On Saturday July 28^th the best of the best chefs of Manhattan and the Hamptons will be at the 2012 Chefs Dinner Showcasing! Probably my favorite event of the summer season, this years event includes a cocktail party and silent auction from 5:30- 7:30p.m and a VIP Wine Dinner in Jeff’s Kitchen from 8-10:30 p.m. featuring the TOP Manhattan chefs as well as local chefs.

In the past this event has raised over $1,000,000 for to honor Jeff Salaway. Nick & Toni’s owner Toni Ross says, “Jeff believed that the growing, preparation and sharing of food is a primal human experience and the foundation of family and community.” Toni was also the late Salaway’s wife.

The VIP Wine Dinner in Jeff’s Kitchen will include a four-course meal prepared by a select few of our participating chefs and wine chosen by Aldo Sohm, the world-class Chef Sommelier of Le Bernardin. The dessert will be a never before seen recipe from special guest [and longtime Hamptonite] Ina Garten [the Barefoot Contessa, below] who has a forthcoming cookbook, Foolproof.

KDH is always whipping up delicious dishes from Ina’s cookbooks and are obsessed with her TV show set at her bucolic Hamptons home. We caught up with Ina for an exclusive chat about the Chefs Dinner, her top entertaining tips and where this gourmet legend likes to eat on the East End when she is not cooking at home…Enjoy her KDHamptons Diary!

KDHamptons: What made you decide to get involved with the Chefs Dinner this season?

Ina Garten: I adore and admire Toni Ross. I also have enormous respect for her and we have been friend since she opened the restaurant 25 years ago so I am really looking forward to being a part of this fantastic event.

KDH: You have some big news this summer~ Ina Garten now has a blog. Tell us what you are writing about?

IG: Yes!! The blog is really my first entry into the digital world! My content focus is about Hamptons entertaining, cooking, travel, house & garden. Go to: http://www.barefootcontessa.com/blog.aspx

KDH: When you are not cooking at home, what are your favorite Hamptons restaurants to head to?

IG: We love to put the top down in the Mini, and cruise out to Duryea’s in Montauk for a lobster roll or fresh grilled salmon, or we head the opposite way to Hampton Bays to the Canal Cafe for Chef Parker Hodges guacamole lobster quesadillas!

KDH: Where do like to shop in the Hamptons for your best ingredients and produce?

IG: For meat~ I go to the Red Horse Market, for fish~ The Seafood Shop, for most everything I love Citarella, and for prepared foods~ definitely Loaves & Fishes. Anna Pump [owner] is a dear friend and I am always inspired by and love her cooking.

KDH: You are known for hosting gorgeous dinner parties at your East Hampton home. Share a tip with a readers for creating a fabulous table top?

IG: For the flowers choose one type and one color for your design, cut them on the shorter side, and sprinkle the table with a few arrangements. My favorite flower from our garden this summer is an apricot rose named Just Joey!

KDH: Do you have a secret favorite meal in the Hamptons that you can share?

IG: Yes, although I have shared it on my show as well in a segment called “The Best Thing I Ever Ate.” Here’s three: The meatloaf at the 1770 House is the best I’ve ever tasted, along with the Seafood Stew at Loaves & Fishes, and the Pasta Bolognese at Vine Street Cafe on Shelter Island.

KDH: We are looking forward to the new season of the Barefoot Contessa premiering on August 18th, is there a highlight episode from the show we should set our Tivos for?

IG: My favorite episode co-starred Elmo~ we made healthy Oatmeal Cookies! Afterwards, Elmo bought me flowers and we went to the beach and had so much fun!

Thanks Ina!!!

Here are some of our favorite chefs are participating in the event this year: Eric Ripert from Le Bernardin, Josh Capon from Lure Fish Bar, Amanda Freitag from Food Network’s Chopped, Justin Smillie from Il Buco Alimentari e Vineria, James Carpenter from The Living Room, Bryan Futeman from Foody’s, Dug Gulija from The Pizza Café, Christian Mir from Sone Creek Inn, Kevin Penner from Cittanuova, Joseph Realmuto and Ed Lightcap from Rowdy Hall, Cheryl Stair from Art of Eating, Jason Weiner from Almond, Joe Isidori from Southfork Kitchem, Joel Hough from Il Buco, Arthur Worl from Smokin’ Wolf BBQ, Marc Meyer and RL King from Five PointsICook ShopIHundred Acres, David Simmon from Uptown Juice Bar, and Claudia Fleming from North Fork Table & Inn.

Is your mouth watering yet?

Tickets to the Cocktail Party are $150 per person and for the dinner and the cocktail party they are $750. VIP wine tables featuring fine wine selections and premium seating in Jeff’s Kitchen are $1500-$11,00 for a table of eight. Children’s tickets are $35 and include a children’s dinner as well as creative childcare by Hayground Camp Counselors.

All proceeds from the nights events will go to Bridgehampton’s Hayground School’s Jeff Salaway Scholarship Fund and Jeff’s Kitchen. Jeff’s Kitchen is a full service professional kitchen and classroom at the Hayground School. The classroom is equipped with top-of-the-line Viking appliances, a pizza oven, and more. Nutrition, food science and cooking classes are held here. Jeff Salaway was one of the school’s co-founders as well as a respected and loved restaurateur.

Tickets can be purchased online at www.greatchefsdinner.com. For more event information or to purchase tickets by phone contact Smanta Dettmer at 631.537.7068 or email at info@greatchefsdinner.org.