California, Chinese and Mediterranean cuisine will tempt the palates of patrons attending this year's Guest Chef Series, sponsored by Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration.

The series begins Sunday, Feb. 23, with a dinner prepared by John Ash, an award-winning cookbook author and TV show host who set the standard for California wine country cuisine as culinary director of Fetzer Vineyards. His recent cookbook, From Earth to the Table, won the coveted Julia Child Cookbook of the Year Award.

Susanna Foo brings traditional Chinese cooking to Cornell Sunday, March 9. Foo, who was trained at the Culinary Institute of America, prepares a Chinese menu that is a lighter, more flavorful version of classical Chinese cuisine, according to critics who consistently rave about her Philadelphia restaurant, which has earned top rankings in the Zagat Restaurant Survey.

Joyce Goldstein, a celebrated restaurateur, author, scholar and innovator of healthful Mediterranean cuisine, brings elegant vegetarian dining to campus Sunday, April 13. Goldstein has received many honors for her unique menus and preparations. Recent accolades include the James Beard Award for best chef in California.

All dinners are in Banfi's Restaurant in the Statler Hotel on the Cornell campus.

The series is the annual spring event that brings celebrated chefs from across the country to Cornell to demonstrate their prowess in the kitchen. It also is part of a course on specialty food and beverage operations at the Hotel School. Students are involved in almost every aspect of special-event planning and food preparation.

"They order the ingredients per the chef's instructions and help plan food preparation schedules for the big event," said course instructor Barbara Lang, a lecturer at the Hotel School. "It's an incredible experience for the students to be working side-by-side with some of the biggest names in the industry," she said.

The dessert, for the students that is, comes after the last guest has left. "That's when the chef and the students sit down and have an informal discussion about the evening, the industry, whatever," Lang said. "So much is learned from this experience, that its educational benefits are immeasurable."

Tickets for the John Ash and Susannah Foo dinners are $60 per person; tickets for the Joyce Goldstein dinner are $40 per person. Optional wine and champagne packages are available with all dinners.

The receptions for each dinner begin at 6 p.m. and will be held in the ballroom foyer, for the Ash and Goldstein dinner; and in the Terrace, for the Foo dinner. Dinner will be served at 6:30 p.m. in Banfi's.

To make dinner reservations, call (607) 254-2606.