HUNGRY TO HELP A GOOD CAUSE
Organizers are getting ready to wow the crowds once again at two of L.A.’s most successful fundraisers. The 2012 “Taste for a Cure,” to benefit UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, takes place on Fri., April 20 at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Bev Hills.
Every year, the “tastemakers” pull out all the stops, offering up a cornucopia of goodies prepared by California’s top culinary stars and winemakers. In addition to great grapes from some of Napa’s finest—including Frog’s Leap, Grgich Hills Estates, Silver Oak Cellars, Pride Mountain and Shafer—there will be no shortage of mouthwatering morsels to delight the tongue and tickle the tummy.
This year’s featured chef also hails from Napa and is one of my personal faves. Cindy Pawlcyn is legendary up in the northern part of the state. I’ve been a fan since the 1980s when she opened San Francisco’s chic, yet homey, Fog City Diner, which specialized in dishes like succulent pork chop with tangy ginger applesauce and melt-in-your-mouth lamb chops with a zesty mint sauce. With plenty of great burgers, fries, homemade onion soup and jalapeno corn sticks, it was comfort food at its best, and better than things mama used to make. Today she crafts equally creative and updated dishes at Mustard’s Grill in Napa (a must) as well as Cindy’s Backstreet Kitchen and Brassica.
Local chefs will be bringing out their best as well, including Ludo Lefebvre of Ludo Bites and Suzanne Tracht of Jar, to name a few. Food fans will have more than 90 minutes to make the rounds before sitting down to a table of sweet treats, where they’ll enjoy the evening’s main event.
NBC Entertainment president Jennifer Salke is this year’s honoree. If all this isn’t enough to whet your appetite, you can check out a live auction, plus performances from Lea Michele and Darren Criss of “Glee.”
It’s an evening of music, food and fun with a good cause all around.
But don’t put away your black tie just yet. The following night the John Wayne Cancer Institute hosts its annual Odyssey Ball at the Beverly Hilton. The star-studded bash starts out with a VIP cocktail hour and silent auction, followed by dinner and a special awards presentation. This year Dr. Lawrence D. Piro will receive “The Duke” special service award. Malibu’s David Foster is on tap for an unforgettable performance, and you can bet he’ll bring a few of his famous friends. Tony Dovolani from the hit show “Dancing with the Stars” hosts the evening’s festivities. Then they’ll bump, grind and boogie the night away disco style with DJ Enferno. So don’t miss two great evenings to benefit two of the city’s most deserving charities.