GLUTEN-FREE COOKING SPREE!

I just got the latest lineup for the Gluten-Free Cooking Spree--a fund-raising event organized by the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness (NFCA).

Hosted by CNN Newsroom anchor and NFCA spokesperson Heidi Collins and honoring Dr. Peter Green (right), the event matches up chefs with medical types in a competition to make the best gluten-free meal. Gluten-free food and drink will be served. There will be a raffle and a silent auction, with a donation going to the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University.

The event is scheduled for Friday, March 2, 2007 from 6:30-9:00 pm at the Institute for Culinary Education at 50 West 23rd Street. Admission costs $50; for an additional $25 you can purchase a VIP ticket and attend a 6:00 pm "meet and greet" with the doctors and chefs.

Here's the current roster of chefs:

Carrie Levin, Good Enough to Eat
Julian Medina, Zócalo
Jehangir Mehta, Graffiti
Ralph Pagano, Hell's Kitchen
Brett Reichler, B.R. Guest
Aarón Sanchez, Centrico
Patricia Williams, District Restaurant

The medical types include celiac specialist Green of Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center as well as fellow gastroenterologist Michael Blechman of Beth Israel Medical Center, registered nurse Maureen Higgins of Memorial Sloan-Kettering, pediatrician Suzanne Loiselle of Mt. Sinai Hospital, and pharmacist Robert Mangione of St. Johns University. From Westchester the attending physicians will be internist Michael Contillo of Lawrence Hospital, internist Rafael Soltren of Phelps Memorial Hospital, and internist Zoovia Hamid and pediatrician Marc Wager of Sound Shore Medical Center.

RSVP via this page. (At this time, nearly 20 members of The New York City Celiac Disease Meetup Group have indicated that they would attend.)