Chef’s Best Is A Culinary Extravaganza For A Cause
The 32nd annual Food & Friends event on May 7 aims to raise $1 million to help nutritionally support people living with serious illnesses.
“Chef’s Best is an opportunity to come together for the sake of something good, and focus on the great work that’s happening locally — taking care of our neighbors, being there for each other, which is something that this community does so well — and celebrate that while having a lot of fun,” says Carrie Stoltzfus.
Stoltzfus is the executive director of Food & Friends, a local nonprofit that delivers medically-tailored meals and nutritional counseling, free of charge, to people in the D.C. metro area who are living with HIV/AIDS, cancer, and other serious illnesses. Chef’s Best is their biggest — and most popular — annual fundraiser of the year.
The event brings together chefs and mixologists from dozens of local restaurants, bars, and eateries, who set up banquet-style stations throughout a ballroom where they offer samples of their food and drink.
The event also features a live auction where guests can bid on various packages that include trips, gift certificates, dining experiences, or other items of value.
“We have a really great auction this year,” says Stoltzfus. “We are going to have a signed [Capitals left winger Alex] Ovechkin jersey, we have trips to Turkey, Aruba, we have some dining adventures at the Inn at Little Washington, Pisco y Nazca, and other great restaurants.”
This year’s Chef’s Best Dinner and Auction marks the 32nd year the event has been held. It will take place at the Marriott Marquis on Wednesday, May 7. Chef Yuan Tang, owner and culinary director of Rooster & Owl, is serving as the chef chair for the event, and Fox 5 DC reporter Erin Como, known for her “Cooking with Como” series, will emcee.
The goal is to raise more than $1 million, helping the nonprofit to deliver 1.7 million medically-tailored meals to clients throughout the year.
Since 1988, the organization has delivered over 30 million meals to more than 47,000 clients.
“In 1988, in our first year of operation, we didn’t have our own kitchen, so we relied on restaurant food,” says Stoltzfus. “Our volunteers would go pick up food at restaurants and deliver it to people living with AIDS. Now we have this amazing kitchen where we’re delivering medically-tailored meals that we can adjust in different ways to meet people’s different conditions.”
Stoltzfus praises the generosity of the local restaurant industry, which continues to struggle with financial solvency, a byproduct of COVID-era shutdowns and recent changes to D.C.’s tipped wage system.
“The restaurant community is really generous,” says Stoltzfus. “It’s a tough industry. They operate on low profit margins, but it’s also made up of people who are really driven by hospitality and caring for others.
“I think that is part of the affinity between Food & Friends and the restaurant community. We want to give back to them by highlighting their work and their food. Restaurants are showcasing their best at Chef’s Best. It’s an opportunity for them to get new customers and share in that celebration of food with us.”
The 32nd Annual Chef’s Best Dinner & Action is Wednesday, May 7, at 6:30 p.m. at the Marriott Marquis DC, 901 Massachusetts Ave. NW. Business or cocktail attire is encouraged. For more information about the events and ticket prices, visit foodandfriends.org/engage/chefs-best.
For more information about Food & Friends, visit foodandfriends.org, or follow the organization on Facebook, Instagram, X, and LinkedIn.
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