Josiah Citrin unites four Michelin-starred chefs for Stop the Void charity dinner in Santa Monica

Josiah Citrin will host a one-night charity dinner at his one Michelin-starred Santa Monica restaurant Citrin on 27^th September. The California chef will cook alongside three guests to raise funds for Stop the Void, a non-profit that campaigns on the dangers of illicit drugs, specifically fentanyl. The evening consists of canapés and a five-course menu priced at $900, and is a very special single-night occasion for 2026. For the eight-hander, Citrin is joined by John Shields of Smyth and The Loyalist in Chicago, EJ Lagasse of Emeril’s in New Orleans and Michael Cimarusti of Providence in Los Angeles. Between them, the four hold 11 Michelin stars.

The cause is a personal one for Citrin, who lost his son, Augie, at the age of 23. He has since worked closely with Stop the Void, an organisation founded by bereaved parents under the banner of Victims of Illicit Drugs, which produces youth education, law enforcement briefings and community awareness campaigns. Similar dinners have previously been hosted in a series that has raised several hundred thousand dollars to date.

The guest list changes each year. Last September’s line-up was drawn entirely from California, while this one reaches further afield. What the three visiting chefs share is a format rather than a cuisine: long tasting menus, small dining rooms and kitchens organised around their produce lists.

Shields runs the three-Michelin-starred Smyth in Chicago’s West Loop with Karen Urie Shields. It’s a tasting-menu kitchen with a long-standing relationship with its growers and a pastry side that reads much like its savoury one. Meanwhile, Lagasse leads the two-starred Emeril’s in New Orleans, the restaurant his father opened in 1990; he took over the kitchen and reoriented it towards a tasting menu built on Louisiana produce. Finally, Cimarusti has run the three-starred Providence for two decades, and the provenance of his fish – where it was caught and by whom – has been the central concern of his cooking. He also took part in one of these dinners in 2024.

Assembling a single menu across four cities is a more prosaic process than the result suggests. “We set up a Google doc and have the courses laid out inside it, and a canapé,” Citrin says. “Everyone fills in what they feel like doing, and then we discuss it and see how the menu flows and make tweaks. It usually comes together pretty well.”

Whatever the process, the result promises to be something extraordinary, with a hearty side of fundraising and compassion. “Having a dinner celebration is a great way to raise money,” says the chef. “It’s a way for me to get together with some of my friends and create an amazing evening for people while raising money for charity. Everybody feels it’s a win-win.”

Food Desk

The Stop the Void Charity Dinner takes place on 27^th September 2026 at Citrin, 1104 Wilshire Boulevard, Santa Monica, CA 90401, USA. For further information or to book tickets, visit here.

For further information about Stop the Void, visit the charity’s website here.