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Mustard Seed Guests Invited to A Seat At Our Table
Ten Local Top Chefs Cook Dinner For The Homeless
CALGARY (November 23, 2015) –For 370 regular guests of the Mustard Seed Foothills Shelter (7025 44 Street SE, Calgary) the 6pm dinner on Monday November 23 is going to be extra special as 10 of Calgary’s top chefs take over the kitchen to prepare a unique A Seat At Our Table. –an initiative developed by ATB Financial and Alberta Culinary Tourism Alliance (ACTA).
An Event Unlike Any Other
Ten of Calgary’s top chefs will prep for, and cook the evening meal for the regular guests at The Mustard Seed Foothills Shelter. Chefs will prepare a basic, but healthy, dinner including locally grown and produced foods, with an extra dash of kindness in this meal. “Collaboration is nothing new for us,” John Jackson, Chef and Co-owner of Charcut ROASTHOUSE explains. “We work together all the time to build a strong culinary community in the city, but projects like this make us proud to work together on meaningful meals that bring to light the important issues around hunger. While this won’t be fancy, it may just be our most meaningful project of the year.”
Chef Team Line-up
Charcut Roast House & Charbar: Chef & Co-Owners John Jackson & Connie DeSousa
Rouge Restaurant: Chef & Co-Owner Paul Rogalski & Jamie Harling
Shokunin Resturant: Chef/Owner Darren Maclean
The Derrick Gin Mill & Kitchen: Chef Marc Andre Bourgeois
The Selkirk Grille: Chef Sean Cutler
WinSport: Chef Ronnie Gillman & Peter Kyriazis
Yellow Door Bistro/ Hotel Arts: Chef Jan Hansen
“Initiatives like this are important to support,” states Fraser Abbott, Chairperson for Alberta Culinary Tourism Alliance and Director of Business Development for the Hotel Arts Group. He asserts that while ACTA is committed to sharing stories about Alberta’s food (where it comes from and how it is prepared by top chefs), healthy and affordable food should be accessible for all Albertans to enjoy and our stories should include a variety of ways to serve it up…from simple to complex.
“It is our hope that while our attendees enjoy the meal prepared by the chefs, broader conversations will look past the immediacy of the dinner to the enormity of the issues around food,” Abbott says. “This collaborative event should spark great discussion and initiatives on building accessible food systems in Alberta.”
The Mustard Seed has been serving people experiencing poverty and homelessness in Alberta since the ‘80s. It has become a haven for those needing help, which is offered through open hands and unconditional love. The Mustard Seed Shelter provides access to both healthy food and a place to sleep says Brandon Waardenburg, Director of Basic Services. He goes on to explain that “… almost 40% of our guests are employed, but with the high cost of living in Calgary, and the extremely limited rental accommodations, many are left without affordable housing.”
“When we created this movement we wanted it to be all about the meaningful conversations that can happen around a table, at the same time featuring locally grown food, prepared by local world class chefs,” says Wellington Holbrook, Executive Vice President, ATB Business & Agriculture. “We also knew it was important to take the time to reflect, share and listen to real people and that’s why we want to take the table somewhere it’s most needed to engage in conversation there.”
The Mustard Seed has been an agent of change for three decades, thanks to donors, volunteers and support from the community. Today, The Mustard Seed in Calgary offers an expansive range of innovative programs and services, including education and employment programs, health and wellness services, basic needs through a shelter for 370 men and women, spiritual care and housing. In March 2014, The Mustard Seed opened the 1010 Centre, which provides homes to 224 low-income individuals, many of whom would otherwise be homeless.
Visit TheSeed.ca to take part in their Give Hope Campaign, where you can provide a warm meal this Christmas for just $3.51.
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For more information, please contact:
Tannis Baker, Executive Director
Alberta Culinary Tourism Alliance
403 264 8344
Karen Taylor-Binnie
Communications Manager
The Mustard Seed
403 615 0646
This article was posted in Blog and tagged: chef dinner alberta cuisine YYC ATB need charity
