PAYING IT FORWARD
Dinner, auction raises $20G for scholarship in memory of popular local chef
TROY, N.Y. » A dinner and auction hosted last week in memory of a popular local chef raised $20,000 for a new culinary scholarship in her name.
About 300 people purchased tickets for the inaugural Jackie Baldwin Memorial Scholarship gala, held Monday night at Franklin Terrace Ballroom. The event featured 17 chef’s stations, three dessert tables, a silent auction and raffle. The event was hosted by area restaurant reporter Steve
Barnes.
“The love Jackie generously gave so many, became the heart and soul of a scholarship in her name. The Chef’s went above and beyond any other event we’ve attended,” said Michele DeLair of Troy, who led the drive to create the Jackie Baldwin Memorial Scholarship at Schenectady County Community College. “This was truly a celebration of life for a life well lived.”
Baldwin died March 18, 2016, after being diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer in January.
She had worked as executive chef at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute for 14 years prior to her promotion in 2015 to area executive chef for Sodexo, which supervises food service at RPI and 31 other college and university campuses in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
A native-born Trojan and graduate of Troy schools and Russell Sage College, Baldwin earned a culinary degree from SCCC in 1983 and became one of the few premier female chefs in the Capital Region. One of the highlights of her career was hosting dinner at the James Beard Foundation in New York City in 2006 and 2007.
Friends said Baldwin dedicated her life to service, contribution and improvement and that her open heart, kindness and boundless energy was a gift to those who knew her. Local celebrity Chef Ric Orlando said Baldwin was “a testament to professionalism and poise.”
The fundraising committee is looking to raise an additional $5,000 for the scholarship fund by Spet. 1, with an anonymous donor offering to match all donations to meet that goal.
Donations may be mailed to Chef Jackie Baldwin Memorial Scholarship, 94 Eagle St., Troy, NY 12180.
The fundraising committee is looking to raise an additional $5,000 for the scholarship fund by Spet. 1, with an anonymous donor offering to match all donations to meet that goal.