CHEFS DRIVE MEALS ON WHEELS GALA
As top toques scurried to create menus for 1,000 guests at the recent Meals on Wheels 30th Star Chefs and Vintners Gala at Fort Mason Center’s Festival Pavilion, chef Nancy Oakes wondered what has happened to society.
“Has everybody forgotten about the greater good? Or are we really all about ‘me, me, me’? ” she asked rhetorically. “We need to show up and take care of the people in our lives, and those in need, too.”
The resounding response at this gourmet gala on May 21 was $3.2 million, which translates into 640,000 meals prepared and delivered to homebound seniors across San Francisco.
However, the actual number of annual meals is much higher: Last year, seniors in every San Francisco neighborhood took delivery of a total of 1.7 million meals. And if the current administration’s budget is passed, it will be a brutal blow to Meals on Wheels’ programs.
“We are so much more than just ‘meals’ and ‘wheels,’ said the group’s CEO and executive director Ashley
McCumber. “We conduct daily safety checks, connect clients with social services, provide nutrition education counseling and even minor home
repairs. All of which allows 3,600 seniors to age with independence and dignity in their own home.”
The massive undertaking, organized by Taste Catering, featured food, wine and cocktail tasting followed by a seated dinner as 300 volunteers served an exquisite three-course menu prepared by 100 chefs that was paired with exquisite vino poured by 100 vintners. A live auction by Greg Quiroga raised big bucks. Then guests grazed on delectable desserts.
Among culinary rock stars: original
Meals on Wheels chair, chef Jan Birnbaum; Quince-Cotogna chef Michael Tusk; A16 sommelier Shelley Lindgren; Nopa’s Laurence Jossel; Cala’s Gabriela Cámara; Tosca Cafe’s Josh Even; Moet Hennessy sommelier Cara Patricia; chocolatier Michael Recchiuti; and Craftsman + Wolves’ William Werner.
Sundays are typically a well-deserved night off for many chefs. But as camaraderie and friendly competition broke out among makeshift stove tops, there was no hint that all the time the white-coated class gave to the evening was begrudged in any way.
“I’m drawn to Meals on Wheels because of the dedication of its staff to a crucial mission. We all ask each
other huge favors for all our causes,” noted Oakes, who has been the gala chef chairwoman for 14 years. “And I love that the next generation of really up-and-coming chefs has joined this cause.”
California dreamin’: Like the “Summer of Love Experience” exhibition at the de Young Museum, the recent spring gala there, hosted by the Junior Committee of the Fine Arts Museums, was all about flower power.
Actually, the vibe was more “enchanting English garden” in Wilsey Court where Flowers Claire Marie designed a glorious bloom surrounding tables, bountiful with pink peonies, cherry blossom trees and Japanese maples atop verdant Astro Turf.
Yet local swans channeled a hippie-modern presence with gorgeous gowns (including Andrew Gn, Burberry, Alexander McQueen) rendered in riotous hues, embroidered florals and flouncy fringe.
Now in its 14th edition, this swell black-tie soiree (founded as the MidWinter Gala but pushed to spring due to a rash of exhibitions) by co-chairs Trevor Traina, Vanessa Getty, Kathryn Lasater and Allison Speer, is the second-largest fundraiser for Fine
Arts Museums.
Guests supped on a vernal-inspired McCalls supper (green pea soup with lobster; spring lamb) prior to a mercifully brief Christie’s-led live auction that upped the ante for exhibition and education programs at the de Young and Legion of Honor museums.
Trustee Trevor Traina noted that in addition to raising millions for the museums, the event has attracted young collectors and new trustees to the board. And the gala’s sparkle factor — a mix of fab fashions, movie stars and tech titans — has raised the profile of both museums, here and abroad.
“This is our 14th Mid-Winter gala,” toasted Traina. And with a laugh, he added. “But to be candid, it’s spring. And ‘Junior’ is probably now a bit of a stretch for our committee.”
Still, some things never change: For that inaugural gala, these “juniors” achieved pink-and-green table decor by borrowing linens from Traina’s mom, FAM board chair Dede Wilsey. This year, Mom loaned them her pink Limoges porcelain.