THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, February 29, 1996 TAG: 9602270097
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 16 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: ON THE TOWN
SOURCE: SAM MARTINETTE
LENGTH: Medium: 83 lines
Have you ever been to a restaurant and liked the food so much you wished you could take the chef home to cook your personal meals?
Well, that opportunity comes once a year, during the Chef and The Child Dinner, when the services of more than a dozen of the area's top chefs are put on the auction block.
The dinner, dance and auction is set for March 9, at the Virginia Beach Resort Hotel & Conference Center. Sponsored by the Tidewater Chefs Association, a chapter of the American Culinary Federation, proceeds will benefit the Children's Milk Fund, administered by the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia.
Tickets for the event are $50 per person, and include a cocktail and hors d'oeuvres hour, as well as Chef's Tables offering food prepared by the participating chefs. This year's emcee will be Joe Flanagan of WVEC-TV.
Each chef will offer an auction package to be prepared in a private home or at the chef's restaurant. Following the auction - which can become very spirited - a six-course dinner with accompanying wines will be served. Dance music will be provided by The Stingrays.
According to Deanna Freridge of Toques Creative Catering - this year's chair of the dinner and auction - the event has raised more than $80,000 over the past six years.
Norfolk chefs who will be auctioned include Greg Rekas of the Spirit of Norfolk, David Lapinski of the Omni Waterside, Bruce White of the Norfolk Airport Hilton and Ed Nowakowski of the Waterside Marriott. A Virginia Beach chef who cut his culinary teeth in Norfolk restaurants, Willie Moats of Timbuktu at the Days Inn Oceanfront, will go on the block.
Also to be auctioned: Todd Brown of Brewer's East Inn, Steve Latham of Grand Affairs, Terry Marriott of James River Country Club, Deanna Freridge of Toques, Ruby Schwarzchild of Ruby & Co. Catering, Wassee Etheridge of Kate's Catering, Roxanne Young of Du Chocolat, Gene Breckenridge of Breezy Point Officers Club and Mike Riddlehoover of the host Virginia Beach Resort Hotel & Conference Center.
For information on where to find tickets for the Chef and The Child Dinner and Chef's Auction, call 496-3663.
Last year, the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia handled more than 9 million pounds of food targeted for the poor, the elderly and for children. That's an impressive figure made all the more impressive by other figures provided by Camille Hinojosa, Foodbank information officer.
``In March, we'll celebrate 15 years, and over that 15 years we've distributed 47 million pounds of food, and served more than 31 million meals,'' Hinojosa said.
Some of the money to help pay for that food is raised each year through the Taste of Hampton Roads, a food gala set for 6:30 to 9 p.m. March 13, at the Omni Waterside Hotel. Tickets for the event are $35 per person and allow patrons to sample the wares of 37 restaurants and beverage and food vendors.
Participants include: Anthony's, Bamboo Hut, Bienville Grill, Blue Point Bar & Grill, Bobbywood, Brewer's East Inn, Broudy Kantor, Cafe David, Captain George's Seafood Restaurant, CoffeeTime Services, Colley Avenue Cafe, Du Chocolat, Eurasia, Fellini's, Freemason Abbey, Grand Affairs, Grate Steak, Green Tree Too, Gus' Mariner, the Harbor Club, and Harris-Teeter Supermarkets.
Also: Hits at the Park, Hoffman Beverages, Il Porto, Johnson & Wales University, Le Chambord & Bistro Rotisserie, Locks Pointe, Oasis Vineyard & Winery, O'Sullivan's, Open Wide, The Omni's Riverwalk, Ruby & Co. Catering, Spirit of Norfolk, Swan Terrace, Sweet Temptations, Taphouse Grill and Toques Creative Catering.
Hinojosa said she expects about 500 people to attend the annual function.
``The restaurants, the hospitality industry, the Omni Hotel and our media sponsors really put their heart into this evening,'' she said. The event raises $27,000 to $30,000 each year.
I asked Hinojosa about last year's 9 million pounds of food.
``That includes prepared and perishable foods we pick up and distribute through the Fresh Foods Initiative, fresh produce, bakery items and prepared meals,'' she said.
The program utilizes food that restaurants, supermarkets, bakeries and other food purveyors might have discarded in the past, food that is perfectly good and better put to use feeding those who need it.
In addition to the appetizers, entrees and desserts, there will be dancing to the music of Against All Odds, a popular area jazz and pop band. For tickets, call 624-1333. by CNB