Tasty fundraiser
Chefs donate culinary skills in auction to benefit March of Dimes
Local chefs are taking time out of the hustle and bustle of their kitchens for a good cause on Thursday, Nov. 2.
The chefs will be serving amuse bouche offerings and small tastings during the Signature Chefs Auction that benefits the local chapter of the March of Dimes. The organization’s mission is to end prematurity, infant mortality and maternal mortality, according to Aisha Smith, development manager for the March of Dimes.
“It’s a fundraiser and it’s a culinary experience,” Smith said. “We have a live auction and some other revenue incentives to try and raise money for our mission. But really we focus on the celebrities of the event, which are local chefs, and people can come and taste little amuse bouches and smaller tastings from the chefs from our local restaurants. And the chefs have also donated culinary experiences that are auctioned off the evening of the event, which is really a celebration of their talents and their incredible donation to the March of Dimes.”
Participating chefs are Jon Young of Fresh Bistro, Marc Quiñones of Más y Tapas, Cory Gray of M’tucci’s, Jon Young of Fresh Bistro, Israel Rivera of The Shop, Daniel John of Torinos@ Home and Rodney Estrada of Zacatecas. The Food Network’s “Chopped” winners Carrie Eagle of Farm & Table and Marie Yniguez of Bocadillos also are participating in the event.
“They do some prep work beforehand and then they arrive early,” Smith said. “We’re having it at Hotel Albuquerque, so we’ll have a room set up and they will have some stations around the room, and they will have a crew, and we’re getting some culinary students to assist them from Sandia High School, so they do a lot of setups the night of. They do a lot of work. It’s a very big donation from them to us.”
Money raised supports programs for maternal and child health in New Mexico, according to Smith.
“We also support (neonatal intensive care unit) family support in the state of New Mexico and we have research programs,” Smith said. “We have five prematurity research centers and part of the funds go there. New Mexico statistics for prematurity are rising, so more babies are being born premature. We expect those rates to rise with the new data for the year that we’re in. We have more mothers and babies dying from childbirth than we’ve had in a very long time. So it’s a very relevant cause and we have a lot of work to do.”