Celebrity Chef Dinner Raises Money to Feed the Future

Celebrity Chef Dinner Raises Money to Feed the Future

ChefwithGouloffSauerteig179 members of the Fort Wayne, Indiana community recently gathered at the Sycamore Hills Golf Club for an evening of gourmet food and fundraising to benefit its local chapter of Blessings in a Backpack. Featuring a five-course menu and remarks from celebrity chef Graham Elliot, all proceeds from the evening will go directly to feeding in-need children of Fort Wayne.

“Year after year, our celebrity chef dinner fundraiser makes an enormous impact on our Blessings in a Backpack program,” said Paul Sauerteig, one of Fort Wayne’s Blessings in a Backpack Program Treasurer. “We are so thankful for the generosity of Graham Elliot and members of the Fort Wayne community, without which our program would not be what it is today.”

For the last nine years, Blessings in a Backpack’s Fort Wayne chapter has hosted a celebrity chef fundraiser. Featuring food icons such as Michael Symon and Rick Bayless, the event has gained traction in the area and become highly anticipated, with tickets selling out on an annual basis.

CrowdonPavilionChef Elliot is currently a judge on the Food Network’s Cooks vs. Cons. He was also co-host and judge on Fox television’s Masterchef and Masterchef Jr., a contestant on Iron Chef America, and has appeared on Top Chef Masters. At age 27, Elliot became the youngest named four-star chef in any major U.S. city and was also named one of Food & Wine magazine’s “Best New Chefs.”

The evening raised more than $100,000 to help feed more than 1,640 elementary students in the Fort Wayne area.