(GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass., and HUDSON, N.Y.) – Ten chefs – five from the Berkshires, five from Hudson – will swap places in April for a two-night exchange of duties in which five-course dinners will be prepared by five guest chefs in each location. These ChefX dinners – produced by Berkshire Farm & Table – will take place on Sunday, April 7, 2013, at the Crimson Sparrow in Hudson, and on Monday, April 29, 2013, at Allium Restaurant + Bar in Great Barrington. All ten participating chefs value top-quality ingredients, support local farmers and food artisans and will spotlight regional foods on the ChefX menus.

The Berkshire chefs heading to Hudson include Bjorn Somlo of Nudel Restaurant in Lenox; Brian Alberg of The Red Lion Inn in Stockbridge; Jamie Paxton of The Meat Market, Great Barrington; Stephen Browning from Bell & Anchor, Great Barrington; and Matt Rubiner of Rubiner’s Cheesemongers, Great Barrington.

The Hudson Valley chefs cooking up a meal at Allium include Benjamin Freemole and John McCarthy III from Crimson Sparrow, Hudson; Hugh Horner of Helsinki Hudson Restaurant; Jon Spoto and Chip Chiappinelli from Grazin’ Diner, Hudson;   Jeff Gimmel of Swoon Kitchenbar in Hudson; and Josephine Proul of Local 111 in Philmont, N.Y.

In the spirit of inspiration, collaboration and pure pleasure, Berkshire Farm & Table is producing one-of-a-kind dinner events to bring like-minded restaurants with farm-to-table values to local food fans. In celebration of what chefs like to eat, each dinner will offer a special five-course, off-the-standard-menu tasting. Both dinners will culminate in a Chefs’ Cocktail hour where guests can casually mingle with chefs and learn more about their work, their philosophy and the restaurants they represent.

“These events are all about generating exciting and fun events for guests and the host restaurant. We’re excited to participate in Chef X and look forward to the collaborations,” said Bjorn Somlo of Nudel and a principal catalyst for this idea. “As business owners, we need to create more reasons for people to dine out in the off-season, to inspire chefs to reach out to new audiences and to celebrate what we have to offer. These two Chef X events are just the beginning.”

“The demand for food events is high and these first Chef X dinner events have been cultivated to bring several communities together and allow guests to sample the cuisine of a collective of restaurants in one evening,” said Angela Cardinali, founder of Berkshire Farm & Table. “The goal of these events is to create more dining opportunities and to showcase the culinary talents of a collection of noteworthy chefs in the Berkshire-Hudson region. We envision many more of these events in different shapes and sizes, all in the spirit of collaboration and enjoyment.”

Menu, chef and dinner details are available at Berkshire Farm & Table ChefX. Both dinners will conclude with a Chefs’ Cocktail Hour where host and visiting chefs will meet and greet dinner guests. The cost per person for each dinner is $100 and does not include meal gratuity, beverages or tax. Dinner tickets will be available online via Eventbrite and a small service fee will apply. Tickets will not be made available from the hosting restaurants.