When one of the nation’s premier culinary charity events is also a showcase for New Jersey’s top chefs, who can say no?

David Burke, one of the most highly acclaimed chefs in America and owner of The Fromagerie in Rumson, said yes and became the 20th anniversary national spokesperson for Taste of the Nation, which has raised more than $70 million for organizations that fight childhood hunger.

“Giving back is part of the culture of being a chef,” he said. “And its fun. Food is a great way to communicate” (watch David demonstrate some of his technique in a series of videos on NJ My Way).

At the Birchwood Manor in Whippany Monday, there was a lot of communication going on. Some 40 restaurant, bakeries, caterers and assorted food establishments had their say.

David Burke brought his peekee toe crab and heirloom tomato tartlets (his assistants prepare the dish in the top picture), a little morsel in which the acid sweetness of the tomato wakes up the soft sweetness of the crab meat.

We were also intrigued by the seared tuna from the Olde Mill Inn in Basking Ridge. The fish, cut in medallions like filet mignon (bottom picture), was warm on the perimeter but just-this-side-of-sushi in the pink middle. Its beef-like richness was nicely set off by lightly spicy fried Chinese black rice.

Another winner was Prince Edward Island mussels in pesto cream sauce with pignoli nuts that chef Joseph Catalano brought from his Semolina Restaurant in Millburn. Event-goers opened the shells on small plates while working the room — but the briny mussels and earthy creaminess of the sauce made the juggling act worthwhile.

One inventive dessert was the lobster creme brulee from Chiffafa House in Mendham (973-543-4726). Their website is under construction, owner K.C. Costello says, but here’s the kind of New York Times review chefs kill for.

Of course, you expect good food from big league chefs like these. What was unexpected at the event was the coffee from Chef’s Coffee, so rich and flavorful it made what seemed to be a cup of perfectly decent standard-issue java taste like tepid coffee-flavored water. It’s the brew chef Craig Shelton served at his Ryland Inn in Whitehouse for 15 years. Fans mourn not tasting his food since flooding shut down the restaurant in February 2007. For now, you can still taste his coffee.