Tibetan Aid Project Blog

We are proud to announce that James Syhabout, a participating chef in our upcoming Taste & Tribute San Francisco event, was named one of the “Best New Chefs of 2010″ in Food & Wine magazine.

Graduating from California Culinary Academy, Syhabout has worked in the Bay Area, as well as England and Spain.  He is currently a chef at Commis in Oakland.

We are honored and look forward to having his talent at Taste & Tribute San Francisco in November.

On May 5th, 2010 the fifth annual Taste & Tribute New York brought together forty guests for an intimate celebration of Tibet’s rich cultural and spiritual heritage.  Hosted by Alice Kandell, the event featured a delicious four-course meal prepared by the premier New York catering company, Saffron59.  Guests had the opportunity to bid on five items in our live auction, ranging from rare wines to a fabulous getaway in Tuscany.

Alice Kandell, whose beautiful apartment has been featured in several publications, has a vast and exquisite collection of Tibetan art.  She recently donated a portion of her collection to the Smithsonian’s Arthur M. Sackler Gallery in Washington DC.

We are so honored by the many wonderful people who came to the event to support our cause.  A well-known composer for musical theater, Jimmy Roberts played piano and sang for a delighted audience.  Michael Tucker, formerly the star of the hit series LA Law, emceed the program.  Several luminaries of the art world attended the dinner, including Mrs. Arthur M. Sackler, Sandhya Jain-Patel of Christie’s and Walter Arader of Arader Galleries.

Thank you to our generous supporters, and especially, to Ms. Kandell for making Taste & Tribute New York a huge success.  All proceeds from the event will go toward funding the printing, shipping and distribution of sacred texts at the World Peace Ceremony in Bodh Gaya, India.

Congratulations to Pat Kuleto, owner of Jardiniere, Bay Area restaurant A16 and Chef David Kinch at Manresa!  The James Beard Foundation recently announced its nominees for the 2010 James Beard Foundation Awards.  Among those nominated, three are participants at the Tibetan Aid Project’s Taste & Tribute benefit gala in San Francisco.  Pat Kuleto, owner of Jardiniere, is nominated for “Outstanding Restaurateur” of the year, A16 is nominated for “Outstanding Wine Service,” and finally, Chef David Kinch of Manresa is nominated for “Best Chef - Pacific.”  The winners of what has been described by Time magazine as “The Oscars of the food world,” will be revealed in early May.  We are so honored to collaborate with these outstanding restaurants and wish them the best of luck!

To learn more about the James Beard Foundation, click here.

To learn more about Tibetan Aid Project’s Taste & Tribute benefit dinner, click here.

UPDATE:  We are proud to announce that chef David Kinch, of Manresa, has won The James Beard Foundation Award in the “Best Chefs of America” category for “Best Chef: Pacific.”  Congratulations to him as well as nominees A16 and Pat Kuleto! We are privileged to have their expertise at our Taste & Tribute benefit dinner this November.

On April 13th, a devastating earthquake struck eastern Tibet. Over 10,000 were injured and 90% of houses and constructions were destroyed, including at least 2 monasteries.

In response to this disaster, Tibetan Aid Project and our sister organizations have started a Tibetan Earthquake Relief Fund to help survivors of the quake. A donation link can be found on our home page. Thank you.

Tibetan Aid Project celebrated the Tibetan New Year in the wonderful company of our major Taste & Tribute supporters,  Wheel of Dharma Society members, hard-working staff and dedicated volunteers.  For our “Celebration & Thanks” event, which took place on February 21, we opened the doors of our new building to our guests and showed them around our offices, library of sacred texts and   gallery.  New York photographer Greg Hale currently has work up in our gallery, featuring gorgeous images of Tibet.

The event started at eleven and continued until one in the afternoon, with a reception, door prizes, gourmet brunch and presentations made by staff who recently returned from Bodh Gaya.  Forty of our donors and friends came to the party and joined in our celebration of generosity, Tibetan culture, and the previous year’s accomplishents.  We would like to thank all of our guests, who made the event a fabulous success!  We would also like to thank our volunteers for their hard work - without you, none of this would be possible!

Tibetan Aid Project has centers all over the world - Brazil, The Netherlands, Germany and, of course, right here in Berkeley, California!  Our TAP Germany branch is located in the city of Cologne and forms a part of the greater Nyingma Mandala as envisioned by Tibetan lama Tarthang Tulku.  Dieter Dolata, director of TAP Germany, recently filled us in on all of the exciting happenings in Cologne.

This past year, TAP Germany had the wonderful experience of attending H.H. the Dalai Lama’s teaching in Frankfurt.  Staff members connected with people interested in Tibetan Buddhism and were able to raise awareness for the Tibetan Aid Project mission.  At the event, TAP shared a booth with Dharma Publishing, whose volunteers brought several of Tarthang Tulku’s texts, which had been translated into German.  TAP Germany raised money by selling malas, book covers and prayer flags.  While at the teaching, TAP volunteers distributed thousands of informational postcards and fliers.

