Local Chefs Add Some La Jolla Flavor to Cooks Confab Christmas Dinner

Think outside the gift-wrapped box this holiday season and celebrate by going back in time to Victorian England for a night of elegant wining and dining.

Cooks Confab will host an intimate holiday event, Christmas Dinner!, Dec. 16, for an evening of holiday cheer, dining set for a queen and French-inspired dishes prepared especially by the Confab, including two of La Jolla's top chefs. 

The Shores’ Chef de Cuisine Amy DiBiase, and A.R. Valentien Executive Chef Jeff Jackson will be among the featured chefs that will spice up the night and add their own flavor and twists to some old-fashioned delicacies.

Cooks Confab, which began as a small group of like-minded local chefs meeting to talk shop, has become a club of San Diego’s most passionate and creative chefs that team together every few months to share their talents and host stylishly grand dinner parties. 

“We are pulling out all of the stops to recreate a time and place that mirrors the best of the Victorian age—without the chastity belts—paired with the precise cuisine of Escoffier,” said Andrew Spurgin, a Confab co-founder. “We are all excited about the whole experience—from the menu to the setting to the entertainment—believe me, it’s about more than just the food!”

While it may be the food that is the focus, fashion, fun and giving are also statements of the night. Guests are required to come dressed in dinner attire, and encouraged to have some fun and add to the ambiance by dressing in Steampunk or time-period costumes. Additionally, it is requested that each guest bring a new, unwrapped plush toy to be donated to a local children’s organization. A portion of the proceeds from the event will also go towards benefitting Slow Food Urban San Diego, an organization supporting a sustainable approach to food, the environment and the community.

Seating is limited and reservations can be made online, $175 per person. Dinner will be hosted from 1 to 5 p.m. on Dec. 16 at Oliver & Rose located downtown at 726 Ninth Ave., San Diego.

Featured Confab chefs:

• Amy DiBiase, The Shores Restaurant
• Jeff Jackson, A.R. Valentien
• Andrew Spurgin, Andrew Spurgin
• Katie Grebow, Café Chloe
• Chad White
• Melissa Mayer, Martini Media
• Olivier Bioteau, The Farm House Café
• Donald Coffman, Culinary Concepts
• Ian Ward & Lucien Conner, Pick & Rocks
• James Rauh, The West Bean