THE PARTY THAT JOAN THREW

Joan Nathan's party drew dozens of chefs and a vast array of celebrities. Joan threw the party to honor the 10 chefs who were cooking dinners for the Art. Food. Hope. Fundraising Gala Dinner held in Washington, D.C. The dinner also drew the attention of Marion Burros from the New York Times. Here is the first of two articles Marion wrote in regards to the event.

LIFE OF THE PARTY: Woodward, Bernstein and Alice Waters

by Marian Burros

“How cool is it to get to talk to Carl Bernstein, Bob Woodward and Alice Waters all in one night,” said Walter Scheib, the former White House chef as he surveyed the scene at one of this inaugural’s more unusual parties. “I grew up in the 70s and they were my heroes.”

And there they were, the unlikely combination under one roof Sunday night at the home of Joan Nathan, a cookbook author whose house was jammed to the rafters with almost 200 guests. Originally she had planned on 60.

It was a party, complete with a spit-roasted lamb, to honor 10 of the country’s most famous chefs who had come to town to cook at dinners Monday night in private home for guests who are paying $500 for the privilege. It is all part of Ms. Waters’s crusade to put the need for local, organic and sustainable food on the political agenda. She hopes her dinners will get Washington’s politicians to pay attention and, perhaps, convince the Obamas to plant a vegetable garden on the White House lawn.

“The next step,” she told the crowd, “is to find a way to bring sustainable food to the schools.”

The sold-out dinners will also benefit two Washington soup kitchens, Martha’s Table and DC Central Kitchen, as well as FreshFarm that operates farmers’ markets in the Washington region.”

In addition to Ms. Waters and her crew from Chez Panisse, some of the other chefs are Daniel Boulud, Dan Barber and Tom Colicchio from New York, and Rick Bayless from Chicago, whose restaurant Topolobampo, has entertained the Obamas once a month for the last several years.

Mr. Scheib was not the only one who was excited. Former Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman, unable to attend any of the dinners Monday because of a conflict, was determined to meet Ms. Waters, his wife, Rhoda said. “We had to get to that party, no matter what; it was really important to him because the organic food labeling bill was signed when he was Secretary.”

Mrs. Glickman couldn’t stop talking about the party, different from most Washington parties, she said, which are far more buttoned up. “It was like no other party we had been to,” she said. “People were exchanging food off their plates. No one cared how they looked and only cared what they were eating. They were all so relaxed and it was like being in your neighbor’s kitchen and having dinner but with a 1000 people.

“Food was clearly the center and the chefs are huge celebrities, like Brangelina.”

And, it turns out, Mr. Glickman is all for a vegetable garden at the White House.

“I wouldn’t want them to have a garden just to have a garden,” he said, “but only if they really are interested in it and thought it would be a good symbol and an integral part of their lives.”