Chefs Share Themselves and Feast on the Fun

Proving that too many cooks don’t spoil a marathon gourmet dinner, Orange County’s leading chefs donned their aprons and whipped up an exotic feast to raise money for OrangeAid, the Share Our Selves Kitchen Project.

A sellout crowd of 250 attended the gastronomic affair at the Robert Mondavi Wine and Food Center in Costa Mesa. The $150-per-person benefit was one of many “Taste of the Nation” fund-raisers held across the country and staged by Share Our Strength, a national nonprofit group in Washington, D.C., to raise money for local hunger programs. The gala raised $103,000, with 80% of proceeds earmarked for the Share Our Selves food kitchen in Costa Mesa and the rest to fight hunger nationwide.

A Meal to Remember

For food lovers, the SOS dinner was a rare opportunity to sample the creations of 17 chefs in one evening.

This year organizers expanded the dinner and invited nine chefs to prepare hors d’oeuvres and desserts to be served in the center’s garden.

Meanwhile back in the kitchen, eight chefs were busy preparing the four-course dinner while jovially drinking red wine and poking fun at each other.

Although they are competitors by trade, “all that goes out the window tonight,” said Michael Kang, owner of Five Feet, who helped coordinate the chefs.

Diners found each course to be a work of art. Kang and Ted Gray of the Newport Meat Co. prepared a “volcano of pork with black spiders” made from a hollowed-out mango with squid ink pasta cut into floral shapes. Alan Greeley of the Golden Truffle and Claude Koeberle of the Ritz created a smoked lobster in a “Bloody Mary Cascade” sauce and served in a seashell.

Christian Rassinoux, chef of the Ritz-Carlton in Dana Point, and John McLaughlin of J.W.’s at the Anaheim Marriott prepared roulade of herb-marinated monkfish with bean ragout. Sarah Scott of the Mondavi center and Jean Pierre Lemanissier of Antoine at Le Meridien in Newport Beach made roasted quail with coconut rice.

As further evidence of the chefs’ goodwill, they also donated the food for the dinner.

Feeding the Hungry

OrangeAid was formed in 1991 by a group of restaurateurs, caterers, hoteliers, food suppliers and other volunteers to obtain food and build a kitchen for Share Our Selves. SOS solicits food, often leftovers from restaurants and manufacturers, and distributes it to the hungry in Orange County.

“We get 400 requests a day for food from families and homeless people,” said Karen McGlinn, director of Share Our Selves, who served as event co-chairman with her husband, John.

Proceeds from the dinner will go to the SOS kitchen, which processes and packages the food and will also be the site of classes taught by local chefs and others in the food industry. The classes will focus on nutrition and skills to help the needy find work in the food industry.

John Martin, chief executive officer of Taco Bell, was honored for his company’s contributions to SOS. Taco Bell matched the evening’s ticket proceeds dollar for dollar.

“Michael (Kang) made me aware that in affluent Orange County there are a lot of people who go to bed every night without food,” he said.

Martin endured some good-natured jabs for the brouhaha surrounding Taco Bell’s possible move to Texas. After informing guests that Martin enjoys riding his Harley-Davidson motorcycle, Karen McGlinn presented him with an OrangeAid motorcycle jacket that “doesn’t allow him to cross the border of Orange County without getting a severe shock.”

Other faces in the crowd included Frank and Jean Forbath, Share Our Selves founders; Bill and Ann Lusk, Mary Dell Barkouras, Mike and Lauri Mendenhall, Max Wood, Kathy Power, Kevin McQuarrie, Tom and Mary Catherine Payne, Clare Scarborough, Margarette Woodard, Harold and Lisa Hofer, Bob Chamberlain, Hal and Kay Rosoff, Will Rosoff and Linda Schilling, David Keefe, Wendy King Boyd, Wade Perry, Allen and Nancy Hubbell, Gene and Vivian Levin and Kathy Thompson. In addition, chefs in charge of appetizers were: Todd Clore, Carlito Jocson, Susan Kaitz, Jack Kalustian, Dan Marcheano, Michael Philippi, Paul Squicciarini, Nina Taweepong and Michael Waugh.