CHICAGO, IL -- 02/23/10 --
Some of Chicago's and the world's most notable
chefs will bring their culinary expertise together for Common Threads'
Fifth Annual "World Festival" on Monday, March 1st from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at
Soldier Field. Ingrid Hoffmann, Stephanie Izard, Nigella Lawson and Ming
Tsai are among this year's celebrity chefs who will serve up global gourmet
cuisine in the annual culinary event to benefit health and nutritional
education for Chicago youth, and also Common Threads' co-founder Art
Smith's 50th birthday.
In addition, actor and comedian Tim Meadows, formerly of Saturday Night
Live, and Second City's Brad Morris will emcee this year's live auction
blending comedy with the culinary excellence on display.
General Admission is $250 per person and VIP tickets are $500 per person.
Tickets can be purchased online at www.commonthreads.org.
World Festival celebrates food and how it influences the many different
cultures of the world around us. In addition to global food stations,
guests will enjoy a silent auction including weekend getaways, tickets to
sporting events and culinary experiences. The live auction features a trip
to Italy, sponsored by Academia Barilla; an in-home, five-course dinner
with Season 5 Top Chef contestant Radhika Desai; and lunch with Nigella
Lawson.
"At Common Threads, we teach low-income children to cook wholesome and
affordable meals because we believe that through our hands-on cooking
classes we can help prevent childhood obesity and reverse the trend of
generations of non-cookers, while celebrating our cultural differences and
the things people all over the world have in common," says Executive
Director Linda Novick O'Keefe. "We are thrilled to be celebrating Art's
birthday at World Festival. Art is ringing in his 50th with a sleek new
body, plenty of energy and a healthier outlook on life. He's eating at
home, making healthier choices and exercising -- things we stress to our
students and their families every day."
This year's festival attendees will be treated to global delicacies by
renowned chefs including Rick Bayless, Frontera Grill/Topolobampo; Michelle
Bernstein, Michy's; Graham Elliot Bowles, Graham Elliot; Koren Grieveson,
AVEC; Kevin Hickey, Seasons, Four Seasons Hotel Chicago; Gavin Kaysen, Café
Boulud; Hubert Keller, Fleur De Lys; Anita Lo, Annisa Restaurant; Giuseppe
Tentori, BOKA; Ben Ford, Ford's Filling Station; Carla Hall, Top Chef
Season 5; Barbara Lynch, Menton & No. 9 Park; and Matthias Merges & Della
Gossett, Charlie Trotter's.
Following the main event, chefs and VIP guests will groove and mingle to
the music of Sara Wasserman at the stylish James Hotel.
This year's host committee includes Lee Blackwell Baur, Katherine Chez,
Lisa Erspamer, Candace Jordan, Brian McCaskey, Sue & Mike McCloskey, Ken
O'Keefe & Jason Stephens, Mayari Pritzker, Patrick Sheahan, Marilyn Vitale,
and Linda Yu. The Honorary Chair is Gail Simmons from Food & Wine and
Bravo's Top Chef. Lead sponsors of the event are Allen Brothers, Harris
Bank, Anheuser-Busch, Sara Lee, Chicago Magazine, American Airlines,
Nestle Waters, The James Hotel, Studio AG and Food & Wine.
Common Threads, a non-profit organization, was founded in 2003 by Art
Smith, former personal chef to Oprah Winfrey, and his partner, Jesus
Salgueiro. The organization reaches nearly 1,000 children, ages 8-12,
annually across 18 sites in Chicago, two sites in Los Angeles, three sites
in Miami, four sites in Washington, D.C., and a licensed Common Threads
program that operates independently at the Oprah Winfrey Boys & Girls Club
in Kosciusko, Mississippi. For more information on Common Threads, please
visit www.commonthreads.org.
For more information, please contact:
Eleanor Leichenko
Email Contact
312-329-2501 ext. 209
Terri Hickey
Public Relations Committee Chair
Email Contact
312-649-2322
