Charlie Trotter Taps Bill Kim, Graham Elliot, Mindy Segal, Koren Grieveson, More for Final Bash

Last week, Charlie Trotter hosted a $2,500 a plate blowout with people like Nathan Myhrvold and Sean Brock joining him in the kitchen. And now comes word that for the final final dinner, on Aug. 31 when the 25-year-old restaurant is set to close, Trotter will be joined by some big-name veterans who have spent time in his kitchen in the past.

Trotter will be joined by Graham Elliot, Bill Kim and Mindy Segal, who all worked under Trotter and have all gone on to achieve their own acclaim. In addition, Trotter tapped now-former avec chef Koren Grieveson as well as Food Network star Anne Burrell to join in on the fun. Each chef will host a tasting station offering up bites of their signature dishes.

Sommeliers Larry Stone and Ryan Stetins will keep the liquid flowing with demijohns of jungle juice and sangria while DJ Madrid will pump out the tunes.

If this all sounds like the antithesis of everything Charlie Trotter's stands for, it is. And that's the point. "It's been an incredible ride. For our last night, after 25 years of fine dining, I wanted to turn things upside down and just have fun," Trotter said in a release.

The party is set to go from 6 p.m. to midnight on Aug. 31 and tickets cost $250 a person with a four ticket maximum. However, the event is sold out, but the restaurant is accepting names for a wait list.
· Charlie Trotter's Amazing $2500-a-Head Blowout [~EChi~]
· Koren Grieveson Officially Out at Avec [~EChi~]

[Photo: Bill Kim]/Mindy Segal [Photo: Julia Thiel/Chicago Reader]