DELHI _ SUNY Delhi will host a reception to honor Michel Escoffier, great-grandson of culinary legend Georges Auguste Escoffier, from 6 to 8 p.m. today at the Alumni Hall Hospitality Center.
The reception is a fundraiser and will feature delicacies and ice sculptures created by students in the State University College of Technology at Delhi's nationally recognized culinary arts program.
The donation to attend is $30.
Michel Escoffier is the president of Foundation Auguste Escoffier, which celebrates the work of his great-grandfather, who is described on the foundation's website as the creator of "haute cuisine and fine dining, as we know them today."
"This is a rare opportunity for our program and our students," said Tom Recinella, associate professor and culinary arts program director. "We look forward to celebrating classical cuisine and culinary excellence with a member of the family of the great master chef."
Longtime food journalist and culinary expert Carol Brock helped arrange Escoffier's visit; she will also be recognized at the reception.
Escoffier and Brock will be asked to be honorary members of the college's award-winning culinary team and will be presented with customized chef's jackets, said college spokesman Joel Smith on Thursday.
Smith said Escoffier has been criss-crossing the country for the last two weeks, but he will spend time with the students in all of the hospitality clubs at a special brunch Saturday morning.
"He wants to meet with the students and learn more about them," Smith said. "Professor Recinella, Brianne Slocum and several other students will drive him back to New York City to give them even more time together."
Slocum, a culinary arts major from Taberg, has qualified for the 2009 Student Chef of the Year competition, marking the second consecutive year a Delhi student has advanced to the finals.
Brock joined the staff of Good Housekeeping magazine after graduating from college in 1944, and her career has also included an assignment as food editor for Parents magazine and as a food reporter and critic for the New York Daily News and the Times Ledger in Queens.
Brock is also recognized as the founder of Les Dames d'Escoffier, an organization regarded as the premier organization for female culinary professionals.
Michel Escoffier has published two books, "Memories of My Life," his great-grandfather's memoirs, and "Tresors Culaires de la France," which describes Auguste's travels across France at the end of the 19th century along with descriptions of various French regional foods and their recipes.
Smith said that when the college's Escoffier Club was formed for culinary students, it was named in honor of Auguste Escoffier because of the man's strong commitment to public service.
"A part of the Escoffier Club's charter is to be actively involved in public service, and the club members have won the SUNY Delhi President's Award for community service two years in a row," Smith said.
Escoffier created such dishes as peach Melba, and he partnered with Cesar Ritz to set standards still in use today in luxury hotels such as the Ritz Carlton.
For more information, call 746-4115.
___
If you have good news you'd like to share, call Managing Editor Cary Brunswick at 432-1000 or (800) 721-1000, ext. 217; fax him at 432-5707; e-mail him at cary@thedailystar.com; or write to him at P.O. Box 250, Oneonta, NY 13820.
