COLUMBUS – Columbus’ food scene is thriving and consistently garnering national recognition. The opportunity to showcase the city as one of the nation's most innovative culinary capitals continues when Executive Chef Bill Glover of Gallerie Bar and Bistro at the Hilton Columbus Downtown cooks at the prestigious James Beard House on Sept. 11, 2015 in New York City.

Considered the “Carnegie Hall of Cuisine,” the James Beard House selects chefs based on criteria including national or regional reputation, use of high-quality seasonal and local ingredients and demonstrated excellence in their discipline.

“I have been cooking in this incredible city for 20 years now and have been a part of our culinary scene’s growth,” said Chef Glover. “I have enjoyed the local agricultural bounty that Ohio offers to us as chefs while creating relationships with the farmers who have become friends of mine. It is the highest honor for a chef to be invited to cook at the James Beard House.”

At the James Beard House, Chef Glover will serve an inventive, six-course menu featuring the plentiful bounty of Central Ohio. It will highlight the collaborative efforts of Columbus’ farmers, producers and culinarians who are leading the evolution of the farm-to-table concept.

For example, the cocktail reception will feature a signature cocktail of artisan spirits made by Columbus’ Watershed Distillery using Ohio grains. A coursed dinner will feature pork, chicken, and rabbit from nearby Anderson Farms, which uses Watershed’s spent grains as feed for their heritage hogs and chickens. A beverage pairing will feature a custom beer, created by Seventh Son Brewing that’s been aged in a Watershed bourbon barrel.

“I wanted to find a way to share this experience with many of our local artisanal craftsmen and producers and bring some of the best talent this city has to offer with me to showcase why Columbus is a jewel of the Midwest,” said Glover.

James Beard was an American cookbook author, teacher, syndicated columnist and television personality and a champion of American cuisine. The James Beard House, operated by the non-profit James Beard Foundation, is at the epicenter of America's culinary community and hosts dinners featuring selected chefs. Notable past chefs have included Emeril Lagasse, Nobu Matsuhisa, Jacques Pépin and Charlie Trotter.

The Hilton Columbus Downtown has partnered with Experience Columbus and Columbus 2020 to host the dinner. Tickets available now and open to the public. For more information, visit http://www.jamesbeard.org/events/columbus-calling.

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Experience Columbus is the destination marketing organization for the Columbus region, dedicated to growing visitor spending that is generated by conventions, meetings, trade shows and leisure visitors.  Annually, visitors make more than 37.9 million trips to Greater Columbus, generating $8.7 billion in economic impact and supporting more than 71,000 jobs. For more information, visit experiencecolumbus.com.