As a member of Les Dames d’Escoffier New York (LDNY), I am excited to be a part of our collaboration with the 2011 Food Network New York City Wine & Food Festival (NYCWFF) to co-produce a Tribute Dinner on Saturday, October 1, 2011, honoring esteemed chef, author and educator, Jacques Pépin, and world-renowned wine producer, His Royal Highness Prince Robert of Luxembourg, Managing Director of Domaine Clarence Dillon Wines.

The Tribute Dinner, sponsored by Bank of America and taking place at Pier Sixty/Chelsea Piers, is the first of its kind for NYCWFF presented by Food & Wine, which takes place September 29 to October 2 with over 100 culinary, wine and spirits events around the city.

Guests will start the evening with a Champagne Perrier-Jouët reception and hors d’oeuvres prepared by two LDNY members: D’Artagnan Founder Ariane Daguin and Alison Awerbuch, Partner, Abigail Kirsch Catering. The seated dinner will be prepared by French chefs Daniel Boulud, Alain Ducasse, Laurent Gras, Alain Sailhac, and Jacques Torres.  Each course will be paired with the finest wines from Clarendelle wines and Château Haut-Brion from HRH Prince Robert’s own Domaine Clarence Dillon. Martha Stewart will serve as the evening’s mistress of ceremonies.  Tickets to the Tribute Dinner are $500 per person.

Les Dames d’Escoffier New York will manage a silent auction of 40 to 50 lots during the Tribute Dinner. 100 percent of the silent auction’s revenues and partial proceeds from the dinner will help provide LDNY Make a Difference Scholarships to young women whose dreams are to pursue careers in food, fine beverage or hospitality.

“Les Dames d’Escoffier’s mission is to empower women to pursue careers in food, fine beverage and hospitality through higher education and mentoring. The scholarships raised from this dinner will truly make a difference for very deserving women,” said LDNY President Melanie Young who noted that LDNY awards an average of 20 scholarships each year.

For six decades internationally acclaimed French chef, author of 26 books and host of 11 acclaimed public television series, Jacques Pépin, has inspired countless culinary professionals through teaching and mentoring. Pépin currently serves as a Dean of Special Programs at The French Culinary Institute at the New York and California campuses. A new cookbook, Essential Pepin, featuring the best recipes that Pépin created over the course of his 60-year career, will be released this fall in tandem with a 26-episode KQED PBS series of the same name. Pépin served as private chef for three French heads of state including Charles de Gaulle. He has been awarded three of France’s highest civilian honors: the Légion d¹Honneur, the Chevalier de L’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (1997) and the Chevalier de L’Ordre du Mérite Agricole (1992).

His Royal Highness Prince Robert of Luxembourg is the managing director of Domaine Clarence Dillon, the family that currently owns the rights to the Château Haut-Brion wine estates, a label that traces its roots  back to 1533. Prince Robert’s great-grandfather Clarence Dillon purchased Château Haut-Brion in 1935 and has successfully kept the estate in the family. In addition to maintaining the Château Haut-Brion moniker, Prince Robert is also responsible for the first super premium Bordeaux varietal sold under the Clarendelle label.

B Tributed,

Shari