exceptionally fresh products and prepared with apparent simplicity but underlying technicality, Chapel’s cuisine is extremely subtle.
Today, Romain Chapel is a key player in the internationalization of cuisine and spread of French savoir-faire.
Thomas Keller, The French Laundry
Thomas Keller is renowned for his culinary skills and his exceptionally high personal standards. He has established a collection of restaurants that set the standard within the hospitality industry. He began his culinary career at a young age, working in the Palm Beach restaurant managed by his mother. He relocated to France in 1983, where he worked in several Michelin-starred houses including Guy Savoy and Taillevent. He opened his first restaurant, Rakel, in New York City in 1986, then moved westward to California to work as the Executive Chef at the Checkers Hotel in Los Angeles...more
Chef Christopher Kostow, The Restaurant at Meadowood
A Michelin-starred chef before the age of 30, Christopher Kostow takes a thoughtful approach to food that belies his age. Masterfully blending contemporary French cuisine with the farm-to-table tradition, Kostow creates a transcendent experience for diners every night at The Restaurant at Meadowood.
Kostow, a Chicago native, trained in kitchens far and wide: from a Paris bistro to the Michelin-starred Le Jardin des Sens in Montpellier. Upon returning to the States, Kostow worked as sous chef under Daniel Humm in San Francisco. He soon became top toque at Chez TJ in Mountain View, Calif., garnering the restaurant many accolades including two Michelin stars and a coveted spot on Food & Wine’s list of Top Ten Dishes of the Year in 2007.
Upon arriving at Meadowood in February of 2008, Christopher maintained two Michelin Stars, was nominated for Best Chef, Pacific, by the James Beard Society and named as one of Food & Wine Magazine’s Best New Chefs 2009. In February of 2010, Christopher garnered a rare four stars in the San Francisco Chronicle and in October was awarded the highest ranking of three Michelin Stars from the esteemed Guide. Christopher is only the second American-born chef and third youngest chef ever to receive three Michelin stars.
Michael Mina, Michael Mina
Michael Mina’s story is one of two decades of influence, passion and achievement. With the October 2010 opening of MICHAEL MINA, his eponymous signature restaurant at 252 California Street in San Francisco, Michael is at the helm and once again in the kitchen at the same location (formerly AQUA) and city where he first established his culinary reputation 20 years ago. The San Francisco Chronicle three and a half star winner MICHAEL MINA in San Francisco is Michael’s crown jewel and marks the newest phase and ultimate expression in the career of the James Beard Award-winning chef...more
Traci Des Jardin, Jardinière 
Traci is the quintessential California farm girl, raised in the San Joaquin Valley, influenced by her Mexican andFrench Acadian grandparents, she cooks from her heart with a deep love for the earth
and its bounty.
Before opening Jardinière in San Francisco in 1997, James Beard award-winning chef Traci Des Jardins worked in some of the finest kitchens in Los Angeles, France, and New York City. Traci’s professional cooking career began when she followed her heart and landed a tryout with Joachim Splichal, then at 7th Street Bistro in Los Angeles. Within two weeks she was running a station in Splichal’s kitchen in an environment with uncompromising standards of excellence and discipline that spurred her to further hone her craft in France where she apprenticed with legendary chefs including Michel and Pierre Troisgros, Alain Senderens, Alain Ducasse, and Alain Passard...more
Rare Wine Dinner Chefs
Daniel Boulud
Romain Chapel
Michael Mina