Where else can you sit down to dinner with a Michelin-starred chef, a Maître Cuisinier de France and one of Southern California’s most quietly accomplished chefs—and have 20 years of friendship, Napa Cabernet, Burgundy and California cider on the table at the same time?

That’s the idea behind Passion(s) + Favorites, an intentionally unconventional dinner duringthe San Diego Food + Wine Festival on November 4th at Blank Slate.

And this year, the beverages deserve to be in the spotlight.

For 10 years, Maison Louis Latour has been the exclusive winery for this dinner. Founded in Burgundy in 1797, the family has been growing grapes for centuries, building a domaine renowned for wines that express the character and sense of place of Burgundy.

Joining them is Dana Estates, a boutique Napa Valley winery celebrating its 20th anniversary. Nestled in the western hills of Rutherford, DANA works with four distinctive vineyards—Helms, Hershey Lotus and Montagna —to produce limited-production, single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignons known for their depth, elegance and sense of place.

And then there’s Onirique, the new kid at the table.

French for “dreamlike,” Onirique was born from the Retornaz family’s experience with the cider traditions of Normandy and their discovery of Sonoma County’s extraordinary apple-growing potential. The result is cider that evokes Normandy while expressing a distinctly Californian soul.

Napa. Burgundy. Sonoma County.

Why not?

Then there are the chefs.

For 20 years, Suzette Gresham of Acquerello, Bernard Guillas and Aron Schwartz have

been cooking, laughing, collaborating and pushing each other to be better. They call themselves the Chefkateers—their own version of the Three Musketeers.

Gresham, chef-owner of San Francisco’s two-Michelin-starred Acquerello, brings decades of acclaimed Italian cooking to the table, including recognition from the Michelin Guide.

Guillas, a celebrated San Diego chef and Maître Cuisinier de France, has spent decades

championing French technique, exceptional ingredients and the San Diego culinary community.

And Schwartz, a CIA-trained chef and co-founder of Encinitas’ Blank Slate and APS Hospitality Group, brings his own chef-driven Southern California perspective, shaped by years spent cooking in some of the country’s most respected kitchens and working closely with local farmers, fishermen and producers.

Passion + Favorites is built around the ingredients, dishes, memories and slightly eccentric ideas these three chefs love most—with a nod to reduce, reuse and recycle along the way.

It is not a traditional wine dinner.

It is not a greatest-hits menu.

And it probably isn't an evening you'll be able to recreate anytime soon.

It is three chefs who have known each other for 20 years, exceptional producers who don't typically find themselves together at the same table, and a menu that gives everyone permission to follow their passions.

Come hungry. Come curious. Leave your expectations at the door.

Three chefs.

20 years of friendship.

Napa. Burgundy. Cider.

A few questionable decisions.

No rules.

Tickets and festival information: https://www.sandiegowineclassic.com/chefkateers/