Cuisine, cocktails, croquet and charity were all part of Vital Bridge's Center on Chronic Care's Chefs and the City Summer Tasting and Croquet Garden Party at Galleria Marchetti July 28.
The interactive and philanthropic outdoor event welcomed a couple hundred people. Throughout the sunny afternoon, guests enjoyed culinary samples, Grey Goose cocktails and music under the tented area and also mingled in the venue's garden while watching select chefs play in a croquet tournament, which added a unique touch to this year's annual event.
A raffle featured the grand prize of a two-night weekend stay at The Radisson Blu Aqua Hotel, a decadent dinner for two at Piccolo Sogno Due and two tickets to "To Master the Art" at The Broadway Playhouse, followed by a bottle of champagne and dessert at RL Restaurant.
Proceeds of the garden party benefited the Vital Bridges Center on Chronic Care, a program of Heartland Health Outreach, Inc., which assists people living with HIV/AIDS throughout the metropolitan Chicago area to improve their health and rebuild their lives by providing food, nutrition counseling, housing, care coordination and prevention services.
"For us it's about boots on the ground," said Chief Health Care Strategist of Heartland Health Outreach, Inc. Debbie Hinde, who helped putting the event together. "In this kind of environment it's really imperative we raise money to support the services that people depend on. I think people really enjoyed it, the chefs had a good time, folks who played croquet had a good time, so I think it went well and it raised much needed funds for the programs for nutrition, housing, case management—things that people need."
This year's Chefs and the City restaurant participants included Gregory Sebastian of Tavernita, Jon DuBois of Green Zebra, Doug Psaltis of Bub City, Pam Rose of Swirlz, Karyn Calabrese of Karyn's on Green, Brian Huston of The Publican, Bill Kim of BellyQ, Dale Levitski of Frog N Snail/Sprout, Mark Payne of Deca, Ryan Pitts of RL Restaurant, Ryan Poli of Little Market Brasserie, Patricio Sandoval of Mercadito, Marty Fosse of Anteprima, Eiji Takese of Japonais, Merlin Verrier of Graham Elliot and Shin Thompson of Kabocha.
"The chefs' community is an incredibly gracious and generous community and what they did for us today is really fabulous," said Hinde.
Major event sponsors included Mercedes-Benz USA, Grey Goose Vodka, Constellation Brands, Fortune Fish & Gourmet, Gibsons Restaurant Group, RL Restaurant, Ariel Investments, SPLASH and Japonais.
Amanda Puck and Stewart Smith were the event chairs and Executive Chef for RL Restaurant Pitts served in his fifth year as the event's chef chair. Taking advantage of the beautiful weather and presenting one of RL's renowned dishes, Pitts chose to grill lamb chops at his restaurant's station. In charge of also selecting the Chicago restaurants for that day, Pitts said he looked to bring in some of the best chefs that are well known Chefs and the City veterans, while also bringing in some newer event participants.
"We're definitely looking for restaurants with reputation," Pitts said. "We have our A-list that we reach out to and we're fortunate enough to get those restaurants we wanted."
Describing the event as unique compared to other years with its interactive component in which chefs played croquet and were able to speak with guests about the food instead of simply standing behind the table or in the kitchen and serving food, Pitts adds the goal on his end was to make the Sunday afternoon fun for the participating chefs.
"I think honestly, from doing so many events, Chicago chefs are second to none in giving back to the community," said Pitts. "I, from a personal perspective, appreciate that Chicago chefs are doing so much and that they're giving to this event. I really believe that we're not as competitive with each other as we are supportive. This event is a great example."
