Raising a glass to the future of health care
Celebrating food, wine and fundraising
It’s the 15th anniversary of the Grand
Cru Culinary Wine Festival – the largest festival of its kind in the world. Funds raised through the Festival directly support scientific research and fund key initiatives at Toronto General and Toronto Western hospitals, University Health Network.
To date, Grand Cru has raised more than $30 million by bringing together the finest wine and cuisine with the brightest minds in medical research. We sat down at Alo with three innovators in those very spaces to discuss the importance of events like Grand Cru, medical research and education, and the future of health care in our city and beyond. Todd Halpern is the President of Halpern Enterprises and the Chairman of Grand Cru; Dr. Ian McGilvray is a surgeon scientist and research director of the Soham & Shaila Ajmera Family Transplant Centre at Toronto General Hospital; and Patrick Kriss is the chef-owner of Alo and named Outstanding Chef for three years in a row by Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants. Todd Halpern (TH): What we’re doing this year is really the vision we had for Grand Cru when it started 15 years ago: bringing people together to share the best wine and food and have great conversations about the life-changing research and patient care being conducted at the institutions right here in our city. Dr. Ian McGilvray (IM): I know at the very first Grand Cru we raised more than a million dollars in support of research at Toronto General and Toronto Western hospitals. I can tell you first-hand the impact those funds have on the work we’re doing, and how it translates to the care we’re able to provide, and the knowledge we’re able to share globally… and yet so much more needs to be done. Chef Patrick Kriss (PK): I first learned about Grand Cru while I was working with Chef Daniel Boulud – it’s always noteworthy when a 3-star Michelin chef cooks for an event. This is now my second year cooking at Grand Cru with my Alo team, and it’s an honour to carry on the tradition and support the important work being done across the programs the Festival supports. TH: Patrick as a top chef you see firsthand that some incredible conversations happen over dinner. It’s also over a meal where many important conversations take place about the health of our loved ones. At Grand Cru, while dinner is being served, we also serve knowledge about the groundbreaking work Dr. McGilvray and his colleagues are doing. IM: Grand Cru is a unique way of fundraising, we get to sit down with our donors and supporters and speak about the excellent research and care delivered by Toronto General and Toronto Western hospitals. I’m proud to share our world firsts, specifically in transplantation, and I can tell you none of it would be possible without our donors. PK: Getting people involved comes from conversation and education – if we educate our community, it begins to shift our culture. Together we can be inspired, over amazing food and wine, about the future of health care. TH: There is so much power in dinner and a conversation – we can uncork valuable information, sitting together to talk and understand where your money goes and how it impacts our community every day. Together, over November 1-2, we will make this year’s Grand Cru a record-breaking success.