50 of DC’s Top Chefs Team Up to Serve Inspired Dishes at Chef's Best

ON MAY 13TH, THE AREA’S LEADING CHEFS WILL DISH UP SPECIAL TASTINGS TO RAISE FUNDS FOR FOOD & FRIENDS

Washington, D.C.– On Monday, May 13th, more than 50 of the area’s best chefs will dish up special tastings of their signature plates in the ballroom of the Washington Hilton to raise money for Food & Friends, a non-profit organization based in Washington, DC. The chefs are participating in the organization’s Chef’s Best Dinner & Auction Celebrating Food & Friends’ 25th Anniversary presented by the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) Foundation.

Thanks to the efforts of this year’s Celebrity Chef Chair Jeff Black of Black Restaurant Group, guests will enjoy tastings prepared by some of the region’s most talented chefs including: Teddy Folkman,Granville Moore’s; Wes Morton, Art and Soul; James Huff, Pearl Dive Oyster Palace; Nicolas Flores, Hank’s Oyster Bar; RJ Cooper, Rogue 24; Matteo Venini, Posto; Aldo Ramos, The Heights; Jennifer Nguyen, Zentan Restaurant; and Jeff Tunks,

DC Coast among other notables from the DC dining scene. In addition, attendees will have the opportunity to bid on an array of exciting silent and live auction items featuring fantastic trips, one-of-a-kind experiences and private dining opportunities.

All proceeds from Chef’s Best will ensure the delivery of specialized meals and personalized nutrition counseling to Food & Friends’ clients living with cancer, HIV/AIDS and other life-challenging illnesses. This year, supporters will help provide more than one million meals to more than 2,900 individuals in Washington, DC, Virginia and Maryland.

Food & Friends depends on the support of corporations, foundations and individuals and is grateful for the sponsors who have contributed to Chef’s Best.

“The diverse and powerful personal stories that comprise the world of Food & Friends define bravery, compassion and generosity. It simply is not possible to engage with Food & Friends without encountering extraordinary people – and that stands true among the patients, the volunteers, the supporters and the staff alike. In honor of all of these heroes, the NACDS Foundation is pleased to serve for the second consecutive year as the Presenting Sponsor of Food & Friends’ 23rd Annual Chef’s Best Dinner & Auction.”

During Chef’s Best, Food & Friends will proudly honor Washingtonian and Cathy Merrill Williams, President and Publisher, for giving a voice to our community and for highlighting not only the very best that Washington has to offer but showcasing what is truly special – its people.

“I am both proud and humbled to be honored by Food & Friends, an organization I have long admired,” says Cathy Merrill Williams, President and Publisher of Washingtonian Media. “The Washingtonian shares your deep commitment to the Washingtonian community and we commend your tireless efforts to feed both the bodies and souls of our most vulnerable citizens.

Tickets to Chef’s Best are $250 for individuals or $2,500 for a table and sponsorships begin at $850. Visit www.foodandfriends.org/chefsbest to purchase tickets and to see a current list of chefs and sponsors. The VIP Reception for sponsors begins at 5:30pm. Doors open for the main event at 6:30pm, with bidding for live auction starting around 8:15pm.

ABOUT FOOD & FRIENDS
Food & Friends is a Washington, DC, based nonprofit organization that provides home-delivered, specialized meals and nutrition counseling to people living with HIV/AIDS, cancer and other life-challenging illnesses. Food & Friends’ services are free-of-charge to recipients, who qualify solely based on their health status and nutritional need. Monday-Saturday, including holidays, staff and volunteers deliver to 5,346 square miles including the District of Columbia, seven counties in Maryland, and seven counties and six independent cities in Virginia. Since 1988, Food & Friends has delivered more than 15.8 million meals to 22,600 individuals. For more information, please visit www.foodandfriends.org, Facebook (/foodandfriends) or Twitter (@foodandfriends).

Chef’s Best Dinner & Auction 2013 is proudly sponsored in part by:

A Message from Chef's Best Presenting Sponsor NACDS Foundation

June 26, 2012

Dear Friends,

Did you decide to engage in tonight's amazing event based on a thought, or based on a feeling? Powerful thoughts and feelings alike led the NACDS Foundation to engage as the Presenting Sponsor of Food & Friends' 22nd Annual Chef's Best Dinner & Auction.

• Rationally, supporting this event makes tremendous sense because Food & Friends' tremendous work relates directly to the NACDS Foundation's vision to improve the health and wellness of the people in America.

• Emotionally, can there be a more powerful and personal moment than when a Food & Friends volunteer delivers a lovingly prepared meal and a human connection – just when a patient needs it most?

Whatever your reason for partnering with Food and Friends and for empowering this extraordinary organization, thank you for contributing so mightily to the success of Chef’s Best. It is great to know that 80% of revenue from this night goes directly to providing more than 1.2 million specialized meals to Food & Friends’ nearly 2,900 patients. That means your support is going a long way to improving lives.

For many, a meal from Food & Friends is a source of hope, dignity and courage – as much as a source of enjoyment and nutrition. It also can convey a strong message to a patient that so many people care about them, and will never turn their backs on them. It always is amazing to hear about those patients who look at the assistance that Food & Friends provides as way to meet a basic need so that they can have a little bit more energy to turn around and help others themselves.

That is one of the beautiful things about Food & Friends: many people and organizations support Food & Friends for very different and highly personal reasons, and the patients assisted by Food & Friends benefit in ways that are unique to them, based on the sense of what each person cherishes and holds dear. Yet everyone associated with Food & Friends is bonded by the common pursuit of improving lives and elevating the human condition.

Whatever you think and feel about Food & Friends, let’s celebrate it tonight – and when we leave, let’s commit to tell others about it as well!

Sincerely,

 

 Steven C. Anderson, IOM, CAE                                                                             Kathleen Jaeger                                       
 NACDS Foundation Chairman                                                                                NACDS Foundation President