Chef's Night Out assembles Ithaca culinary dream teams once more

Ithaca Taste of the Nation, the local group that hosts an annual fundraising showcase of local food and wine, is reprising a successful event from last year to raise awareness and money to fight hunger. This fall, the organization is holding three more "Chef's Night Out" dinners, bringing 15 local chefs together for a trio of special nights.

Held last month, the first two dinners took place at the Carriage House Cafe in Collegetown and La Tourelle on Ithaca's South Hill. The remaining dinner, scheduled for November 12th, will be at Celebrations banquet hall on Slaterville Road. Tickets are available on the Ithaca Taste of the Nation web site.

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Each of the events in the series features a five-course sit-down dinner, with each course prepared by different local chefs and matched with local wines. Proceeds from ticket sales go to Share Our Strength's Operation Frontline, a food nutrition and budgeting education program for low-income families.

Chefs at the October events included Leslie Muhlhahn of Just Desserts, Rich Avery from Simeon's, Jennifer Irwin from Just a Taste, Patrick Johnston of East Shore Cafe, Kristian Woodall of the Carriage House Cafe, Cornell Dining's Jack Applegarth, and Samantha Izzo and Mark Fitzgerald of the Simply Red Bistro eateries at Sheldrake Point and La Tourelle.

The remaining dinner, on November 12th, will include courses by Mark Papera from Dijon Bistro, Tony Jordan from the Statler Hotel's Taverna Banfi, Rupert Robbins from Sysco Food Services, Cayuga Medical Center chef Jim Durkee, and Alex Brown of Maxie's Supper Club.

Operation Frontline provides six weeks of classes that helps low-income families learn how to prepare healthy meals on a budget. Each class session ends with a shared meal consisting of dishes prepared in that class, and each participant leaves with a grocery bag filled with the ingredients used that day so they can replicate the meal at home.

Tickets are $75 for each dinner, which includes local wines paired with each course.