BVI announces, lineup for Chefs Invitational Series: six months of fine dining events are planned with six distinguished chefs.

Six top chefs from around the United States and Europe will be participating in this year's Chefs Invitational Series at the Bedford Village Inn and Restaurant.

For the past eight years, the series has showcased a roster of highly acclaimed chefs representing an eclectic range of cooking styles. This year's chefs will prepare recipes spanning Cajun to French to Mediterranean-Asian influences.

The eight dining rooms at the inn--which has been awarded AAA's Four Diamond Award annually for 22 consecutive years--typically offer New England cuisine.

"The invitational series has gained recognition both regionally and within the restaurant industry since 2000," said owner and general manager lack Carnevale. "Guest chefs enjoy cooking in our elegantly restored 1800s farmhouse estate, and diners love having yet another reason to return."

Through November, one guest chef per month will join BVI's executive chef Peter Agostinelli in BVI's Overlook Room for four-course, $85 prix fixe dinners with wines culled from the inn's Wine Spectator award-winning cellar.

The chefs scheduled to take part are:

* Jason Tucker, executive chef, Tresca, Boston, June 19. At Tresca, the chefs menu blends traditional Italian recipes with modern technique, while vintage Italian wines are poured. Pastas are handmade and fish is fresh from East Coast waters.

* Renee Bajeux, executive chef, La Provence, Lacombe, La., July 31. Bajeux is one of the 50 French master chefs in the United States as designated by the prestigious Maitre Cuisinier de France fraternity.

* Kurtis Jantz, executive chef, Neomi's at Trump International Hotel, Miami, Aug. 14. This year, Jantz was awarded the "Rising Star Hotel Chef" award for South Florida.

* Donald Link, chef-owner, Cochon and Herbsaint, New Orleans, Sept. 18. In 2007, The James Beard Foundation named Link "Best Chef: South" and nominated Cochon for "Best New Restaurant."

* Matthew Levin, executive chef, Lacroix at the Rittenhouse, Philadelphia, Oct. 16. Levine's kitchen combines Spanish, Portuguese, Thai, Japanese and American flavors to create his own worldly infusion.

* Lorenzo Polegri, chef-owner, Zeppelin, Orvieto, Italy, Nov. 14. The cuisine at Zeppelin, housed in a 16th century building in Orvieto, is local yet experimental. Polegri and his wife also run the Instituto di Arte Culinaria Marchesa Adele Viti, a school where he teaches the cooking techniques and food traditions of Orvieto.

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Menus and more information are available online at bedfordvillageinn.com.