Tickets On Sale For James Beard Foundation’s Taste America® National Ten-City Tour This Fall

~ Tom Colicchio Announced as Taste America Honorary All-Star to Launch Culinary Campaign to Celebrate America’s Diverse Food Heritage ~

Tickets to the James Beard Foundation’s Taste America® national epicurean tour, which will visit ten American cities this fall, have just been made available. Spanning six weekends between September 23 and November 5, 2015, this year’s program will stop in Boston, Charleston, Chicago, Kansas City, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Phoenix, Portland, OR, San Francisco, and the Twin Cities. James Beard Award winner and Taste America Honorary All-StarTom Colicchio will launch the 2016 program at an invite-only reception at the historic James Beard House in New York City on August 3.

“We are delighted to have Tom as our Taste America Honorary All-Star at the kick-off of this national program, now in its fourth consecutive year,” said Susan Ungaro, president of the James Beard Foundation. “In addition to his global recognition as the head judge on Top Chef, Tom’s game-changing passion for social activism and bringing attention to the sustainable food movement is undeniable.”

Taste America programming in each participating city will kick off with A Night of Culinary Stars, an exclusive dining event benefiting the James Beard Foundation. The evening will begin with a walk-around tasting reception filled with cocktails and hors d’oeuvre from local chefs and restaurateurs, followed by an extraordinary four-course dinner crafted in collaboration by a Taste America All-Star and a Local Star chef, who will be paired together to create an unforgettable one-night-only menu.

The full 2016 Taste America program calendar is as follows:

• Sept. 23-24        Los Angeles: All-Star Scott Conant*/Phoenix: All-Star Amanda Freitag*
• Sept. 30-Oct. 1  Kansas City: All-Star Gavin Kaysen*/New Orleans: All-Star Alex Guarnaschelli*
• Oct. 14-15         Chicago: All-Star Missy Robbins***
• Oct. 21-22         Portland, OR: All-Star Stephanie Izard*
• Oct. 28-29         Twin Cities: All-Star Jose Garces*/Boston: All-Star John Besh*
• Nov. 4-5           Charleston: All-Star Dan Barber*/San Francisco: All-Star Anita Lo**

*Notes James Beard Award Winner

     **Notes James Beard Award Nominee

    ***Notes James Beard Award Semifinalist

For more information on all the Local chefs Local chefs participating in A Night of Culinary Stars please visitjbftasteamerica.org.

The James Beard Foundation is proud to donate a portion of each evening’s proceeds to the Taste America Scholarship Fund. Local culinary students in the ten participating states are invited to apply for this culinary scholarship between April 1 and May 15, 2017, via jamesbeard.org. Candidates will be reviewed by the JBF Scholarship Selection Committee, chaired by Ungaro.

The James Beard Foundation’s Taste America 2016 is made possible by the generosity of our sponsors and partners, including premier national sponsor New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation; supporting sponsors Breville®, Sodexo, and TABASCO®; retail partner Sur La Table; national media partner Saveur; and digital media partner The Daily Meal®. Additional support has been provided by Chefwear, Hansgrohe and VerTerra Dinnerware.

About the James Beard Foundation (JBF)

Founded in 1986, the James Beard Foundation celebrates, nurtures, and honors America's diverse culinary heritage through programs that educate and inspire. A cookbook author and teacher with an encyclopedic knowledge about food, the late James Beard was a champion of American cuisine. He helped educate and mentor generations of professional chefs and food enthusiasts, instilling in them the value of wholesome, healthful, and delicious food. Today JBF continues in the same spirit by administering a number of diverse programs that include educational initiatives, food industry awards, scholarships for culinary students, publications, chef advocacy training, and thought-leader convening. The Foundation also maintains the historic James Beard House in New York City’s Greenwich Village as a “performance space” for visiting chefs. For more information, please visit jamesbeard.org. Get food news, recipes, and more at the James Beard Foundation’s blog, or subscribe to the free digital newsletter Beard Bites. Follow the James Beard Foundation on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and Livestream.