Traci Des Jardins Hosts “Top Chef Masters” Alums Event

All you “Top Chef Masters” fans won’t want to miss a special evening on Nov. 3, when Chef Traci Des Jardins will be joined by four of her former competitors on that show at a gala dinner at her restaurant, Jardiniere in San Francisco.

Joining her will be: Mary Sue Milliken of Border Grill in Los Angeles and Las Vegas; Naomi Pomeroy of Beast in Portland; Floyd Cardoz of North End Grill in New York (and winner of the most recent season of the show); and Suvir Saran of Devi in New York.

The event will benefit the anti-hunger, non-profit Share Our Strength.

A cocktail reception starts at 6 p.m., followed by a multi-course, sit-down dinner.

Tickets to the cocktail party are $150 each. Tickets to the cocktail party plus the dinner are $1,000 each.

Lidia Bastianich Comes to San Rafael and San Francisco

Catch beloved Italian chef and cookbook author, Lidia Bastianich, at two events in the Bay Area.

First up, she will host a cooking demo and book signing at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium in San Rafael at 8 p.m. Oct. 28.

Executive Chef Alan Fairhurst of Scoma’s in San Francisco will kick off the event by demonstrating how to make cioppino. That signature dish will be featured on Bastianich’s new PBS show, “Lidia’s Italy in America!,” which airs at 12:30 p.m. Saturdays on KQED, channel 9.

Following that, Bastianich will take the stage to show how to make a four-course Italian meal, including chicken Sorrentino and zuppa inglese. Best yet, four lucky audience members will be invited up on stage to taste the dishes with Bastianich. Additionally, a raffle will be held to win two different prize baskets — one filled with all of Bastianich’s pastas and sauces, and the other containing signed copies of all seven of her cookbooks, as well as her children’s book.

Afterward, she will sign copies of her new cookbook that’s a companion piece to the TV show, “Lidia’s Italy in America!” (Knopf).

Tickets are $35 each. They are available by calling (415) 499-6800 or through TicketMaster. A portion of ticket sales will be donated to Autism Speaks.

Additionally, 10 a.m. to noon Oct. 29, Bastianich will be signing copies of her cookbook at the Williams-Sonoma store on Union Square in San Francisco.

Bradley Ogden Debuts His New Cookbook

Celebrated chef and co-founder of the Lark Creek Restaurant Group, Bradley Ogden, will host a series of special events in the Bay Area to celebrate his new cookbook, “Holiday Dinners with Bradley Ogden” (Running Press).

At each event, diners can purchase a signed copy of the book for $30, as well as choose from a prix fixe lunch for $24 or a prix fixe dinner for $34, both of which spotlight dishes from the book.

In the South Bay: Lunch or dinner on today at Parcel 104 in Santa Clara; lunch on Oct. 21 at Yankee Pier at Santana Row in San Jose; lunch or dinner Nov. 19 at Parcel 104; and Dinner on Dec. 2 at Parcel 104.

In San Francisco: Dinner on Oct. 22 at One Market; Dinner on Nov. 7 at LarkCreekSteak; and Dinner at Cupola Pizzeria on Nov. 7.

In the East Bay: Brunch on Oct. 23 at Lark Creek Walnut Creek; and lunch on Nov. 8 at Yankee Pier Lafayette.

In Marin County: Lunch on Dec. 3 at the Tavern at Lark Creek.

In Napa: Dinner on Nov. 6 at Fish Story.

City Arts & Lectures Presents An Event with Gabrielle Hamilton

City Arts & Lectures of San Francisco invites you to listen to bad-ass New York Chef Gabrielle Hamilton of Prune restaurant in conversation with New York Times writer Kim Severson, 8 p.m. Oct. 20 at the Herbst Theater in San Francisco.

Hamilton is the author of the book, “Blood, Bones and Butter” (Random House), the no-holds-barred memoir of how she became a chef.

Tickets are $17 to $27.

The One and Only Jacques Pepin

Also at the Herbst Theater, listen to Jacques Pepin and Chef Daniel Patterson of San Francisco’s Coi as they talk on stage with Barbara Fairchild, former editor-in-chief of Bon Appetit magazine, 8 p.m. Nov. 9.

Tickets are $17 to $27.

Pepin will be making the rounds of the Bay Area to promote his book, “Essential Pepin” (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt).

Nov. 8 at 7 p.m., he’ll be at Omnivore Books in San Francisco, where he’ll be interviewed by cookbook author Joanne Weir.

Nov. 10 from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m., he’ll be signing books at the Pasta Shop in Berkeley.

Christopher Kimball of “America’s Test Kitchen” Visits the Bay Area

Meet founder of Cook’s Illustrated magazine and host of public television’s “America’s Test Kitchen,” Christopher Kimball at 7 p.m. Oct. 20 at Books Inc. in Mountain View. Kimball will be signing copies of the new “The Cook’s Illustrated Cookbook” at this free event.

If you can’t make it then, Kimball also will be doing the same at Book Passage in San Francisco at 6 p.m. Oct. 21.

Additionally, he’ll be signing books at Omnivore Books in San Francisco at 3 p.m. Oct. 22.

New York Times Food Writer Melissa Clark Comes to Palo Alto

Melissa Clark will be stopping by Books Inc. in Palo Alto, 11 a.m. Oct. 23, to sign copies of her new cookbook, “Cook This Now” (Hyperion).

Manager Sandy Mullins will be baking Clark’s fig snacking cake to share with audience members at this free event.

Some Fabulous Bradley Ogden Recipes to Try: Overnight Soft Herb Rolls

And: Butterscotch Pudding