What few ingredients are in every professional kitchen around the globe? Salt, no doubt. Some kind of oil or cooking fat. And, almost certainly, some type of citrus.

Lemons, limes and oranges. Yuzu, kaffir limes and pummelos. Moro oranges, Valencias and grapefruits. It would be difficult to cook well without the fresh, flavor-heightening lift that citrus provides.

Even so, many professional chefs don't begin to exploit the range of citrus varieties. They keep their favorites on hand all the time—what American kitchen is ever without lemons?—but they don't take full advantage of the aromas, colors and flavors that citrus can add to their cooking.

That's why Sunkist, the citrus grower cooperative, invites about two dozen taste-making chefs from around the country to gather at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in Napa Valley every winter for a citrus summit.

Over three activity-packed days, the chefs explore the kitchen potential for citrus. Esteemed chef Allen Susser, author of The Great Citrus Book (Ten Speed Press), conducts a global tour of citrus usage, guides attendees through a broad-spectrum tasting, and demonstrates some of the contemporary uses he has found for citrus in his acclaimed restaurant, Chef Allen's, in Aventura, Florida.

With picturesque St. Helena, California, as a backdrop, chefs have plenty of opportunities to swap ideas and suppliers, to network and to question growers, R&D scientists and other citrus authorities from Sunkist. Evenings are devoted to—what else?—wine tasting and fine dining, a welcome reward for the classroom hours. On the day before departure, the chefs divide into two-person teams for a “market basket” challenge to show off their own citrus inventions. Everyone is a winner in this friendly competition because each team's improvisations become part of a breathtaking lunch buffet.       

For a small investment of time, the chefs harvest a big return: a fresh supply of ideas for invigorating their menus with the healthful, cost-effective contribution of citrus.