Audi #DriveProgress Scholarship
To celebrate and showcase the all-new Audi Q3, Audi of America hosted a four-city culinary experience, PROOF, featuring award winning chefs and restaurant owners, along with graduates of the James Beard Foundation’s Women’s Leadership Program. The pop-up restaurant, PROOF, will visit Nashville, Pittsburgh, Minneapolis, and Seattle featuring talented chefs like Ashley Christensen, Angie Mar, Nina Compton, and Daniela Soto-Innes.
Along with the pop-up restaurant, Audi and the James Beard Foundation have created a new scholarship to be awarded to an aspiring woman from each city in the fall of 2020. The Audi #DriveProgress Scholarship will be open to any local woman-identifying student enrolling or enrolled at a post-secondary institution that plans to pursue a career in the food industry.
Reservations can be made through OpenTable using the links below.
PROOF Nashville
Photo: Johnny Autry
July 22-25
2019 James Beard Outstanding Chef Award winner Ashley Christensen, owner of six restaurants in Raleigh, North Carolina including Poole's Diner, will curate a unique dinner that showcases her love for details and connection to her community. WEL fellows Ann Marshall (High Wire Distilling Company, Charleston, SC) and Joanne Canady-Brown (The Gingered Peach, Lawrenceville, NJ) will join chef Ashley as the beverage director and pastry/dessert chef, respectively.
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PROOF Pittsburgh
August 8-11
PROOF in Pittsburgh will feature Angie Mar, a James Beard Award nominee, Thrillist Chef of the Year 2016, one of Food & Wine’s Best New Chefs for 2017, and owner and head chef of the Beatrice Inn in New York City. Her specially curated meal will leverage her signature skills in dry-aging, whole-animal butchery, and open-fire techniques. WEL fellows Sandra Cordero (Gasolina Café, Los Angeles) and Ping Ho (Marrow and The Royce, Detroit) will join chef Angie as the beverage director and pastry/dessert chef, respectively.
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PROOF Minneapolis
Photo: Denny Culbert
August 22-25
2018 James Beard Best Chef: South Award winner and 2017 Food & Wine Best New Chef Nina Compton of Compère Lapin and Bywater American Bistro in New Orleans will create a bold family-style feast inspired by her Caribbean roots for diners in Minneapolis. WEL fellows Katy Gerdes (Angel Food Bakery & Donut Bar, Minneapolis, MN) and Caitlin Corcoran (Ça Va, Kansas City, MO) will join chef Nina as the beverage director and pastry/dessert chef, respectively.
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PROOF Seattle
September 10-13
2016 James Beard Rising Star Chef of the Year Award winner Daniela Soto-Innes, chef/partner behind the internationally renowned Cosme and sister restaurant ATLA in New York City will curate a four-course meal inspired by her Mexican roots and passion for elevating simple ingredients. WEL fellows Kelly Fields (Willa Jean, New Orleans) and Daniella Senior (Colada Shop, Bresca, Washington, D.C.) and will join chef Daniela as the beverage director and pastry/dessert chef, respectively.
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Guests at PROOF will have the opportunity to make an impact on their local community by donating to the #DriveProgress scholarship fund, which will be available to one woman each in Nashville, Pittsburgh, Minneapolis, and Seattle enrolling or enrolled at a post-secondary institution that plans to pursue a career in the food industry. Together, with matches from Audi and OpenTable, you can help provide a young woman with the opportunity to take her career to the next level. Donations can be made during the OpenTable booking process or on-site. Applications will be accepted from April 1 through May 15, 2020, and The James Beard Foundation will award the scholarship in the fall of 2020.