Award-winning Chef Nancy Oakes to be Honored

Award-winning Chef Nancy Oakes to be Honored as Chef de Cuisine at the
22 nd Annual Naples Winter Wine Festival on January 28-30, 2022

The Naples Children and Education Foundation (NCEF), founders of the Naples Winter Wine Festival, is pleased to announce that James Beard Foundation Award winner Nancy Oakes, Executive Chef/Owner of Boulevard Restaurant in San Francisco, will be honored as Chef de Cuisine at the 22 nd annual Naples Winter Wine Festival on January 28-30, 2022.

As the Festival’s Chef de Cuisine, Oakes will be recognized for her pioneering culinary career and innovation in the food and wine industry. She joins an impressive line-up of the world’s most acclaimed vintners, chefs and Master Sommeliers hailing from more than seven different countries, setting the stage for a weekend of unique, one-of-a-kind wine and culinary experiences.

“Having participated in the Naples Winter Wine Festival in recent years, I have witnessed the tremendous impact that it has on underprivileged and at-risk children in the local community,” Oakes said. “It is truly an honor to have been selected as the 2022 Chef de Cuisine and I look forward to joining some of the best chefs and vintners in the world for such an important cause.”

Oakes grew up in Northern California and began her career in San Francisco as a hostess at the popular Carnelian Room and then Alexis Restaurant. Her passion for understanding all of the moving parts of owning and operating a restaurant began with those front of the house positions.

Oakes opened Boulevard in 1993 and has recently reimagined the space with designer Ken Fulk. This celebrated establishment has earned her numerous local, national and international accolades, nominations and awards, including Zagat’s San Francisco Bay Area’s Most Popular Restaurant, the James Beard Foundation Award for “Best Chef: California” (2001) and “Outstanding Restaurant” in the United States (2012) as well as Filiale des Etats-Unis in France.

Aside from her much-deserved public recognition and success, Oakes devotes time and talent to cooking for charitable organizations. In addition to serving on the Board of Directors for Meals on Wheels San Francisco, she has been Gala Chef Chair for the organization’s annual fundraiser for over a dozen years. She enjoys continuous involvement with numerous other philanthropies, too.

“Nancy is an outstanding choice to be our 2022 Chef de Cuisine,” said Debbi Cary, 2022 Chef Committee Co-Chair. “Her New American cuisine is widely recognized for helping to change the culinary scene in San Francisco. We are delighted to welcome her back for the 22 nd anniversary of the Naples Winter Wine Festival as we celebrate our heritage and build upon our future.”

With the theme “Rise Up: Twenty Twenty Twogether,” the 2022 Naples Winter Wine Festival returns to a live, in-person event highlighting the finest food, wine and auction lots at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort, Naples. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 Festival was re-engineered virtually to prioritize the health and safety of all NCEF donors, patrons and partners.

This year’s event will be led by the 2022 Rise Up Festival Team of NCEF Trustees with extensive combined knowledge and experience. They include Nena and Bill Beynon; Debbi and Bill Cary; Denise and Brian Cobb; Shirlene Elkins; Valerie Boyd and Jeff Gargiulo; Libby and Rick Germain; Julie and Rob Heidt, Jr.; Barbie and Paul Hills; Scott Lutgert; and Shirley and Peter Welsh.

Since the event’s inception in 2001, the Naples Winter Wine Festival has raised nearly $220 million for its founding organization, NCEF, which has awarded grants to more than 50 non-profit organizations that have impacted the lives of more than 275,000 children in Collier County through traditional annual grants and strategic initiatives.

Festival guests will once again join in this charitable mission in 2022 as they bid on incredible, one-of-a-kind experiences during the famed live auction, part of a weekend that will also feature celebrated names in food and wine from around the world.

Ticket packages for the 2022 Naples Winter Wine Festival start at $15,000 per couple for a Double Magnum package and $35,000 for two couples for a Jeroboam package. For additional details, please visit: https://www.napleswinefestival.com/about-the-festival.

About Naples Winter Wine Festival
The Naples Winter Wine Festival, one of the worlds most prestigious charity wine auctions, offers a weekend of unforgettable memories. Guests enjoy world-class food and wine during intimate dinners in private homes and are invited to bid on once-in-a-lifetime travel and wine experiences during an electrifying live auction. Since its inaugural event in 2001, the Festival has raised nearly $220 million, making a profound difference in the lives of hundreds of
thousands of children.

About Naples Children and  Education Foundation
The Naples Children and Education Foundation (NCEF), the founding organization of the Naples Winter Wine Festival, is improving the educational, emotional and health outcomes of underprivileged and at-risk children. Through its annual grants and strategic initiatives, NCEF has impacted more than 50 of the most effective nonprofits in the community, providing over 275,000 children with the services and resources they need to excel. NCEF and it’s unique approach, which emphasizes collaboration between organizations and bridges public and private resources, has become a blueprint for how to transform a community, one issue at a time.

For additional information on the Naples Children and  Education Foundation or the Naples Winter
Wine Festival, contact Lisa Juliano at lisa@napleswinefestival.com or 239-514-2239.

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