Celebrity chefs, sustainable cuisine will highlight "Cooking for Solutions" events at Monterey Bay Aquarium

Enjoy great food and wine in the company of some of the finest chefs in the United States as you discover how individual seafood buying decisions can help assure a future with healthy oceans.

That's the recipe behind "Cooking for Solutions: Celebrity Chefs Celebrate Sustainable Cuisine," a three-day extravaganza of information, fine dining and food-related activities at the Monterey Bay Aquarium between May 17 and 19, 2002.

The inaugural event, which will honor renowned chef Alice Waters of Chez Panisse restaurant in Berkeley, is an outgrowth of the aquarium's Seafood Watch consumer awareness program. It is designed to create new connections between chefs and the public around the importance of making wise seafood choices.

The highlight will be an evening extravaganza at the aquarium on Friday, May 17 at which two dozen restaurants will serve gourmet dishes prepared with organic and sustainably grown produce and sustainably caught seafood. There will be tastings from many wineries, featuring organic and sustainably grown grapes.

Nine celebrity chefs from across the nation will prepare the seafood dishes, using seafood recommended by the aquarium's Seafood Watch program. There will also be lectures, displays of fresh produce and abundant information about organic and sustainable farming practices.
Everyone who attends will take home seafood recipes created by the featured celebrity chefs, including John Ash, a noted food and wine educator and culinary director for Fetzer Vineyards (Hopland, Calif.); Rick Bayless of Frontera Grill/Topolabampo (Chicago); Jim Dodge, author of the award-winning cookbook, The American Baker; Stan Frankenthaler of Salmander Restaurant (Boston); Greg Higgins of Higgins Restaurant (Portland, Ore.); Deborah Madison, a cookbook author who was the founding chef of Greens vegetarian restaurant in San Francisco; Rick Moonen of Oceana (New York); Nora Pouillon of Restaurant Nora/Asia Nora (Washington, DC); and Susan Spicer of Bayona (New Orleans).

Alice Waters, who will participate in several "Cooking for Solutions" events, is being honored by the aquarium for her three decades of commitment to promoting a menu based on high-quality, seasonally fresh ingredients. This includes organic and sustainably grown produce as well as sustainable seafood.

And the aquarium is partnering with the Chefs Collaborative (www.chefnet.com/cc2000) and the Seafood Choices Alliance (www.seafoodchoices.com) – organizations devoted to promoting sustainable cuisine and seafood.

"Fisheries conservation is among the most important marine conservation issues today," said aquarium Executive Director Julie Packard. "It's an environmental problem whose solution is in people's hands every time they buy seafood. Through our ‘Seafood Watch' program and events like ‘Cooking for Solutions,' we want to give people the information they need to make wise choices when they shop or eat out."

"We're honored to have chefs of this caliber helping raise public awareness about sustainable seafood," noted Jennifer Dianto, who heads the aquarium's "Seafood Watch" program. "Nearly two-thirds of all seafood in the United States is consumed in restaurants. The menu choices people make when they dine out can have a significant impact on the health of the oceans."

All major "Cooking for Solutions" events take place in the aquarium's galleries. They include:

 A VIP reception with Alice Waters on Friday, May 17 from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. She will talk about incorporating seasonally abundant foods in recipes at home, and will offer a recipe suggestion and tastings. Tickets for the reception include an autographed copy of her latest book and admission to that evening's "Cooking for Solutions event. (Price: $185 per person.)

 The "Cooking for Solutions" extravaganza on Friday, May 17 from 7:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. Two dozen restaurants will offer tastes of gourmet dishes prepared with sustainable ingredients. Wineries will pour sustainable and organic wines. The nine celebrity chefs will
prepare the featured seafood dishes. Alice Waters will sign copies of her latest book. (Price: $85; includes souvenir wineglass and seafood recipes from the celebrity chefs.)

