Kevin Sherry, executive chef at Camarillo’s Las...

Kevin Sherry, executive chef at Camarillo’s Las Posas Country Club, is feeling the heat as he prepares to host the annual President’s Ball of the Southwest Assn. of Chefs & Culinarians on Saturday evening.

“It’s a lot of pressure because I’ll be cooking for chefs,” he said. But the general public is welcome too, he added.

The menu will open with soba noodles and tea smoke shrimp in cilantro-infused oil and ginger syrup. Then it’s a bouillon a la chionaise with petite venison dumplings, followed by shepherd’s greens with grilled rattlesnake served with prickly pear vinaigrette. After a grapefruit and tarragon sorbet comes the main course--Supreme of Pheasant with wild mushroom and leek ragout, pommes de Brazil and fall vegetables.

Dessert, a Rainbow Extraordinaire--teardrops of passion fruit outlined by white chocolate in an art deco rainbow, with white chocolate star cookies rainbowed in pastels--will be prepared by La Starr Heiliger of La Starr & Co.

Cocktails will begin at 6 p.m., dinner at 7. Dancing to the Tim Buley Ensemble will wrap up the evening. Tickets to the black-tie optional affair are $50. The country club is at 955 Fairway Drive.

*

The San Buenaventura chapter of the National Assn. of Catering Executives (of which Heiliger is vice president) will hold its first scholarship dinner Tuesday at Oxnard College. About 22 students from the school’s hotel and restaurant management program will prepare the multi-course Italian meal for local caterers, florists and other special events folks.

*

Executive chefs Louis Ludwig of Ventura’s Pierpont Inn and Robert Garcia of Oxnard’s Capistrano’s, will cook up some specialties at Barnes & Noble bookstore Saturday to promote the “Cookin’ in Ventura!” cookbook--recipes from local chefs.

The chefs will be on hand from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m.

The bookstore is at 4360 E. Main St., Ventura.

*

Sandy Smith, owner and chef of Ventura’s Rosarito Beach Cafe, will prepare the food and Leeward Winery will supply the beverage at the winery’s annual holiday open house Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The winery is at 2784 Johnson Drive, Ventura.