Food: Star Chefs Bull, Stark, Watkins, Qui, + Cirkiel Host Benefit Next Week

On May 30, AT&T Conference Center Assistant Food & Beverage Director Daniel Curtis suffered a terrible diving accident which left him with a severe spinal cord injury. Curtis is paralyzed and facing ongoing medical expenses and an extended rehabilitation period. To help with the significant costs involved, Mr. Curtis' current employer Chef Josh Watkins and his former one Chef David Bull have enlisted some of Austin's best culinary talent to co-host a dinner benefit next Wednesday.

The lineup of chefs is fantastic: Shawn Cirkiel of parkside, Paul Qui of Uchiko (and apparently Top Chef!), Shane Stark of Kenichi, and pastry chef Phillip Speer of Uchi/Uchiko will join Second and Congress chef Bull and Carillon chef Watkins in serving up gourmet bites at the benefit. They've also corralled The Tipsy Texan for craft cocktails and Kohana Coffee for some delicious local java.

Tickets to the event are $75 (or $125 for VIP, which allows early entry and a chef meet-and-greet) and are available by clicking the link at right. There will also be live music by Austin's countrypolitan kings The Derailers. If there were ever a good excuse to splash out on gourmet food and drink, this is probably it. All proceeds will go to Curtis' medical fund - so please attend and help out!