October 28, 2004

CULINARY EVENT TO BENEFIT
UCSD’S RARE BOOK COLLECTION

By Pat Jacoby

Two of America’s top chefs will join other culinary experts at a discussion and tasting Nov. 13 to benefit the American Institute of Wine and Food Culinary Collection at the University of California, San Diego Geisel Library.

Thomas Keller, one of America’s most distinguished chefs and the owner of three celebrated restaurants, including The French Laundry in Napa Valley, and Jeff Cerciello, executive chef at Keller’s Bouchon restaurant in Las Vegas, will discuss the classic bistro dishes from their new book, Bouchon. The event will be held from 7-9 p.m. Nov. 13 at Sur La Table, the cookware speciality store in Carlsbad.

Wine will be provided by Michel-Schlumberger. Food tastings will be prepared by Bob Stonebrook, Aniata Cheese Co.; chef Carl Schroeder, Arterra restaurant; chef Trey Foshee, George’s at the Cove; chef Su-Mei Yu, Saffron restaurants, and chef Susan Sbicca, Sbicca and Meritage.
AIWF, a national organization founded by Julia Child and Robert Mondavi, donated half its rare book collection to UCSD in 1991; the other half went to Radcliffe College. That initial local donation of 364 volumes now totals nearly 4,000 publications and is housed in the Mandeville Special Collections Library.

While the initial gift books from AIWF were largely devoted to descriptions of European cuisine and culinary history from the 17th to early 19th centuries, collecting efforts of the past decade have focused on Asia, Mexico and Latin America, California and the American West, and nations of the Pacific Rim.

The collection includes such rarities as Amelia Simmons’ American Cookery (1814), the first truly American cookbook; Robert Roberts’ A House Servant’s Directory (1828), the first household manual/cookbook written by an African-American, and Acerca de Chocolate (1730), a manuscript from Mexico that attempts to rebut the Church’s strictures against the consumption of chocolate.

Cost for the Nov. 13 event is $25 per person, and advance reservations are necessary. For reservations call the Mandeville Special Collections Library at (858) 534-2533.

Media Contact: Pat JaCoby, (858) 534-7404