Food news from around Puget Sound

Wine Weekend aids summer camp

Recording artists Vince Gill, Amy Grant and Lisa Loeb join Seattle chefs and 50 Washington wineries July 11-12 to benefit Camp Korey, a new facility east of Seattle where children with serious illnesses can experience summer camp.

The 2008 Wine Weekend event takes place at the future site of Camp Korey at Carnation Farm and will feature dinners with Seattle celebrity chefs including Ethan Stowell of Union, Tom Douglas of Dahlia Lounge and Armandino Batali of Salumi, wine tastings, tours and a wine auction.

Tickets are $2,500 for the weekend or $1,000 Saturday only. Visit www.washingtonwinesfestival.com for tickets and details or call Michelle Anderson, 206-236-6167.

Calling aspiring food writers

Seattle's Richard Hugo House is offering an Introduction to Food Writing class July 19-20 for aspiring restaurant critics, cookbook and food-memoir authors and blog writers. It will be led by Kathleen Flinn, a longtime journalist and author of the Le Cordon Bleu food memoir "The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry."

The 15-person class costs $215 ($193.50 for Hugo House members) and will look at classic and contemporary food writing and provide advice regarding query letters, nonfiction/cookbook proposals, recipe writing, blogs and restaurant reviewing. Call 206-322-7030 or e-mail registrar@hugohouse.org for more information.

Guest Chef for Farestart

Farestart presents 2008 Guest Chef on the Waterfront, from 6 to 9 p.m. next Wednesday at Bell Harbor's Elliott Hall at Pier 66, 2211 Alaskan Way in Seattle.

Savor tastes from more than 50 of the Seattle area's most talented chefs, breweries, wineries and purveyors of fine food. Dan Thiessen will emcee, with all proceeds benefiting FareStart's job-training and placement program.

Participating chefs include: Aaron Wright, Canlis; Franz Junga, Il Fornaio; Chris Garr, Ivar's Acres of Clams; and David Curtis, McCormick's Fish House.

For more details: 206-267-6223 or www.farestart.org.

Growth spurts

Two local favorites stretched to accommodate growth. Serafina Osteria and Enoteca (2043 Eastlake Ave. E., Seattle, 206-323-0807) has remodeled its bar to make room for more guests and expanded its kitchen to create more fresh pasta, salumi and other artisanal products. Fremont's 35th Street Bistro (709 N. 35th St., Seattle, 206-547-9850) has created a gastro pub within the restaurant, said owner Bob Day. Bar eats include Rabbit Rillette, a Farmer's Plate of charcuterie, house-made pate, artisan cheese and fruit, and Northwest Mussels. Drinks include the Tarragon Plantation (Hendrick's Gin, Cointreau, lime juice, grapefruit and muddle tarragon) and the Lavender 75 (Aviation Gin, lavender- infused syrup, lemon juice and Prosecco).

Other morsels

Fuel for athletes: Chipotle Mexican Grill is offering a Tour de France-themed burrito July 5-27 to celebrate American cycling team Garmin- Chipotle, formerly Slipstream-Chipotle. "Le Burrito" is filled with chicken (free of antibiotics and artificial hormones), black beans, cilantro-lime rice, mild tomato salsa and guacamole. Visit www.chipotle.com for locations. ...

And the winner is: Nash's Organic Produce in Sequim, Clallam County, has won American Farmland Trust's annual Steward of the Land award for his farmland-protection efforts. Closer to home, the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade named DeLaurenti Specialty Food & Wine outstanding retailer for 2008. ...

Taste Restaurant at Seattle Art Museum (1300 First Ave., Seattle, 206-903-5291) has promoted Craig Hetherington from sous chef to executive chef. Hetherington received a culinary degree at South Seattle Community College and cooked at Elliott's Oyster House, Baci Catering and the Stimson-Green Mansion before joining Taste in 2007. ...

Gray Line Tours is offering chef-led culinary tours of eight Seattle restaurants, including Crush, Palisade and Waterfront Grill. Call 800-426-7532 or visit www.graylineofseattle.com for details.

Karen Gaudette, Seattle Times staff reporter