He was to the American culinary scene what Cary Grant was to Hollywood. Hailed as “the dean of cookery,” James Beard would have been 100 years old now. And his sweeping legacy will be fondly celebrated during a five-course dinner at 6:30 p.m., Jan. 26, at Roppongi restaurant, 875 Prospect St., La Jolla.

After abandoning his efforts in the 1930s to break into theater and movies, Beard launched into a catering business and revolutionized what then passed for “cocktail food” by offering snazzier, more substantial fare — publishing one of the first major cookbooks on the subject, Hors d’oeuvre & Canapes (1940). A native of Portland, Oregon, he soon plunged in to New York City’s culinary scene and began belting out books on everything from casseroles and outdoor cooking to eating cheap and cooking with fish. In 1946, he also appeared on television’s first cooking show on NBC, which served as a celebrity springboard for establishing the still-famous James Beard Cooking School.

Food consultant and publicist Pam Wischkaemper of Carlsbad was a close friend of Beard up until his death in 1985. “He promoted many American chefs and always felt that the U.S. food bounty was a wonderful thing — and that Americans were very resourceful when it came to inventing new dishes.”

Wischkaemper also recalls numerous visits Beard paid to her home when she lived in San Francisco. “I once served him a green salad dressed with a mix by Hidden Valley, which he said was the best dressing he ever had,” she quips. He literally liked anything you fixed for him, and wasn’t a snob about food.”

All proceeds from the centennial dinner at Roppongi will go to the James Beard Foundation, which supports and promotes rising-star chefs, cookbook authors and food journalists. Wischkaemper is also the San Diego correspondent to the foundation and worked with Roppongi’s Executive Chef Stephen Window in finalizing the menu.

Six nationally acclaimed chefs will execute the wine-paired dinner, which includes a mouthwatering array of seafood dishes, loin of venison and assorted desserts. The chefs are Jean-Francois Meteigner of La Cachette in Los Angeles; Mark Franz of Farallon in San Francisco; Matt Zappoli of Fresh in La Jolla; Kerry Simon and Kim Canteenwella of Simon in Las Vegas; and John Hui of Caesar’s Palace, also in Las Vegas.

“This is the first and only dinner in Beard’s honor in Southern California,” adds Wischkaemper. “The event has been a year in the making.”

The celebration kicks off with a fitting reception of hors d’oeuvres created by Window. The cost is $125 per person, not including tax or gratuity. For reservations or menu details, call (858) 551-5252.