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Preparing a five-course meal in the James Beard House kitchen is an honor reserved for the most promising or established figures in the cooking world, a kind of Broadway or Carnegie Hall debut for chefs. Daniel Boulud, Nobu Matsuhisha, and Gail Gand have all been invited, as have younger peers like Shannon Yates, Jay Caputo, and Rachel Klein. And though receiving a James Beard Award nomination places a chef, restaurateur, or food critic in the uppermost echelon, the foundation regularly opens its hallowed halls to would-be foodies through student scholarships, public workshops, and volunteer opportunities. The house itself, built in 1844, has a pervasive homey charm enriched by relics of the late James Beard, the legendary author of over twenty cookbooks. Visitors can eat at a six-person table located on the raised bedroom platform where James Beard once slept; portraits of the Benevolent Bald One line the four stories of the institute; and inside the greenhouse dining room, its glass walls and ceilings overlooking a lush enclosed garden, sits Beard's old shower. It's an amusing reminder of how the most basic elements can harmoniously coexist with elitist elegance. — Laurel Fantauzzo

Corporate-level members can rent the garden for special events.  Groups of up to twelve can dine in the quiet Peter Kump dining room and library on the fourth floor (where the fireplace grate modestly guards the foundation's 2003 Grand Prix del la Culture Gastronomique award).