Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Chefs night blossoms, plants seeds
Golfers champion shelter
Golfers gathered Sept. 9 at the Springdale Country Club to support the Northwest Arkansas Children’s Shelter at the group’s 21st annual Golf Classic.
The Northwest Arkansas Children’s Shelter is a private, nonprofit organization offering 24-hour residential care for children and teens who are victims of abuse or neglect. Founded in 1993 with five girls as residents, the 48-bed shelter serves some 500 children annually. Residents may stay up to 45 days in a six-month period until returning to their families or being placed in foster care.
The nonprofit organization has operated an on-site school for 21 years and is in the process of opening Hope Academy, a public charter school. The Hope Academy of Northwest Arkansas will be open to shelter residents as well as “children throughout Northwest Arkansas who will benefit greatly from a trauma-informed educational setting.”
Next up for the shelter are Kickball 4 the Kids on Sept. 27 and Walk for Hope on Oct. 12.
Those taking a swing to support the shelter included Al Dominguez, Matt McPherson, Toni Wilkie, Ryan Denner, Kiley Williams, Marcus Talbot, Chris Bowser, Emily Reynolds, Stephanie Sheppard, Caleb Gray, Erik Ramon, Paige Lee, Maury Peterson, Kate Lunsford and Raegin Callaway.
Local chefs and restaurants cooked up some support for the Botanical Garden of the Ozarks for a record crowd of nearly 900 guests at the 12th annual Chefs in the Garden on Sept. 10 at the garden in Fayetteville.
William McCormack, executive chef at Eleven at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
in Bentonville, served as honorary chef for the event. Honored during the evening among the 17 chefs who competed were:
• Paul Wright, Bonefish — People’s Choice Best Chef;
• Lori Rae, Fork & Crust — People’s Choice Best Bite;
• Kurt Plankenhorn, 28 Springs — Chef’s Choice Most Creative Bite; and
• Matt McClure, The Hive — Chef’s Choice Best of the Best Chef.
Proceeds from the evening, some $70,000, will go to provide education programs such as Little Sprouts and Earth Day for children and their families, said Susan Foley, director of special events.
The garden will play host to the fourth annual International Festival from 2 to 6 p.m. today.
Other featured restaurants this year included: 28 Springs, B-Sides Café, Big Orange: Rogers, Bonefish Grill, Bordinos Restaurant and Wine Bar, Cafe Rue Orleans, Eleven at Crystal Bridges, Fork and Crust Pie Co., The Hive, Komodo Modern Asian Cuisine, Local Flavor Cafe, Meiji Japanese Cuisine, Mockingbird Kitchen, Rolando’s Nuevo Latino Restaurante Fayetteville, Springdale Country Club of Arkansas, US Foods and Vetro 1925 Ristorante.
For more event photos — nwadg.com/photos/society.