Once again, Nancy Oakes is chairing Meals On Wheels SF’s biggest fundraiser of the year, the 24th ~ANNUAL STAR CHEFS & VINTNERS GALA~ on Sunday May 15th, 5pm-11pm in the Festival Pavilion at Fort Mason Center. Over 70 stellar Bay Area chefs, plus top bartenders and wineries, will be preparing an hors d’oeuvre and wine reception, a seated three-course meal, and a dessert reception for an event that never fails to wow its guests. It’s one of the city’s best food events of the year, that’s for sure. (Take a peek at my pics from last year.)
The event is billed as “the ultimate food lover’s feast,” and that’s no wonder when you look at the list of participating chefs, which includes local chefs Matthew Accarrino (SPQR), Jan Birnbaum (EPIC Roasthouse), David Bazirgan (Fifth Floor), Thomas McNaughton (Flour + Water), Annie Somerville (Greens), Martin Brock (Gary Danko), Joseph Manzare (Hecho, Zuppa), Chris Cosentino (Incanto, Boccalone), Michael Tusk and Sean O’Toole (Quince), Jennifer Biesty (Scala’s Bistro), Charles Phan (The Slanted Door), Mourad Lahlou (Aziza), and Mark Sullivan (Spruce). Just check out the photos from last year for further proof of the caliber of food you’ll find at this gala event.
Over 60 leading vintners will also participate, many providing wine pairings for each of the dishes. They include Chappellet Vineyard, Crocker & Starr Wines, Duckhorn Vineyards, Hanzell Vineyards, Mumm Napa, Pride Mountain Vineyards, Poem Cellars, Radio-Coteau Wine Cellars, Realm Cellars, and Saddleback Cellars. Did we mention the bartenders? Scott Beattie (HMS Cocktails), Jon Gasparini (Rye, 15 Romolo, Rosewood), Aaron Gregory Smith (15 Romolo), and Brooke Arthur (Prospect) will serve up classic spirits and exotic concoctions.
Following the hors d’oeuvre and wine reception, and the seated three-course meal, the evening will end with a lavish dessert reception featuring sweets from Yigit Pura (Taste Catering), Jake Godby (Humphry Slocombe), Sara Spearin (Dynamo Donuts), and Kara Haspel Lind (Kara’s Cupcakes), and more. You will assuredly leave on a sugar high.
There will also be a live and silent auction with items including private dinners with celebrity chefs, and “Fund-A-Route,” in which guests pledge cash donations towards funding an entire meal delivery route for the next year. Guests at the 2010 Gala raised a record-breaking $317,000 for “Fund-A-Route,” while the event raised a grand total of $1.2 million.
Tickets start at $450 (with patron levels ranging from $1,500 to $20,000) and benefit Meals On Wheels of San Francisco, whose mission is to provide isolated homebound seniors in San Francisco with nutritious meals, daily human contact, and supportive services to prevent their premature institutionalization. They serve 960,000 meals to homebound seniors every year.
Marcia Gagliardi is a freelance food writer in San Francisco. She writes a weekly column, Foodie 411 for the SFCVB on their “Taste” site; a monthly gossip column, “The Tablehopper” for The Northside; and regular features for Edible San Francisco. Her first book came out in March 2010: The Tablehopper’s Guide to Dining and Drinking in San Francisco: Find the Right Spot for Every Occasion.
