Forget that saying about . It doesn’t apply to , an event better described by the phrase “the more, the merrier.”
Thirty of Colorado’s big-name culinarians — including Paul Reilly of Beast + Bottle, Jorel Pierce of Euclid Hall and Justin Brunson of Old Major — set up shop at the Colorado Convention Center on April 6 to prepare five-course dinners for the 300 folks who came to help raise $150,000 for .
Cooking Matters is part of , a nationwide initiative of , whose founder and CEO, Billy Shore, flew in for the event chaired by . president James Iacino and Jensen Cummings. Cummings has been a chef at , and He also is the founder of the nonprofit , which is also dedicated to fighting childhood hunger.
“Ending childhood hunger is a solveable problem,” Shore said, adding that Cooking Matters Colorado is an “excellent example” of how food industry professionals can make a big difference in the lives of the estimated 271,000 Colorado children who go to bed hungry each night.
Director Summer Gathercole predicts that Cooking Matters Colorado will reach about 12,000 families in 2014.
Chefs Up Front is unique in that each table of 10 has its own special menu. Which is no easy feat, since all of the preparations are done tableside.
For example: Amos Watts from treated his guests to a meal that began with seared scallops in a shitake-yuzu broth and ended with carmelized brioche topped with blood orange compote, honey whipped goat cheese and strawberry ice cream.
Before sitting down to dinner, guests could place silent auction bids while enjoying specialty cocktails from such mixologists as Anika Zappe of , Ryan Layman from and Stuart Jensen, who pours at .
Those supporting the cause included Jamie Van Leeuwen, who is Gov. John Hickenlooper’s deputy chief of staff; Michele Morris, chair of the Cooking Matters board; registered dietician Megan Bradley; attorney Steve Farber and his son, Brent; developer Jim Sullivan; Darrell Hamilton, a broker associate with ; William Huang; Pat “Gabby Gourmet” Miller; Michael Niyompong, chief operating officer at ; and auctioneer Bryson Miller, who secured top dollar for every item in the live bidding and exceeded the $20,000 goal set for the special appeal by $4,000.
Joanne Davidson: 303-809-1314, jdavidson@denverpost.com or twitter.com/joannedavidson
Online: See pictures from this event at denverpost.com/seengallery
Guild marks 40th year
The Central City Opera Guild celebrated its 40th year during the Theatre of Dreams Gala held at the McNichols Civic Center Building. Joanne Davidson has the details in the Mile High Style blog blogs.denverpost.com/style
