For hundreds of years, residents of Southwestern France kept their most precious secret to themselves: the rich brandy distilled in Gascony rarely traveled beyond the region's boundaries. But by the 16th century, the legendary Gascon Musketeers were introducing the French court to the lovely nectar known as armagnac.

Today, of course, French armagnac is prized the world over for its smooth, full-flavor and unmistakable warmth. This month, four of the finest French chefs in the city--three of them natives of Southwestern France--celebrate their native drink with a dinner infused through and through with armagnac. This very special dinner, organized by The French National Armagnac Office, the Compagnie des Mousquestaires d'Armagnac, and the Southwest France Tourist Board, is the finest way we know to celebrate this noble libation and honor this year's inductees into the centuries old armagnac society.

Our four chefs, of course, are legends unto themselves. Ariane Daguin is the co-owner of D'Artagnan, the foie gras company named for the fictional third musketeer (who was a famed lover of armagnac). The daughter of a Gascony chef and hotelier, Daguin made her way to Columbia University, where she soon found herself in the realm of foie gras through a job in a paté shop. After graduation, she teamed up with a classmate, George Faison, to open D'Artagnan. Twelve years later, their little shop has grown into the region's premier supplier of fresh duck and game products, and both Faison and Daguin are inductees into the James Beard Foundation Who's Who of Food and Wine.

Christian Delouvrier's cooking is best described as cuisine de terroir: that is, the food of the earth, the cooking that grows organically from the soil of his native Gascony. Trained at the Hotel School of Toulouse and a veteran of some of the world's finest kitchens, including L'Archestrate in Paris, he made his way to the United States in 1971 and gradually worked his way around town, serving as chef at the Chateau Richelieu and as sous chef at Windows on the World. In 1981, he opened Maurice in the Hotel Parker Meridian with his mentor, French culinary legend Alain Senderens; the restaurant garnered a three-star review from The New York Times. In 1991 Delouvrier was tapped for the top toque at Les Célébrités; and this August, he took over the reins at the four-star Lespinasse.

Laurent Manrique, our third Gascon native, has an equally impressive résumé: he has cooked at Taillevant and Michel Rostang in Paris, at Fennel and Rex in Los Angeles, and at Peacock Alley in the Waldorf=Astoria Hotel in New York, where he earned rave reviews for his sophisticated take on the earthy food of the French Southwest. At Gertrude's, his latest venture, he's getting kudos from critics across the board for his strongly flavored, richly executed fare. As the Wine Spectator put it, "this newcomer will remain fertile ground for those who truly love food."

Thomas Traverso, Manrique's pastry chef, is the only local boy of the bunch. Educated at the New York Restaurant School, he has served as pastry sous chef at Cascabel and at Daniel (where he played second whisk to Francois Payard). At Gertrude's, Travero has come into his own, and he has earned a devoted following for his beautiful, creative desserts. For this dinner, he'll turn out regional Gascon desserts infused with the complex aromas of fine armagnac.