SF Chefs. Food. Wine. Ribbon Cutting: Linda Lim, Mayor Gavin Newsom, Kevin Westlye, Tyler Florence

To quote Mayor Gavin Newsom, "Aspen, eat your heart out."

An epic event 2 ½ years in the making, SF Chefs. Food. Wine. was like a food-lover's Disneyland with over 200 of the Bay Area's finest chefs, 450 wineries, and mixologists aplenty strutting their stuff.

Over the past four days, Union Square was transformed into a playground of tastings, seminars, and demonstrations from a who's who list of culinary legends, rising stars, artisans, and experts.

View from the top: Charles Phan, Thomas Keller, Douglas Keane

Sara Moulton and Cindy Pawlcyn

Martin Yan, Yan Can Cook

Top Cheftestants Jennifer Biesty and Ryan Scott

It sometimes feel like a blessing and a curse to live in a city with so many amazing restaurants to try because let's face it, who can afford to try them all? One can read about them, drool over descriptions and photos of them, and then place them on an ever-growing bucket list of places to try. The Grand Tasting Tent at SF Chefs provided the rare opportunity to hone that list, allowing participants to really taste, touch, see, and feel for themselves, a sliver of what some of these heralded restaurants are all about. The air was electric and the excitement palpable, as the wine flowed and the bites were dished out.

Monterey Squid, Chef Justin Simoneaux, Moss Room

Thai Wrap, Chef Toi Sawatdee, Lemongrass Thai Cuisine

It was interesting to see the chefs do riffs on many of the same ingredients that are in peak season right now: corn, heirloom tomatoes, melons, figs, and refreshing preparations like gazpachos and ceviches.

Bruleed Fig with Kaffir Lime Oil and Vanilla Salt, Chef Jenn Puccio, Cortez

And, there was no shortage of parties…all benefiting good causes of course: the Golden Gate Restaurant Association Scholarship Foundation, Meals on Wheels, Project Open Hand, and the San Francisco Food Bank (a member of Feeding America).

Thursday night reunited Rising Star Chefs and Bar Stars named by the San Francisco Chronicle, and a special dinner prepared by Arnold Eric Wong (E&O Trading Co.), Charles Phan (The Slanted Door/Heaven's Dog), and Martin Yan (Yan Can Cook).

Friday night honored America's Culinary Pioneers, Emily Luchetti (Farallon/Waterbar), Judy Rodgers (Zuni Café), Patricia Unterman (Hayes Street Grill), Joyce Goldstein (author and restaurateur), and Chuck Williams (Williams-Sonoma). There was also Out in the Fog, a celebration of the diverse LGBT community, at Elizabeth Falkner's Orson. It was chic, it was sexy, and it had a giant projection of Julia baking a cake on the wall.

Party time went strong through Saturday night, and the tasting tent was bumping with DJ Chef Hubert Keller laying down some beats at the Urban BBQ. Rock Star.

DJ Chef Hubert Keller

God forbid that dancing put anyone in a negative calorie count. The night continued at a Chocolate Enchantment after-party, complete with a floor to ceiling spinning display of chocolate decadence.

SF Chefs chocolate enchantment

This weekend's festivities were a true celebration of the unique culinary spirit of San Francisco, bringing together a community of both industry and non-industry people through a common love of food. It was a treat to have executive chefs live and in person, serving their dishes and chatting about their food, or seeing them interact with one another and catching a glimpse of that intriguing "chef's world" that has captured our imagination. We are a city that loves our food, and by direct association, honors the craftsmen and -women who bring joy through food.

SF Chefs. Food. Wine. hit on a winning combination of accessibility to hometown celeb-status chefs, utterly delicious food, fine wine, education, and awareness of important issues in food politics. It was fun, multi-faceted, and full of passion. It was, in a nutshell, San Francisco.

Ding-ding

Have you ever entertained thoughts of becoming a cooking show personality?

Chances are, since you're currently reading a food blog, you've thought about it. Perhaps you have a running narrative flowing out of your mouth as you make your lunch, explaining in chatty style to your cat the origins of oil-packed tuna and how to make it shine. Maybe you've always wanted to be as perfect as Martha or, at least, body-check Rachel off camera and show her how it's really done.

If any of the above sounds familiar and you have a special affinity for garlic, this could be your big, fragrant chance at local stardom.

KTEH Cooks with Garlic is giving you the opportunity to show the Bay Area what you've got. In December, KTEH will broadcast a live show featuring local viewers preparing their favorite garlic recipes.

Submissions so far have been encouraging-- and interesting. All types of professional and amateur cooks have already submitted. A local master chef; a Pavarotti-lover who once got him to sign her package of veal in North Beach; a vegetarian Peace Corps volunteer (and “future film star”) who plans to cook lamb, stating that “eating is not destroying; everything is merely transferred.” That's one segment I'm going to want to see. I hope she makes it.

All kinds of recipes have been submitted, too. Lamb dishes, chicken cacciatore, salads, and-- I only offer this as a warning-- a preponderance of soups. No one, so far, has been adventurous enough to submit a garlicky dessert recipe. Perhaps you can be the first.

No professional experience is required-- just a love of cooking, a bit of enthusiasm, and a knack for teaching. A clever introductory letter is helpful, beginning your letter (as one submitter did) with "I'm not sure I'd make a great tv chef" is not.

Sound like fun? Good. Just remember to be kind to the little people when you're famous.

How to apply:

Step 1: Send them a letter, telling them why you would make a great "TV Chef," and an original recipe that you would like to prepare live on KTEH. The recipe must feature garlic as an ingredient. Submissions must be received by September 15, 2008. (the date was extended from September 1, 2008)

Send Submission by Email or Postal Mail:

Email: Garlicrecipe@KTEH.org

Postal Mail:
Garlic Recipe
KTEH
1585 Schallenberger Rd.
San Jose, CA 95108

Step 2: All recipes submitted become the property of KTEH and will be included (with your byline) in our KTEH Cooks with Garlic Cookbook.

Step 3: KTEH will review the letters and recipes and invite selected viewers to video tape themselves preparing their recipe. These videos will be posted on our website.

Step 4: If you are selected, start your video camera and prepare your recipe as you would if you were on television. Then upload your video to their website (instructions to come) or send it to KTEH and they'll upload it for you.

Step 5: KTEH viewers will be invited to vote for the video they like best.

Step 6: Videos with the most votes will be reviewed by KTEH producers who will invite their favorite "chefs" to prepare their garlic recipe on their live special, KTEH Cooks with Garlic, December 3, 2008.

Step 7: If selected, you will be asked to provide all the ingredients for your recipe and a completed version of the dish. If your recipe is made in stages, you will need to provide a version in each stage-- just like Martha!

Step 8: The show! Chefs will be assigned a time slot and have 10 minutes to prepare their recipe.

Step 9: Each TV Chef appearing on the show will receive a KTEH Cooks with Garlic Cookbook and a DVD of their appearance on the show.