 Sustainable Seafood cooking demonstrations on Saturday, May 18 from 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. Three of the celebrity chefs will demonstrate ways to prepare sustainable seafood. (Price: $65; includes continental breakfast, recipe cards, aquarium admission and discount coupon for lunch in the aquarium's Portola Café.)

 Sustainable Food Practices information booths on Saturday, May 18 and Sunday, May 19 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Aquarium visitors can learn more about sustainable seafood, organic agriculture and sustainable winemaking at information booths in the aquarium galleries. Celebrity chefs will be on hand to meet the public. (Price: Free with aquarium admission of $17.95 general, $14.95 seniors and students and $7.95 children 3-12.)

A three-event package (Friday's Alice Waters VIP reception and "Cooking for Solutions" extravaganza, and Saturday's seafood cooking demonstrations) is priced at $235 per person. A two-event package (the Friday evening "Cooking for Solutions" extravaganza and the Saturday seafood cooking demonstrations) is $140 per person.

The aquarium is also sponsoring a two-hour forum on "Seafood Choices for Healthy Oceans" on Wednesday, May 15 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. And on Thursday, May 16 there will be a seafood tasting and seminar on sustainable seafood for local chefs and restaurants. Chefs Collaborative official Peter Hoffman of New York's Savoy Restaurant will present the seminar.

Registration for "Cooking for Solutions" events is available by calling the aquarium at (831) 644-7561. Additional program details are available at the aquarium web site, www.montereybayaquarium.org.

Participating chefs include:

Alice Waters, Chez Panisse, Berkeley
Honored as one of America's great chefs; features only the highest quality products, only when they are in season; conceived The Edible Schoolyard project to connect children with food and health. She is the honored guest at "Cooking for Solutions."

Peter Hoffman, Savoy Restaurant, New York
Features local producers and regional ingredients on his award-winning menu; organized and produced the "Seafood Solutions" guide for the Chefs Collaborative. Will present the seminar for local chefs.

John Ash, Fetzer Vineyards, Hopland, Calif.
Founder of John Ash & Company in Santa Rosa, Calif.; culinary director for Fetzer Vineyards; an internationally recognized chef, educator, and author credited as a creator of Wine Country Cuisine.

Rick Bayless, Frontera Grill/Topolabampo, Chicago
The pre-eminent exponent of regional Mexican cuisine in the United States; author of two definitive books about Mexican cooking; committed to environmentally sound agricultural practices.

Jim Dodge, Los Angeles
A much-honored chef in the United States and Hong Kong; author of the award-winning cookbook, The American Baker; a contributing editor to Joy of Cooking.

Stan Frankenthaler, Salamander Restaurant, Boston
A master at incorporating traditional Asian flavors and cooking techniques into a uniquely personal cooking style; active in hunger-relief campaigns.

Greg Higgins, Higgins Restaurant, Portland, Ore.
One of the finest chefs in the Pacific Northwest; builds community by linking diners, chef and farmers through use of sustainable regional ingredients.

Deborah Madison, author/chef, New Mexico
Founding chef of Greens, the popular San Francisco vegetarian restaurant; author of five books on vegetarian cuisine.

Rick Moonen, Oceana, New York
Chef and founder of one of the nation's finest seafood restaurants; popular guest chef on television and major food magazines; a leader in the Seafood Choices Alliance.

Susan Spicer, Bayona, New Orleans
Founding chef of a French Quarter restaurant honored nationally and considered a "jewel in the crown" of New Orleans cuisine.

Nora Pouillon, Restaurant Nora/Asia Nora, Washington, DC
Founder/chef of the upscale restaurant that became the first in America to be certified organic; active in the Chefs Collaborative.

The mission of the non-profit Monterey Bay Aquarium is to inspire conservation of the oceans.

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contact information:
Print media-Ken Peterson, 831-648-4922; kpeterson@mbayaq.org
Broadcast media-Mimi Hahn, 831-648-4918, mhahn@mbayaq.org




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