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Event Details
Join us for Cooking for Solutions 2008 at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, where great chefs from the United States and around the world will share their passion for fine dining and environmentally sustainable living in a two-day celebration.
Celebrity chefs—selected and recognized by the Aquarium for their leadership in promoting cuisine that protects the health of the ocean and the soil—will create gourmet dishes, host food and wine adventures, and present cooking demonstrations that feature sustainable seafood and organic ingredients.
Friday, May 16
SOLD OUT
Cooking for Solutions Gala
Friday, May 16 (7:30 p.m.–10:30 p.m.)
$115 general public/$95 Aquarium members
Throughout the Aquarium
Enjoy a grand celebration with gourmet dishes prepared by our celebrity chefs and 55 outstanding local restaurants. Sample organic and sustainable wines from 48 premium West Coast wineries and attend book-signings. You will receive a souvenir wineglass and take-home recipes.
Take home a culinary travel adventure, a work of art, a great experience or a fabulous addition to your kitchen. All proceeds benefit our Seafood Watch program and efforts to transform the seafood market in ways that protect ocean ecosystems.
Monterey Bay Aquarium Auditorium and Portola Restaurant
Includes admission to Cooking for Solutions gala
Join us in the Aquarium auditorium and Portola Restaurant for an exclusive private reception with Honored Chef Darina Allen, plus special guest chef Alton Brown. You'll enjoy wine and hors d'oeuvres, a lively talk and cooking demonstration featuring Darina and Alton, and will take home an autographed copy of one of Darina's cookbooks. Includes admission to the gala event that follows.
Saturday, May 17
Celebrity Chef Cooking Demonstrations
Saturday, May 17 (8:30 a.m.–11:30 a.m.)
$75 general public/$60 Aquarium members
Monterey Bay Aquarium Auditorium
Join celebrity chefs John Ash, Stuart Brioza and Raghavan Iyer, and celebrity chef emcee Jim Dodge for sustainable cooking demonstrations. You'll enjoy a continental breakfast, and receive take-home recipes by all the chefs. Includes Aquarium admission.
Food & Wine Adventures
Saturday, May 17 (9:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m.)
$185 general public/$150 Aquarium members
$225 general public/$180 Aquarium members (Deluxe Tour)
Begin/end at the Aquarium
Take part in one of six group events led by our celebrity chefs—each exploring some aspect of sustainable foods on the farm and in the kitchen. Depending on the adventure, you'll join Darina Allen, Sam Choy, Michelle Bernstein, Doug Katz, Andrew Brown or Michel Nischan for a fascinating culinary exploration. Food and wine presentations, transportation and a gourmet picnic lunch are included.
Aquarium galleries
Included with regular Aquarium admission
Join us for a daylong celebration of sustainable dining. We'll serve samples of wild-caught Alaska salmon and organic treats, offer cooking demonstrations by noted chefs—including Joël Chenet, once the chef for the president of France—and welcome KGO's Gene Burns for a live "Dining Around" radio broadcast. The Food Network's Alton Brown will be the diver for a special Kelp Forest show, and sign books afterward. Plus we'll have craft activities, kid-friendly cooking demonstrations, and lots of great information about the connection between what you eat and the health of the planet.
SOLD OUT
Sustainable Seafood Challenge & Reception with Sam Choy, Darina Allen and Alton Brown
Saturday, May 17 (5:30 p.m.–7:30 p.m.)
$115 general public/$95 Aquarium members
Monterey Plaza Hotel & Spa
Join us at the elegant Monterey Plaza Hotel as five of our celebrated chefs race the clock to create tasty (and sustainable) seafood dishes while Sam Choy offers lively commentary. This year's challenge features Barton Seaver, Clark Frasier and Mark Gaier, Joël Chenet and Thom Fox. Sam Choy, Darina Allen and Alton Brown will be the judges as the chefs compete for honors in one of four fun categories. You'll enjoy wine and abundant hors d'oeuvres, and will take home an autographed copy of one of Alton's cookbooks.
Event Packages
SOLD OUT
Cooking For Solutions Gala + Cooking Demonstrations
$155 general public/$125 Aquarium members
SOLD OUT
Cooking For Solutions Gala + Food & Wine Adventure
$275 general public/$225 Aquarium members
SOLD OUT
VIP Reception or Sustainable Seafood Challenge + Cooking For Solutions Gala + Cooking Demonstrations
$255 general public/$205 Aquarium members
SOLD OUT
VIP Reception or Sustainable Seafood Challenge + Cooking For Solutions Gala + Food & Wine Adventure
All Cooking for Solutions events support the Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program, which works to change the seafood market in ways that preserve healthy ecosystems that sustain ocean wildlife.
