Wine & Wishes

Enjoy the offerings from more than 50 Bay Area restaurants and wineries at the 12th annual Wine & Wishes‘ gala, 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. Feb. 2, on Treasure Island.

All proceeds benefit the Make-A-Wish Greater Bay Area organization, which grants wishes to children suffering from life-threatening illnesses.

The evening begins with a walk-around gourmet wine and food tasting, followed by a four-course wine pairing dinner by nine San Francisco star chefs, including Hoss Zare of Zare at Fly Trap, Jeff Baker of Baker & Banker, Suzette Gresham of Acquerello and Roland Passot of La Folie.

Tickets for the tasting are $150 each; tickets for the dinner (which includes admission to the tasting) are $500 each.

Come Meet the Food Gal In Yosemite

Join me Jan. 20-24 in Yosemite, when I host a couple of events at the Ahwahnee’s annual Chefs’ Holiday Series.

If you’ve never attended one of these events, you’re missing out. For the month of January, 25 chefs from around the country will be featured over a series of eight sessions of cooking demos, receptions and gala dinners.

I’m thrilled to have been invited to be the moderator for two of the sessions: Jan. 20-22, featuring Matt McNamara of Sons & Daughters in San Francisco, Daniel Holtzman of The Meatball Shop in New York, and David Lenz of The Hungry Cat in Santa Barbara, Hollywood and Santa Monica; and Jan. 23-24, featuring Suzanne Goin of Lucques in Los Angeles, Ariane Duarte of Culinarine of Montclair, NJ, and Nyesha Arrington of Wilshire in Los Angeles, who also was a former competitor on “Top Chef Season 9.”

Each session includes a “Meet the Chefs” reception, three cooking demos, a behind-the-scenes cooking kitchen tour, and a five-course dinner paired with wines served by candlelight in the Ahwahnee’s majestic dining room.

Two- and three-night packages are available at the Ahwahnee and Yosemite Lodge at the Falls, starting at $449 and $332, respectively. Each package includes lodging and admission for two to the Chefs’ Holiday events. Tickets for the gala dinner alone are $199 each.

For a full schedule of the Chefs’ Holiday Series, click here.

Special Dinner at Spruce For A Good Cause

Chef Mark Sullivan will be cooking up a memorable dinner Jan. 22 at his Spruce restaurant in San Francisco with fellow chefs, John Madriaga of Spruce, Craig Stoll and Anthony Strong of Delfina and Locanda restaurants, Jason Berthold of RN74, Belinda Leong of b patisserie, and New York’s Amanda Freitag, a familiar face from the Food Network.

The event is a fund-raiser for Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry program, which aims to wipe out childhood hunger in America.

The night will start off with a cocktail reception at 6 p.m., followed by a seated dinner at 7 p.m. Tickets are $250 per person. For reservations, call (415) 326-3767.