Top chefs to cook up a gala for HIV/AIDS care
Vancouver Sun
Sloping Hills pressed pork with peach and almond. Scallop ceviche with nahm jim sauce. Smoked potato ravioli with braised octopus, pancetta and broccoli rabe pesto. Lemon ricotta gnocchi with lobster and corn. Tojo’s specialty sushi. Lemon cake with pistachio Chantilly, white chocolate sauce and ale.
Interested? How ’bout a cocktail with local spirits, homemade marigold liqueur, Crème de Noyaux syrup, citrus and peach bitters to start?
This is but a teeny part of Passions, the annual fundraiser for the Dr. Peter Centre, a leading HIV/AIDS care centre. It takes place Sunday, Sept. 11 at the Centre (1110 Comox St.).
Now in its eighth year, Passions began as a cooking class fundraiser. “I did a Chinese cooking class for 30 people and raised a few thousand dollars,” says founder and Sun food columnist Nathan Fong.
It’s come a long way. He’s now turning away chefs who want in on the volunteering action and set a cut-off at 25 volunteer chefs (top ones in the city, at that) who will be cooking a dish each. There’s plenty of wine and cocktails, too.
Tickets are $200 for the main event. For another $100, guests can mingle at a VIP champagne reception. Outside, there’ll be aerial performers scaling the building and, in keeping with the times, a food truck (Fresh Local Wild).
“Chefs like it because since the beginning, it’s attracted serious foodies,” says Fong. “People ask serious questions and there’s great camaraderie between the chefs.”
Chefs include Kristian Eligh (Hawksworth), Angus An (Maenam), Neil Taylor (Cibo), Wayne Harris and Karen Gin (Market by Jean-Georges), Hidekazu Tojo (Tojo’s), Quang Dang (West), and Dale MacKay (Ensemble).
The event also includes a live and a silent auction with 75 items up for bids, including trips to any WestJet destination, a stay at Fairmont Hotel San Francisco, the Opus Hotel in Montreal, or Burrowing Owl, as well as private tastings at Okanagan wineries, a weekend on a 50-foot sailboat, and a catered affair in the Keefer Bar penthouse for 25 guests.
Passions is held at the Dr. Peter Centre, Fong says, because “a ballroom is a ballroom. Here they see where the funds go. Designers come in, transform the place and there’s a beautiful terrace.”
For tickets, go to www. drpeter.org or phone 604-331-5086. The Champagne reception is at 5 p.m. and the main event is at 6 p.m.
Read more: https://www.vancouversun.com/life/chefs+cook+gala+AIDS+care/5350099/story.html#ixzz1WtkXtU4M
