19th Annual Taste & Tribute

The Tibetan Aid Project celebrates a milestone 50th anniversary, as well as its 19th annual Taste & Tribute gala, 5 p.m. Nov. 22 at the Four Seasons in San Francisco.

For half a century, the organization has worked to rebuild and preserve Tibet’s cultural heritage.

The unique gala features pairs of celebrated Bay Area chefs cooking a four-course dinner table-side for guests.

Chef Laurent Manrique of Cafe de la Presse in San Francisco has been instrumental in organizing the chef brigade over the years. He’s back again this time, joined by Chef Gerald Hirogoyen of San Francisco’s Piperade.

Some of the other chef duos who will be cooking together include Reylon Augustin of Madera in Menlo Park and Dustin Valette of Valette in Healdsburg; Peter Armellino of The Plumed Horse in Saratoga and Anthony Strong of Prairie in San Francisco; and Jason Pringle of Selby’s in Redwood City and Eric Upper of Alexander’s Steakhouse in San Francisco.

To see a list of all the chefs, as well as their menus for the night, click here.

The evening also includes a silent auction, as well as a live auction conducted by Liam Mayclem. KQED’s Thuy Vu will be the emcee.

Tickets are $350 each.

“Celebrating the Abundance of Autumn” at Duende

Oakland’s Duende restaurant will celebrate the lush bounty of autumn on Nov. 7 with a “la abundancia del otoño” 6-course family-style feast.

In collaboration with Cooks Company Produce, Chef Paul Canales will prepare a delightful feast that includes Duende’s house-cured lamb jamon; wild nettle pasta with duck and roasted pumpkin; rabbit and merguez paella; and buckwheat crepes with apples and quince.

Dinner is $95 per person or $120 per person including wine pairings. Tickets are available online here.

While you’re there, pick up a copy of my new cookbook, East Bay Cooks: Signature Recipes from the Best Restaurants, Bars, and Bakeries (Figure 1), which features two signature recipes from Duende. Chef Canales will be only too happy to personalize it for you, too.

Celebrate “A Day of Giving” At Gott’s Roadside

Dine at any Bay Area Gott’s Roadside on Nov. 20, and 20 percent of all sales will be donated to local education programs.

It’s the best excuse yet to dig into one of those ahi burgers, bacon cheeseburgers, sweet potato fries or milkshakes at its St. Helena, Napa, San Francisco, Palo Alto, Marin or Walnut Creek outposts.

The benefactors include: Napa Valley Foundation, San Francisco Education Fund, Palo Alto Partners in Education, Walnut Creek Education Foundation, and Schools Rule Marin.

Winner of the Food Gal Contest

In last week’s Food Gal contest, I asked you to tell me what you do to keep your liver healthy. Best answer wins a free pair of tickets to “Flavors of San Francisco” on Nov. 2 at the H.L. Peninsula Restaurant in South San Francisco.

Congrats to:

Monica Sakamoto, who wrote: “Allowing food to be my medicine is a favorite way to to keep my liver healthy. Eating foods that contribute to an alkalizing diet, like beets and beet greens, is not only versatile, but a family favorite. Not only does my family enjoy beets for its fiber effect (I’m over 50), but it’s the beet greens that contain much of the nutrients and they’re easy to eat. For an easy meal, I’ll substitute beet greens to an insanely good soup called Lentil Soup with Chard. Recently, I substituted beet greens for spinach in my favorite Minestrone Soup. Eating my medicine has been a great way to keep my liver healthy and my family’s too.”

For those still interested in attending the event, Food Gal readers receive a discounted ticket price of $200 per person (tickets are regularly $300 per person), by using the code: Foodie1. Click here for tickets.