Countdown to Chefs 2011, San Francisco, August 2-7, 2011

Warning: You only have a couple more weeks to buy your tickets (and in my case, crash diet, so I'll be guilt-free while I eat to my lil' heart's content) and join San Francisco's shining culinary stars (a marvelous mixture of Michelin and rising stars ) under the humongous tented pavilion at Union Square for three glorious gourmet days, August 5-7th. The Grand Tastings will be filled with epicurean food delights prepared by San Francisco's favorite chefs, paired with handcrafted cocktails created by amazing mixologists, primo wines, beer or spirits.

During the day,you can mix and mingle with the culinary celebs at a variety of culinary, wine and cocktail classes. Choose from a morning stroll through the botanical gardens showcasing original cocktails featuring Hendrick's gin to hearing about the good old restaurant days from San Francisco's Leading Ladies: Legendary chefs Cecelia Chaing, Joyce Goldstein and Nancy Oakes. Perhaps you'd rather join the fun at the Cable Car Crawl, stopping in for taste sensations at Butterfly, Alexander's Steakhouse, Roy's and Luce. These are but a mere sampling of activities SF Chefs 2011 has cooked up.