Top Chicago chefs hold fundraiser for Los Angeles wildfire relief
CHICAGO (CBS) -- For Chicago chefs with California ties, the impact of the wildfires that have devastated the Los Angeles area this month is very personal.
Those chefs joined forces for a unique fundraiser in River North Thursday evening.
In the kitchen of Tre Dita Cucina Toscana, inside the St. Regis Chicago Hotel at 401 E. Wacker Dr., Chef Evan Funke and his staff were busy layering and blending hours ahead of the fundraiser. Funke created lasagna bolognese from a 200-year-old recipe — and he made enough lasagna and focaccia to feed 50 people for the fundraiser at another site.
"The giving of care, showing of love through food, is a very healing thing," Funke said.
Funke served as the host of "From Chicago, With Love: A Dinner for Los Angeles Wildfire Relief" — and the event was very personal for him.
The two-time James Beard-nominated chef grew up in Pacific Palisades — an area, devastated by wildfires.
"My parents moved there in the 70s. We lived in another area that is also completely burned," Funke said. "To see the level of destruction is rather shocking. To have it touch you intimately is a completely different thing."
That personal connection to the wildfires engulfing the community Funke calls home is the reason behind the fundraiser, which was held at Salon 61 Private Events at 61 W. Hubbard St. in River North. Tickets were $2,500.
Proceeds benefited Chef Jose Andres' World Central Kitchen, which has been providing meals for those impacted by the wildfires.
"We just got in direct contact with them, and they know how to bring the relief to the right people immediately," Funke said.
Funke — who also has restaurants Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Miami — in did not handle the menu all himself. He was among nine world-renowned chefs who created culinary delights for the eight-course meal — complete with wine pairings, cocktails, and a savory to follow.
A couple of those chefs are household names — Rick Bayless, and Grant Achatz of Alinea fame. Also participating were Lee Wolen, CJ Jacobson, Meg Galus, Thai Dang, Hisanobu Osaka, and Max Robbins—with Kevin Beary making the cocktails.
Jacobson is the chef partner at Aba restaurant in Fulton Market, and was responsible for the first course served Thursday night—which featured Asian pears. Jacobson is also from Southern California — born and raised in Orange County, specifically.
Jacobson, the winner of Top Chef Duels in 2014, crafts every meal with local California ingredients in mind.
"This dish came to me right when I found out. I was going to do this," he said. "I knew exactly what I was going to do — I wanted to do a California bay leaf ice cream that I actually foraged from the very hills of Domesco Canyon, which sadly burned down."
It took the nine chefs seven days to get the fundraiser together.
"Honestly, it's not ideal, seven days, but we are making it happen," Jacobson said. "I think when it comes to a cause like this people really rally behind it. I feel good that this has really come together and that we're giving back."
All the food served at the fundraiser was donated by local vendors.
The event was sold out well before it began. But anyone who wishes to donate or participate in the live auction at the fundraiser may do so through the Tre Dita Restaurant website.
