Guess which local chef is going to be cooking at the James Beard House [1] in New York City in May?

Scott McKee of La Belle Vie [2]?

Nope. Been there, done that.

Doug Flicker of Mission American Kitchen [3].

Nope.

Give up? It's Christian Ticarro.

Christian who?

Christian Ticarro, executive chef at the Canyon Grille [4] in Coon Rapids and Eden Prairie.

Coon Rapids? Eden Prairie?

Turns out this is Ticarro's third trip to the fabled emporium of gastronomy.

His first trip was in 2003, as part of a team from Goodfellows, and he returned in March 2006, as a featured "Great Regional Chef."

The menu for his May 17 dinner begins with an assortment of passed tapas that includes a Vietnamese pork belly sandwich, fried polenta balls with foie gras and bing cherry sauce, Alaskan king crab spring rolls, lamb tenderloin crostini, bluefin tuna in mustard oil dressing, wrapped in radish, and fried sushi lobster rolls.

And that's just for starters. Highlights of the main event include Alaskan halibut cheeks topped with a wasabi panko crust; cognac cured and seared Muscovy duck breast with blow torched foie gras, honey and rosemary poached pears, port reduction and candied pecans; and veal tenderloin stuffed with asparagus, spring leeks, and Maytag blue cheese, topped with a morel mushroom demi-glace. Cost including accompanying wines is $125 for JBH members, $150. Reservations are required - call 212-627-2308, or go here [7]. 

The event is a benefit for the James Beard House, so Ticarro and his will crew have to cover most of the costs of the dinner - for up to 80 guests - themselves, including hotel and airfare. (Restaurants usually try to get their vendors to donate wine and ingredients.)