Celebrity Chef Tour Benefiting The James Beard Foundation To Feature 5 Brilliant Chefs At Phoenix Restaurant T. Cook's Of The Royal Palms Resort

The Celebrity Chef Tour benefiting the James Beard Foundation will once again make a stop in Phoenix at the Royal Palms Resort and Spa's popular T. Cook's on September 4th, 2008 at 6:30pm for an exclusive reception and dinner featuring the talents of four seasoned celebrity chefs. Award-winning Chefs Brian Cooper of The Old House at the Inn & Spa at Loretto in Santa Fe, Jonathan Gelman of The Driskill Hotel in Austin and Robert Nyerick of Miramonte Resort & Spa and Ristorante Brissago in Palm Springs will join Host Executive Chef Lee Hillson and Executive Pastry Chef Pierino Jermonti and share their deep appreciation for local and seasonal hand-selected ingredients, the foundation for their elegant and rustic Mediterranean-inspired cuisine.

Since 2004, the Celebrity Chef Tour has been recreating the "Once-in-a-Lifetime" experience of dining at the historic James Beard House, for which the nation's top chefs come to prepare menus at the Foundation's invitation, by featuring the greatest culinary artists in major markets across the United States. While harnessing the excitement and huge popular culture interest in all things food, the Celebrity Chef Tour benefits the James Beard Foundation, whose mission is to "celebrate, preserve and nurture America's culinary heritage and diversity in order to elevate the appreciation of our culinary excellence."

As such, the Celebrity Chef Tour dinner at T. Cook's on September 4th promises to delight the palates of the most discriminating epicureans. Showcasing the talents of Celebrity Chefs Cooper, Gelman, Nyerick, Hillson and Jermonti, the evening will begin with an elegant reception, featuring unique hors d'oeuvre creations served with a complementary wine selection. An innovative, one-of-a-kind dinner will follow, throughout which the chefs will engage the audience and share their gastronomical insights in an intimate and exclusive setting. Guests will enjoy five meticulously crafted courses centered on a citrus theme, reflective of the citrus fruit that grow on the Royal Palm Resort's grounds. Each course will be paired with its individual, carefully selected wine.

American Express, Yahoo!, Souverain, Certified Angus Beef, Renaissance Hotels and Hudson Valley Foie Gras are proud sponsors of the Celebrity Chef Tour benefiting the James Beard Foundation.

Tickets are available to the public for $175 (plus state sales tax). For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit our website at www.celebritycheftour.com.