For a chef it's like winning a Nobel Prize – so Derek Myers must be feeling pretty good right now.

The Executive Chef at the Island Restaurant Group, has been selected by the James Beard Foundation to cook a dinner at Beard House.

To those who don't know, James Beard was once named the 'dean of American' cookery and credited with laying the foundations of a food revolution in the US.

And the mission of the Foundation is "to celebrate, preserve, and nurture America's culinary heritage and diversity in order to elevate the appreciation of its culinary excellence".

Towards that end, chefs are invited to "perform" at Beard House by presenting lunches, brunches, workshops and dinners.

"It is a singular distinction for a chef, never mind an overseas chef, to be sought out for such an honour," said Mr. Myers. "Chefs talk about cooking a dinner at the Beard House like it is winning a Nobel Prize, as it the absolute pinnacle of professional achievement and recognition."

Mr. Myers wanted to know how he compared with North American chefs so decided to find out for himself.

"I thought the only way to find out was to go to the place that all chefs regard as the pinnacle of cooking," he added.

"The only thing bigger than cooking at the Beard House is winning a James Beard Award. Seeing as the awards are for the US only, I contacted the House and asked what it took to cook there and they told me I had to be invited. I left my details and thought that was it.

"Weeks later I was contacted after they extensively investigated my three restaurants. They then requested a menu and information about my cooking and employment history.

"A few days later, I was formally invited to cook a dinner at the end of this month. I was thrilled to be invited and was going to do whatever it took to go and cook there. It was then I realised that I can cook at the level of the great chefs in the United States and Canada.

"I informed my three sous chefs of the dinner and instantly they went and booked their plane tickets and hotels."

It sounds easy, but there was a rigorous examination of his credentials to undergo before he could be considered.

Recommendations for chefs can come from various sources – Foundation members, staff, committee members, or other interested parties. Chefs are then considered by the Director and Director Emeritus of House Programming.

Selection is then based on the following criteria: national or regional reputation, as evidenced by media and resume/biography; known use of high quality, seasonal, and/or local ingredients; demonstrated excellence in a particular discipline: e.g. regional, ethnic, pastry; financial stability; desire on the part of chef and restaurant; submission of complete event proposal, including menu and wines.

The final selection is based on a thorough review of proposed event menu and wine list and there is also a chef selection committee, which is comprised of food and wine professionals and gastronomic enthusiasts who represent the Foundation on a volunteer basis.

Mr. Myers will be cooking a six-course dinner, called "Flavours of Bermuda", pulling extensively from the best that the Island's farmers and fishermen have to offer.

"Tom Wadson, of Wadson's Farm, will be providing his finest organic fruits and vegetables, as well as his spectacular organic pasture raised, lamb and pork, the latter, which Tom says is a descendant of the original pigs that roamed wild when Sir George Somers first was wrecked in Bermuda.

"Burrows and Lightbourn Ltd. will be supplying the bottled water and various wines, which have been carefully paired with each of the six courses by Burrows' resident wine expert Michael Robinson.

"Fishermen James Robinson and Andrew Faries will be braving the winter seas the week before the dinner to catch wahoo, rockfish and yellowfin tuna.

"Gosling's will be getting the dinner off to a traditional Bermudian start with Dark and Stormy's and Rum Swizzles, and J&J Produce, Baileys Ice Cream, and Butterfield and Vallis will be rounding out the stellar group of suppliers."

He said the organisation for the event was enormous with all the food and wine had to be taken with them for the three-day trip.

"We have to pre-package all fish, meat, vegetables and sauces and take them on the plane with us," he said. "We have only the day of the event to prepare the food which is three pass around items and a six course set meal.

"The dinner is Bermuda themed and will have as much Bermudian food as we can take to the US. We are using everything – from Bermuda honey to loquats to trying to take lamb and pork.

"The dinner will start off with Bermuda flare as we will be serving a pass around of Bermuda fish chowder with Rum Swizzles and Dark and Stormy's. The evening will be three hours with 80 guests made up of Foundation members and members of the public."

Mr. Myers will be travelling with his three sous chefs, his wife, two of the owners Philip Barnett and Don Dunstan, along with Burrows and Lightbourne Sommelier Michael Robinson. "The three sous chefs are Saman Pathi, of Hog Penny, Suresh Amarathunga, of Barracuda Grill and Charles Dwan, of the Pickled Onion, unfortunately Pedro Garcia of Latin is unable to come due to its popularity."

Mr. Myers began cooking with his mother and grandmother, but he never thought he would work in restaurants.

"I got tired of business school, as I wanted to play pro football, but I realised that was a pipe dream so I joined a culinary school as something to do for a few years," he said.

"I was trained at the Dubrulle Culinary Institute in Vancouver and three years later I got my first sous chef job at Mescalero, in Vancouver.

"I had a few other sous chef positions before I became an executive chef in 2000 at Saltaire Restaurant in West Vancouver."

In addition, Mr. Myers said: "I was a guest chef in Mexico City for two months before becoming executive chef at Monks Grill, in Whistler.

"Then in 2003 I took over Barracuda Grill and Hog Penny. In 2005 I was promoted and took over the Pickled Onion as well and then in November of 2008 I opened the Latin-Rumbar."

Regarding his signature dishes, he said he could not say he had one. "But I believe my use of Asian fusion when I arrived was very new," he said.

"My new thing is molecular gastronomy, I am only doing a little of it in the new Barracuda Grill menu but you can really do interesting things. I have foie gras powder and pomegranate spheres on two dishes."

All in all, Mr. Myers said that he wanted to thank the Island Restaurant Group and its owners who have given him an opportunity to be Executive Chef of four very different restaurants and to allow him to use his talents and have very limited restrictions when it comes to menus.

Locals who may be in New York on February 27 can book tickets for the event by calling the Beard House on 212-627-2308.

In order to satisfy those food lovers who may not be able to make it to New York, Mr. Myers will be replicating the dinner at Barracuda Grill, on March 19, at 7 p.m.

For reservations for the dinner at Barracuda Grill, e-mail barracuda@irg.bm or call 292-1609.

THE MENU

This is the menu that will be delivered by chef Derek Myers when he cooks at the prestigious Beard House restaurant.

Hors D'Oeuvre

Bermuda Fish Chowder with sherry peppers Black Seal Rum

Bermuda Yellowfin Tuna Tartar, sesame seed brittle, wasabi cream, pickled daikon, Johnny cake

Braised Brisket Gougere, burnt orange ancho aioli, Bermuda onion chutney, manchego

Aperitif Dark and Stormy cocktail, Gosling's Rum Swizzle

Six-Course Dinner

Roasted Bermuda Vegetable Tart

Bermuda honey truffle vinaigrette, baby greens

Sinskey "Abraxas" (Carneros) – 2006

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Whole Roasted Bermuda Pork

Petite Yorkshire, horseradish loquat chutney, au jus

Duck Pond-Pinot Noir (Oregon) – 2006

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Soy Mirin Bermuda Rockfish

Indian candy sweet potatoes, five spice honey glaze

The Colonia-Shiraz (Australia) – 2003

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Grilled Bermuda Wahoo

Warm bacon brussel sprout salad, Bermuda loquat vinaigrette

Catena Alta-Chardonnay (Argentina) – 2005

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Roasted Bermuda Lamb

Ancho maple glaze, braised cabbage, adobo leg chorizo empanada, mole lamb jus

Cuvaison-Cabernet Sauvignon ( Napa) – 2006

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Dark and Stormy Brûlée

Rum Swizzle sorbet, Bermuda banana and chocolate bread and butter pudding

Beringer "Nightingale" (California) – 2005