World’s Most Celebrated Chefs Cook to Help Fight Childhood Cancer at the Seventh Annual Great Chefs Event Benefiting

Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation

Tom Colicchio, Jose Garces, Jonathan Waxman, Aaron Sanchez and Drew Nieporent among the culinary greats gathering in Philadelphia this June

More than 50 of the world’s greatest chefs will gather in Philadelphia this June to cook for over 1,000 guests in an effort to find cures for all childhood cancers during theSeventh Annual Great Chefs Event to benefit Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation.

The event, to be held Tuesday, June 12, is hosted by Marc Vetri, Jeff Benjamin, Jeff Michaud and their Vetri Foundation for Children (VFFC) and will take place on Philadelphia’s waterfront at the Urban Outfitters world headquarters.Acclaimed chefs from around the globe, from Montreal to Italy, will join by donating their time, talent and food as they offer those in attendance delectable samplings prepared right in front of their eyes. The evening’s impressive culinary offerings are paired with music, mingling and exciting silent and live auctions, for a night guaranteed to warm your heart and fill your stomach.

“The friendship and bond that we’ve formed with The Vetri Foundation over the past seven years of hosting The Great Chefs Event is incredible,” said Liz Scott, mother of Alexandra “Alex” Scott. “Our daughter set out to find cures for all kids with cancer through a front yard lemonade stand and she would absolutely be thrilled by the embrace of the culinary community to continue her mission.”

What began as a small tasting event at The Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College has grown to become a nationally recognized fundraiser. Known as an event featuring small plates for big appetites, The Seventh Annual Great Chefs Event will welcome returning chefs including Tom Colicchio, renowned chef and head judge on Bravo’s Top Chef; as well as several other famous faces including the Food Network’s Iron Chef Masahara Morimotoand Jose Garces.Several of the other participating chefs are James Beard Award winners and nominees, including host chefs Marc Vetri and Jeff Michaud, Daniel Stern of R2L; Aaron Sanchez and Drew Nieporentof Centrico/Tacombi/Mestizo in New York; and Neal Fraser of Grace and BLD in Los Angeles, among others.  (A complete list of 2012 Great Chefs Event participants can be found below)

Some of last year’s auction items included dinner at Vetri Ristorante with Iron Chefs Michael Symon and Bobby Flay; a dinner for 20 at Iron Chef Jose Garces’ JG Domestic; and a dinner for 8 prepared in home by Top Chef Winner Kevin Sbraga.

“The Vetri Foundation for Children is honored to bring such passionate and talented people together for one great cause,” says Jeff Benjamin. “The dedication and selflessness of the top chefs, volunteers and sponsors converge to make the Great Chefs Event a fundraising front-runner in the search for a cure against childhood cancer.”

The Great Chefs Event in 2006 marked the beginning of the culinary community’s support of Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation. In the years that followed, the Great Chefs Event has grown into an international affair attracting the best chefs from around the world to help the cause. In 2011, the event raised over $800,000 and was attended by over 1,200 people.

Galvanized by their experience at the Great Chefs Event, Chef Suzanne Goin along with business partner Caroline Styne and Chef David Lentz, partnered with their east coast friends in 2010 to host a Los Angeles event to broaden the reach of Alex’s Lemonade Stand’s fundraising efforts. L.A. Loves Alex’s Lemonade has become an annual event bringing together over 1,000 supporters of the Foundation, the event returns on September 30, 2012.

On the heels of the two wildly successful ALSF culinary fundraising events in Philadelphia and Los Angeles, Chef Jonathan Waxman joined the childhood cancer crusade by introducing Lemon: NYC, a chef-driven event in December of 2011.Waxman put his own twist on the event by having each participating chef create a sit down four course meal. Lemon: NYC will return in the winter of 2012.

Sponsors for the Seventh Annual Great Chefs Event to benefit Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation include: Urban Outfitters Inc., The Emerson Group, Practice Management, Aramark, Neat Company, David Stout, Cashman and Associates, and WP Realty. For information on how to become a sponsor, contact Kelly Herrenkohl at The Vetri Foundation for Children, (215-732-3478).

To purchase tickets visit www.VetriFoundation.org or for more information www.AlexsLemonade.org.