Dear Friends of Wilbur:

Just after our May e-newsletter went to press, we learned that acclaimed chef Mani Niall will join us as the featured Chef at our upcoming May 20-22 Guest Chef Weekend. More about Mani below. Hope you can join us to sample Chef Mani's sweet treats and more -- five delicious meals for just $100 additional per person!

Mani Niall is the proprietor of Mani's Test Kitchen, a product development, culinary education and consulting company based in Emeryville, California. Niall's resume covers 24 years with highlights as a globe-trotting personal chef, developing a line of nationally distributed heirloom tomato sauces for Dave's Gourmet, and soy entrees for Soy Deli, the oldest tofu manufacturer in the Bay Area.

In the early 1990's, Niall captured national press attention when he founded Mani's Bakery, a bakery/coffeehouse in Los Angeles featuring healthy/decadent baked goods made from organic flour and natural sugar alternatives such as agave, maple syrup and barley malt. His artisan bakery became a destination for both the stars and the star-struck.

As a featured Chef/Educator for the National Honey Board, Niall has led varietal honey tastings and cooking classes at the Gramercy Tavern in Manhattan and for culinary teachers at educational conferences throughout the country and in Japan.

Niall is a member of the Chefs Council at the Center for Culinary Development, the Bakers Dozen and the San Francisco Professional Food Society. He authors a monthly online cooking column (Mix it up with Mani) for baking powder Clabber Girl's web site ( www.clabbergirl.com). He is the author of two cookbooks, Sweet & Natural Baking (Chronicle, 1996) and Covered in Honey (Rodale, 2003), both available on his website, www.manistestkitchen.com. In Covered in Honey, chef Niall reveals new culinary uses for honey and brings the story of nature's oldest sweetener to life, serving us food history and honey lore mixed with more than 100 delicious recipes to inspire and delight.