For Immediate Release- On February 21, 2009, during the weekend of the South Beach Wine and Food Festival, friends and colleagues of late restaurateur Steven Scher gather together to prepare an unparalleled sit-down brunch benefiting the Steven Scher Memorial Scholarship for Aspiring Restaurateurs in association with The James Beard Foundation. Host chef Scott Conant welcomes highly regarded chefs Charlie Trotter and John Fraser into his kitchen while guest sommelier Jean Luc Le Du presides over the wine service to honor the beloved food industry magnate and raise money for this most worthwhile scholarship in his name.

Steven Scher was a charismatic figure in New York's restaurant scene, an industry he parlayed after a successful law career. The impetus for Steve's professional leap from lawyer to restaurateur was a fundamental belief that he could achieve that which he set out to accomplish. With no prior food industry experience, Steven began meeting with professionals in the field, raising money to fund his concept and building a small company with enthusiastic partners Jeff Kadish and Paul Zweben, who shared a similar courageousness. More than 15 years later, Main Street Restaurant Partners, the company founded by Steve and his associates, grew to include such recognizable restaurants as Union Pacific, Rain, Calle Ocho, BLT Prime and BarBao.

The Steven Scher Memorial Scholarship was established to award individuals interested in the culinary world who possess an entrepreneurial spirit, have a clear vision of their restaurant concept and the passion to see it through.