PRICE: $150 per person inclusive
Tickets available October 7, 2010

Visa Signature Price:  $130 per person inclusive
Visa Signature® tickets available October 4, 2010

HOST VENUE - Quince Restaurant

Situated in San Francisco's Jackson Square Neighborhood, Quince is housed in a 1907 historically landmarked brick and timber building. Quince features a daily changing Italian-inspired menu that celebrates the seasonal bounty of Northern California.

The wine program at Quince takes its inspiration from Chef Michael Tusk's cooking: it is Italian at its core but is full of French, California, and other influences. With over 800 selections, the wine list offers fine selections from the world's major viticulture regions with a special focus on Italian red wines from Piedmont.

Under Michael Tusk's direction, the Quince kitchen uses only superior products by working with an established network of Northern California purveyors, small farmers to cultivate organic produce and meats, fish mongers to source out flawless fish, and local cheese makers to produce farmhouse cheeses. These ingredients provide the ultimate source of inspiration for the restaurant's daily changing menu.

GUEST CELEBRITY CHEF - Douglas Keane
RESTAURANT - Cyrus, Healdsburg CA

A Michigan native, Chef Douglas Keane attended the prestigious Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration. Keane's culinary career began at The Four Seasons, the seminal three-star restaurant in the Seagram's Tower. Under the tutelage of Chef Christian "Hitsch" Albin, Keane received his first glimpse of the bounty of pristine products and luxury items available to chefs at fine dining restaurants and learned to handle them with respect.

Following, Keane joined New York City's Lespinasse under Chef Gray Kunz. There, he was impressed not only by the exotic flavor combinations but the technique and precision which the line cooks possessed. Keane later joined Chef Traci Des Jardins' team at San Francisco's Jardiniere, rising to Chef de Cuisine in a year's time. Granted a leave of absence, Keane served as opening Sous Chef at the restaurant Gary Danko, where he forged a friendship with his future Cyrus partner Nick Peyton. Keane returned to Jardiniere as Executive Chef where, in 2002, he was honored by the San Francisco Chronicle as a "Rising Star Chef" and earned three-and-a-half stars for his cuisine in a glowing review by Michael Bauer.

Keane and partner Nick Peyton opened Cyrus, the luxury restaurant they had always envisioned opening in Sonoma County, in March 2005. At Cyrus, admittedly his "dream restaurant," Keane specializes in an ambitious culinary style he refers to as "contemporary luxury" cuisine. Along with a pantry stocked with luxury items, Keane uses ingredients that are uncommon to create exciting new tastes for guests to experience.

Cyrus and Chef Keane have received numerous accolades including two stars from The Michelin Guide, four stars from Michael Bauer at the San Francisco Chronicle, Gourmet magazine's "Top 50 Restaurants in America," Esquire magazine's "Chef of the Year" and Food & Wine magazine's "Best New Chef." In 2009, Keane was honored with the James Beard "Best Chef – Pacific" award.

HOST CELEBRITY CHEF - Michael Tusk
RESTAURANT - Quince, San Francisco CA

Michael Tusk is the renowned chef and owner of Quince, one of San Francisco's most critically acclaimed restaurants. At Quince, Michael draws inspiration for his Italian influenced cuisine from exceptional locally- sourced and seasonal ingredients found throughout Northern California.

A native of New Jersey, Michael developed a profound curiosity about food at a very young age. After graduating from Tulane University with a degree in Art History, he enrolled at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, formally dedicating himself to the culinary arts. Upon graduation, and desiring a broader knowledge of Italian and French cuisine, Michael departed for Europe where he worked in several Michelin-starred restaurants. It was his experiences in Italy's Barbaresco region which most deeply captured his interest in Northern Italian regional cuisine.

When, in 1994, Michael returned to the San Francisco Bay Area he contributed to the success of some of the country's most pioneering, influential restaurants including Stars, Oliveto, and Chez Panisse. He credits much of his culinary philosophy to his time spent at Chez Panisse under the influential tutelage of Alice Waters and then chef Paul Bertolli.

In December 2003, Michael and his wife Lindsay opened Quince restaurant in San Francisco's Pacific Heights neighborhood. From the beginning, Quince garnered national and international acclaim. San Francisco Magazine selected Chef Tusk as a "Rising Star Chef" in 2004 and the San Francisco Chronicle awarded the restaurant three stars in that same year.

In October 2009, Quince moved to a historic 1907 brick and timber building in San Francisco's Jackson Square. Awarded a One Star Michelin rating, Quince has quickly become a destination restaurant known for its compelling and innovative cuisine.