FOR the first time in Manchester, humanitarian charity Action Against Hunger is organising an exclusive Michelin starred dining event, The Art and Wine Masterpiece Dinner, with the aim of raising more than £30,000 to help save the lives of malnourished children.
It follows on from the Action Against Hunger Ethiopia Trek successfully completed by a group of food and drink industry professionals, restaurateurs, chefs and journalists. The team fundraising page is still open and can be viewed here and donations can be made online.
The dinner at the University of Manchester’s Whitworth Gallery on Wednesday, November 9 is undoubtedly less challenging, but the humanitarian cause is the same and it promises to be of the most amazing events in the Manchester calendar. Just a few tickets remain and you can buy them here.
A number of high profile chefs will join forces, including Robert Ortiz (below), exec chef of Michelin-starred Lima in London, Rupert Rowley, head chef at the Michelin-starred Fischer’s Baslow Hall, Steven Smith, chef patron of Freemasons at Wiswell, No.1 pub in The Good Food Guide, and Stosie Madi, chef/patron of the acclaimed Parkers Arms in the Trough of Bowland.
They will cook a bespoke four course meal for 90 guests – with the great and good of Manchester’s fine wine, food and art scenes well represented.
The dinner is supported by Thom Hetherington and his Buy Art Fair and will be hosted on the night by Kate Goodman of Reserve Wines, West Didsbury. It will start with a champagne reception and include live and silent auctions with some highly collectible prizes on offer including exclusive original art works, vintage wines and other luxury items.
Caroline Dyer, fundraising campaign manager from Action Against Hunger, said; “We’re delighted to hold the first Art and Wine Masterpiece Dinner in Manchester and what better place than the award-winning Whitworth. The funds raised at this event will help make such a big difference to vulnerable children going hungry around the world. We’re incredibly grateful to the chefs and all those involved in the event for making it happen.”
Tickets are priced at £200 per person, or £2,000 for a table of 10, with all proceeds from the event going to Action Against Hunger.
The goal of the gruelling trek across the Ethiopian mountains in late September was to raise £100,000. The group including Andrew Nutter, chef proprietor of Nutters and the Bird at Birtle, and Lisa Allen, Executive Chef at Northcote, covered 80km of rocky trails and steep escarpments over four days in Debre Libanos at altitudes of up to 3,400m. The toughest day saw the team trek for 13 hours on steep rocky terrain.
Lisa Allen said: “The trek was a truly eye-opening, life-changing experience and I think we’ve all come back transformed by this trip. It’s by far the hardest physical and mental challenge I’ve ever faced and I think the whole team feel humbled by the things we’ve seen and the people we’ve met along the way. The hard work doesn’t stop here, we want to continue to raise as much money as we can.”
Team members held a number of fundraising activities throughout the summer, and have plans to do a few more over the next few months to achieve their aim. All funds raised will go towards Action Against Hunger’s work to provide malnourished children with healthier futures in countries including Ethiopia, Yemen, Nigeria, Nepal and South Sudan.