by Frank Sabatini Jr.
Many of our area’s top chefs have begun mapping out a litany of extravagant cuisine that they will donate and cook on site at the fourth annual ARTSea Café fundraiser POP! presented each year by A Reason To Survive (ARTS) on the Pawka Green at Scripps Institution of Oceanography in
La Jolla.
The event, scheduled from 6 to 11 p.m. May 17, is hosted by ARTS, which raises money for educational and arts-based programs for kids facing difficult life challenges. Last year the organization raised nearly $90,000.
Guests will enjoy an evening of dancing, interactive artistic activities and a grand offering of haute cuisine and desserts cooked in a “live kitchen” by well-known chefs from popular restaurants throughout San Diego County. Each chef will be paired with a guest student from the California Art Institute. Those in the celebrity forefront are featured here to give San Diegan’s a glimpse into their culinary savvy and experience.
Tickets to POP! are $150 and can be purchased by calling 619-297-2787, ext. 2004. For more information, visit AReasonToSurvive.org.
Christian Graves
(Jsix at Hotel Solamar)
Having worked in top kitchens in San Francisco, including the acclaimed Farallon Restaurant, Graves brings to San Diego a sexy, healthy and refreshing style of coastal cuisine utilizing farm-fresh ingredients, organic meats and “boat-to-pan” fish that often arrive to the restaurant whole. A graduate of the Hotel Restaurant Culinary Program in Santa Barbara, this young, talented chef has mastered an artisan approach to cooking that duly places him among Southern California’s envelope-pushing chefs.
Jeff Jackson (A.R. Valentien)
A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, Jackson applies classic French techniques to his cooking and then soars from there. He’s known for showing off the flavors and textures of raw ingredients, which has generated prolific repeat business at A.R. Valentien. Having worked there as executive chef since it opened six years ago in the Lodge at Torrey Pines, the restaurant was cited as one of the top 20 in the country by GQ Magazine.
Jason Knibb (Nine-Ten)
A self-taught chef known for his evolving and progressive presentations in California cuisine, Knibb has been steering the menu at Nine-Ten in La Jolla for the past five years, having previously worked as executive chef at the Sundance Resort in Utah. He’s earned numerous culinary awards, including “best chef in La Jolla” by the La Jolla Light and he helped earn Nine-Ten a score of 26 in this year’s Zagat Survey, which ranks as extraordinary.
Timothy Au
(Molly’s at the San Diego Marriott)
Throughout his 25-year culinary career, Au has trained under some of the nation’s most notable chefs, including Bradley Odgen, Jeremiah Tower and Susan Feniger. He attended The Restaurant and Hotel Cookery Program at Milwaukee Area Technical College before completing a European-style apprenticeship under German-born Master Chef Knut Apitz. Au brings to the local restaurant scene a new, exciting brand of American cuisine that relies on farm-fresh, artisan products that dictate his seasonal menus.
Brian Sinnott
(1500 Ocean)
Sinnott’s recent arrival to the Hotel del Coronado has allowed this innovative chef to unleash a culmination of talent that he previously acquired while heading up the kitchen at Molly’s as well as from various hotspot restaurants throughout San Francisco. A self-proclaimed self-taught chef who discovered his penchant for cooking at the age of 14, Sinnott presents guests at 1500 Ocean with a host of seasonal dishes indigenous to the coastal stretches of California and Baja.
Andrew Ryland Spurgin
(Waters Fine Catering)
The London-born Spurgin has built an illustrious culinary career spanning three decades, having prepared menus and events honoring U.S. presidents and other world leaders, as well as for Martha Stewart. A champion of sustainable, organic foods and executive director of Waters, he has helped the catering company garner numerous awards both locally and nationally, has cooked at the James Beard House and was named “Caterer of the Year” in the U.S. and Canada in 2004.
Antonio Friscia (Stingaree)
San Diego’s favorite Italian chef remains a maestro of European cooking on the local restaurant scene. Friscia formerly orchestrated much of the Tuscan fare at Alfiere in the Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina before bestowing his culinary talents at downtown’s popular Stingaree. Having trained in Italy for two years, his dishes burst with richness, exceptional seasonings and fresh components that define his kitchen wizardry.
Gina Frieze (Venissimo)
As one of San Diego’s premier purveyors of artisan cheese, Gina Frieze and her husband Roger have donated sensational curds originating from farms all over the world to various charities about once a month since launching their retail shop in Mission Hills in 2004. They recently opened a second location in Del Mar with a similar inventory of robust, lip-smacking cheeses that you won’t find in local grocery stores.
Jesús González
(Rancho La Puerta’s La Cocina Que Canta in Tecate, Mexico)
Gonzalez has worked as “creative chef” at Rancho La Puerta’s cooking school since 2004, while also revising the spa’s menu by introducing a cutting-edge repertoire of Mexican-Mediterranean vegetarian cuisine, as well as a few signature seafood dishes. He began cooking at the age of 7, often helping his family in the kitchen and tending to their organic garden in his native Mexico City.
Katie Grebow (Café Chloe)
This ambitious and creative chef has worked in the restaurant industry since her early teens and attended the California School of Culinary Arts, where she completed the school’s Cordon Bleu program with top honors. She is known for her attention to detail and presentation, which she proves with unique culinary finesse at Café Chloe in downtown’s East Village.
Jack Fisher
(Jack Fisher Confections)
A veteran of the food and beverage industry, Fisher has wowed San Diego palates as pastry chef in such kitchens as Region, Nine-Ten, Jack’s La Jolla and Addison. His creations are show stopping and intricately designed, earning him a seat in numerous celebrity chef events as well as cooking three times at the James Beard House in New York City.
Giuseppe Ciuffa
(Giuseppe Restaurants & Fine Catering)
Ciuffa’s exuberant love of food began in his native Ferrara, Italy, while gathering for family meals made of fresh ingredients from the home farm. After studying at the Culinary Institute of Rome, he emigrated to the U.S. and co-owned La Taverna in La Jolla before opening his newest restaurant, The Museum Café in the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, La Jolla.
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