GAMES, GASTRONOMY AND GIVING
The 2016 Bangkok Post- Black Mountain Charity Golf & Gourmet BBQ Dinner returns this Januar y and is set to be even bigger and better
When the Bangkok Post-Black Mountain Charity Golf & Gourmet BBQ Dinner began in 2011, right away it proved to be a hole-in-one success. Five years later, the philanthropic project, held annually on the second Saturday of January, is still thriving. Whether event focused on recreational sports, fine cuisine, magnanimity or flamboyance, there has been no event in Thailand to match the distinctiveness of the affair.
The project is a collaboration between the Bangkok Post and Black Mountain Golf Club, Hua Hin. It was initiated to raise funds for the Bangkok Post Foundation through an 18-hole tournament complemented by a golf clinic conducted by world-leading professional golfers at the award-winning Black Mountain golf course.
The game day is followed by an evening of the finest, all-you-can-eat gastronomy presented by an extravagant team of five-star hotel executive chefs at the al fresco club house by the golf course. Such impressive unification of vibes and wonders makes the event one of the most awaited affairs in the calendar.
Promising to once again delight fun-loving philanthropists, the 2016 Bangkok Post-Black Mountain Charity Golf & Gourmet BBQ Dinner is set to take place on Jan 9 — just six weeks from now.
As always, the event coincides with Thailand’s National Children’s Day and aims to raise money to support the education of underprivileged children under the care of the Bangkok Post Foundation. Part of the funds will also go to improve learning facilities for needy schools nationwide. The foundation is currently sponsoring 236 students in kindergarten, primary, secondary and vocational schools and universities.
Over the past four events, the Bangkok Post-Black Mountain Charity Golf & Gourmet BBQ Dinner has generated 14 million baht for the foundation. Without deduction, the money has also been used in part to help restore and provide new building facilities for many schools throughout the country.
The upcoming fifth edition of the event will enchant altruistic golfers, foodies and hobbyists with an 18-hole game followed by an awe-inspiring gourmet barbecue dinner served by international team of 16 executive chefs — 13 from Bangkok’s five-star hotels, and the other top three chefs from Thai Airways International, Fine Food & Two Chefs gourmet food company and Black Mountain Golf Club’s own Swedish chef.
GREAT COURSE FOR A GOOD CAUSE
One of the key reasons this charity golf event has been favourably received by discerning sportsmen is the worldclass quality and up-to-date facilities of the 18-hole, par 72 championship Black Mountain golf course.
Since opening in 2007, Black Mountain’s scenic and challenging golf course has garnered many of the world’s most prestigious awards, including Asian Golf Monthly’s 2011 Best Championship Course in the Asia-Pacific, Golf Digest’s 2012/2013 list of 100 Best Golf Courses Outside the US, and Asia Pacific Golf Summit’s Best Course in Thailand, Best Course in Asia and Best Championship Course in Asia.
It has hosted a number of international competitions, including three Asian Tour events, the Royal Trophy, and lately True Thailand Classic, the first event co-sanctioned between the European Tour and Asian Tour in Thailand for eight years.
“Every year during the low season, we upgrade the golf course and the facility, including the fairways, driving range, clubhouse, spa and pro shop, so all returning guests will go ‘wow’,” said Harald Elisson, managing director of Black Mountain Golf Club.
Philanthropic guests of the 2016 Bangkok Post-Black Mountain charity affair will be treated to a fun-filled day on the award-winning golf course.
The great outdoors festivity will officially begin at 9.30am with a golf clinic led by world-celebrated golfers including Swedish pros Pelle Edberg and Johan Edfors, veteran Scottish player Simon Yates, American player Berry Henson, and Prom Meesawat and Jazz Janewattananond, the two young professional golfers from Thailand.
The famous golfers will share their wealth of experience with participants, demonstrating what it takes to perform at the highest level. The golf clinic also allows guests to get close to these golf champions and get advice from them.
The 90-minute workshop will be followed by a scrumptious international lunch buffet prepared by the golf club’s Swedish executive chef Marten Karlsson. When stomachs are filled, it will be time for the guests to head to the scenic fairway in golf carts. At 12.30pm, a shotgun start will send a total of 120 golfers, grouped in 30 teams of four, to the 18-hole, par 72 (7,591 yards) tournament for a truly good cause.
PHENOMENAL FEAST
Another indication of success of the annual Bangkok Post-Black Mountain Charity Golf & Gourmet BBQ Dinner is an astounding number of the supposedly ego-driven, 5-star international chefs wanting to participate. That has thus resulted in the growing collection of chefs officially joining each year.
Ever since the munificent event started five years ago, the number of culinary masters engaged in the affair has never stopped increasing. From 10 executive chefs in 2012, 14 in 2013 and 2014 and 15 in 2015, it has come to 16 highly-respected cooking masters for the upcoming event.
Meanwhile, the camaraderie of these top chefs is a phenomenon in itself. Guests will once again get to witness the never-ending love, ambition and dexterity these men in white put into their food in the name of altruism.
Still very much the event’s highlight, the 2016 edition of the grand barbecue dinner is set in the beautiful al fresco club house and features a one-of-a-kind buffet created by international culinary maestros amid the resort town’s breeze underneath twinkling stars.
The first-class, yet casual, gastronomic affair, lulled by sweet live music, will begin at 6pm with a canapé, cocktail and wine reception that promises to gratify both the appetite and taste buds of golfers and gourmands.
The pre-dinner session, enlivened by a mixology demonstration performed by an expert drink designer from the Chivas Regal team will be followed by a grand buffet dinner at 6.30pm, featuring an impressive line-up of world-class barbecue and seafood prepared before your eyes, served alongside fine Australian wines from Jacob’s Creek. In a remarkably genial, heartfelt manner, the chefs will astound guests with their culinary creations available from 10 live-cooking stations, which they operate themselves.
Other than a selection of gourmet roasted and grilled items (including Australian lamb chops, wagyu steak, Maine lobster to French foie gras), there will also be Spanish tapas, charcuterie and paella, Japanese sushi and sashimi, Italian pasta and sausages and scrumptious seafood — hot and cold, all exclusively selected for the event. A delicious repertoire of international desserts by the five-star chefs will ensure the occasion ends on a sweet note.
The winning team will receive the 2016 Bangkok Post-Black Mountain Golf Club Trophy, a round of golf (a four-person team for each winner) at Black Mountain Golf Club and exclusively-designed golf bags from Omega.
The 2016 event will also feature an auction to increase the charitable fund. Prizes include air tickets to the Maldives, Siem Reap and Luang Prabang courtesy of Bangkok Airways, and food and accommodation vouchers courtesy of the participating 5-star hotels. The evening is expected to generate more than 4 million baht for the foundation.