On the weekend of July 18th and 19th, the Friends of James Beard hosted a series of three events in Walla Walla honoring the "Dean of American cookery." The author of several seminal cookbooks, from the 1940's through 1980's, James Beard changed America's way of thinking about food, inspiring creativity and wholesome American ingredients. These events were also inspired by the dinner at the James Beard House in New York City on December 12, 2012, which brought over Walla Walla chefs Antonio Campolio of the Marc Restaurant at the Marcus Whitman Hotel and Dan Thiessen of the Walla Community College's Wine Country Culinary Institute. These chefs, with a team of local chefs, recreated the same theme right in Walla Walla. People came from all over the country for these events.

The first event was on Friday, July 19th with a Lunch and Wine Tasting at the Walla Walla Community College. Before the lunch, Dan Thiessen talked about the Culinary Institute Program and how it became self sustaining through its catering and food service program which educates students in the process, and Tim Donahue talked about the Enology and Viticulture Program which has launched numerous graduates into the wine industry. The tour was followed by a lunch prepared by Culinary Institute students and paired with wines from College Cellars.

In the evening, an Hors d'oeuvre and Wine Reception was held at the Marcus Whitman Hotel where numerous wines from local wineries were poured. This was followed by a six course dinner prepared by Antonio Campolio, Dan Thiessen, and Michael Kline of the Walla Walla Bread Company. Highlights were a crisp, lively 2013 Three Rivers Steel Chardonnay with grilled quail, an elegant 2011 L'Ecole No. 41 Seven Hills Vineyard Estate Perigee with King Salmon. The rich, complex 2011 Waters Loess Vineyard Syrah accompanied the Heirloom beet ravoli, and the 2011 Woodward Canyon Old Vines Cabernet Sauvignon was paired with coffee spiced lamb loin. The 28 Day Dry Aged Snake River Farms Zabaton was paired with the rich, tasty 2012 Leonetti Merlot, and the fine 2006 Walla Walla Vintners Vineyard Select Cabernet Sauvignon was served with S'Mores Bombs.

The next day, a Wine Tasting, Tour and Lunch was held at the Three Rivers Winery. There, several more wineries poured their wines, followed by a tour of the winery's garden which grows vegetables for the Marcus Whitman Hotel. Assistant Winemaker and Grounds Manager, Andy Slusarenko, husband of winemaker Holly Turner, talked about the garden and how it was created to produce local, organically grown vegetables for the hotel's restaurant and catering programs. The tour and tasting was followed by lunch with wines from Three Rivers and other participating wineries.

The Friends of James Beard Wine & Food Weekend turned out to be a highly successful event. "Made in Walla Walla," was a real showcase for local cusine and wines.