July 13, 2004

San Diego Press Club, UCSD Join To Celebrate Neil Morgan
At July 31 Picnic With San Diego's Finest Chefs, Wines

By Dolores Davies

The San Diego Press Club and the University of California, San Diego have planned a festive, epicurean “picnic to end all picnics” to pay homage to longtime San Diego editor, columnist and author, Neil Morgan.

“A Celebration of Neil Morgan” will be held Saturday, July 31, from 4 to 7 p.m. on the Sun God Lawn on the UCSD campus. The event will feature gourmet foods by San Diego’s finest chefs, wines and beers from the region’s top vintners and breweries, and live entertainment and tributes by a variety of prominent San Diegans, including former San Diego mayor and California Gov. Pete Wilson, astronaut Wally Schirra, San Diego County Sheriff Bill Kolender, and many others. San Diego television personality Jack White will serve as the master of ceremonies.

The al fresco feast will be presented by 10 San Diego chefs who were previously honored by being named to prepare gourmet meals at the James Beard House in New York. Picnic goers will sample a medley of delectable and untraditional picnic dishes such as white corn agnolotti with poached lobster, brown butter and shaved summer truffles prepared by Paul McCabe of the Star of the Sea. “The San Diego Gastronomically Correct Chefs,” led by Bernard Guillas, executive chef of the Marine Room, are donating their services and food for the event.

Morgan, widely known in San Diego for his insightful columns about issues affecting San Diego, Southern California, and the border region, has been a columnist and editor for the San Diego Union-Tribune, the Evening Tribune, and previously the San Diego Daily Journal. Early in his career, he reviewed every three-star Michelin restaurant in Paris in two days.

“We are delighted to have the opportunity to show him that San Diego restaurants and chefs can now compete with the best in the world,” said Guillas.

A longtime supporter and friend to UCSD, Morgan recently donated his substantial collection of manuscripts, notes, newspaper columns, and letters spanning 54 years to the University’s Mandeville Special Collections Library. The Morgan Papers will serve as an indispensable resource on the civic and social history of San Diego, California, and the West.

Participating chefs include Guillas and McCabe as well as Riko Bartolome of Asia-Vous, Escondido; Tom Dowling of the Rancho Bernardo Inn; Trey Foshee of George’s at the Cove, La Jolla; Brian Johnston of McCormick & Schmick, San Diego; Jason Knibb of Nine-Ten, La Jolla; Karen Krasne of Extraordinary Desserts, San Diego; and Andrew Ryland Spurgin of Waters Fine Catering, San Diego.

Participating wineries include Callaway, Falkner, Fallbrook, Hart, Maurice Car’rie, Orfila, Palumbo Family, South Coast, Thornton, Van Roekel and Windy Ridge Cellars. In addition, San Diego’s own Karl Strauss beers will be on tap.

Adding to the festivities, picnic attendees will be entertained by Tom Blair and the Society Beat Band, and Mariachi Real de San Diego sponsored by Diane Powers’ Bazaar del Mundo.

To purchase tickets to “A Celebration of Neil Morgan,” please contact the San Diego Press Club at (619) 231-4340 or sdpressclub@cox.net . Proceeds from the event will go to a scholarship fund in Neil Morgan’s name and to the San Diego Press Club Foundation. Tickets are $45 per person before July 23 and $60 per person after that date.

Media Contacts:
Dolores Davies, (858) 534-5994 or Pat JaCoby, (858) 534-7404