TAP Germany operates thanks to its generous and loyal group of supporters who have continually donated for years, and in some cases, decades.  A Kum Nye group in Jena, Germany has also supported TAP for many years by sewing and selling beautiful book covers.

Thank you to Dieter for the update and the photograph!

The Nyingma Center Amsterdam recently hosted its 5th Annual Tibetan Aid Project Benefit Dinner!  Around 50 generous Tibetan Aid Project supporters attended the event, held on the 21st of Novemeber, 2009.  The evening began with a screening of Wellspring of Hope, a short film documenting TAP’s work to rebuild, preserve and perpetuate the cultural and spiritual heritage of Tibet.

For dinner, the guests enjoyed a delicious Indonesian meal prepared by Nyingma Center Amsterdam’s dedicated volunteer chef.  Pauline Bonthuis, director of TAP Netherlands, praised the chef for his spectacular dinner and aesthetic approach to food, claiming that “the guests savored the smell, taste and even the sight of the food - our chef took the time to decorate each plate with banana leaves.  For the past three years he has been making this meal for us, and I can say that the meal this year was by far his best!”

A wonderful jazz band donated its time and musical talent to the event, giving an intimate performance described by those in attendance as “fragile and beautiful.”  The band, a trio consisting of a father, daughter and one other member, entertained the guests as they ate and drank to their hearts’ content!

Following the performance, TAP supporters participated in a silent auction, which, for the first time ever, included 21 articles up for bid.  One of the most surprising and heartwarming donations to the silent auction came from a lady in her eighties who insisted upon donating her Yves St. Laurent imitation pearl necklace, Bally high heels and matching purse.  Guests also bid on a variety of Dharma Publishing books, all donated by Tibetan Aid Project in Berkeley!

We at Tibetan Aid Project Berkeley congratulate TAP Netherlands for what looks and sounds like an enchanting and incredibly successful evening!  Thank you, Pauline Bonthuis, for sending your description of the event, including all of your wonderful photos!

Thank you to everyone who made our ninth annual Taste & Tribute San Francisco a wildly successful, sold-out event!  Two hundred and twenty generous Tibetan Aid Project supporters attended this year’s benefit, held on November 20th at the beautiful Four Seasons Hotel.  By the end of this wonderful evening of giving, we had raised a grand total of $150,000 for the preservation and distribution of sacred texts!

The benefit began with a silent auction, giving those in attendance the opportunity to bid on everything from thangkas to fine wines.  The main and most anticipated event of the evening was, of course, the dinner prepared by 21 of San Francisco’s most talented chefs!  TAP is forever indebted to Chef Laurent Manrique for being the inspiration for the event each year.

The wonderful Taste & Tribute chefs!

We are also grateful to the other participating chefs: Peter Armellino of Plumed Horse; David Bazirgan of Chez Papa Resto; Bruno Chemel of Chez TJ; Ben Cohn of Spruce; Preston Dishman of Viognier; Mark Dommen of One Market; Khai Duong of Ana Mandara; Dmitry Elperin of The Village Pub; Elizabeth Faulkner of Citizen Cake and Orson; Bruce Hill of Bix and Picco; Gerald Hirigoyen of Piperade and Bocadillos; Joseph Humphrey of Murray Circle; John Paul Carmona of Manresa; Jennie Lorenzo of Fifth Floor; Jean-Pierre Moulle of Chez Panisse; Morgan Mueller of Jardiniere; Orlando Pagan of Silks in Mandarin Oriental; Mark Richardson of Four Seasons Hotel San Francisco; Gaetan Biesuz of Ritz-Carlton, Half Moon Bay; and Liza Shaw of A16!

Seated at candlelit tables strewn with rose petals, our guests finished their delicious 4-course meals and then enjoyed the screening of the aptly titled documentary, The Gift of Compassion.  The film follows the mission and impact of Tibetan Aid Project at the World Peace Ceremony in Bodh Gaya, India.

After the film, guests participated in a fabulous live auction.  Thanks to a variety of incredibly generous donors, bidders competed for travel packages promising to whisk them away to such beautiful places as Bhutan and Thailand.  Guests generously supported the Fund-a-Library initiative by donating over $60,000 towards this effort.  The evening came to a close with heartfelt speeches of gratitude.

TAP Executive Director Rosalyn White

Thank you, once again, to all of our supporters who attended Taste & Tribute, allowing TAP to continue its vital work of cultural and spiritual preservation!  Also, a huge thank you to all of the chefs, wine and auction donors, and volunteers at this year’s event for making all of this possible!

Tibetan Aid Project’s sister organization, Light of the Buddha Dharma Foundation International recently worked in conjunction with Theravadin Buddhists from Southeast Asia to sponsor, for the fifth time, the International Tipitaka Chanting Ceremony.  The ceremony brings together Theravadin monks from around the world for several days of chanting the Pali Tipitaka.  The Thai Sangha organized the event, which took place from December 2 until December 12, 2009 in Bodh Gaya, India.  This beautiful video, made by a Burmese devotee, shows some of the highlights from the ceremony.

The 5th Annual Tipitaka Chanting Ceremony in Bodh Gaya, India