Local nonprofit Hunger Busters will host the sixth annual “Meet the Chefs” event featuring food created by notable chefs who have been featured on the Food Network and who curate menus for well-known celebrities.
The event will take place at 6 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 2, at The Empire Room, 1225 North Riverfront Blvd. in Dallas. WFAA/Channel 8 journalist Erin Hunter will serve as the emcee.
“It’s a great honor to host our ‘Meet the Chefs’ event to help increase awareness of the hunger and poverty issue that exists for children throughout Dallas,” Dr. Latame Phillips, CEO of Hunger Busters, said in a statement. “Throughout history, many major decisions have been made while ‘breaking bread’ around the dinner table. This event provides a similar opportunity for the community to come together for a unique culinary experience that can serve as a catalyst for having important conversations about ways to feed the needs of our children.”
“Meet the Chefs” is a signature fundraising event that Hunger Busters said will unite those committed to making a difference.
Guests will be welcomed by a cocktail reception featuring local mixologists before entering the main event highlighting live chef demonstrations.
The celebrity chefs will appear on stage to provide a colorful narration of each dish before the completed entrée is plated and passed for tasting. Guests will have indulged in a multicourse dinner by the end of the evening.
Who’s cooking?
The chefs featured at “Meet the Chefs” will include:
- Manwell “Hoppie” McLean – Food Network chef and personal chef for Dallas Cowboys players including Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, and Ezekiel Elliot.
- Nina Sagoo – Food Network chef and founder of Spiced Lavender Catering
- Derricka Clayton – Food Network chef and founder of Chef Derricka Culinary Concepts
- Jose Castillo – Food Network chef and chef for Dem Taco Boys
- Rassaun “RJ” Johnson – Celebrity Chef of Playmakers 88, a sports bar and restaurant concept founded by Dallas Cowboys Hall of Famer and three-time Super Bowl Champion Michael Irvin
- Troi Hawkins – Celebrity steakhouse menu curator and daughter of retired Major League Baseball player and chef, LaTroy Hawkins
- Karren Whitley – Celebrity food artist and charcuterie board specialist.
Tickets are $250 and sponsorship opportunities are available.
The event will feature live music, a silent auction, and networking opportunities with some of the city’s must influential community and business leaders.
How Hunger Busters helps kids ‘thrive and succeed’
The evening supports the programs and initiatives of Hunger Busters, which delivers 3,500 meals a day to students and over 350,000 a year with aspirations to deliver 14,500 meals daily.
Each day, the nonprofit’s volunteers and representatives visit local restaurants and grocery stores to gather excess food that is then prepared, packaged, and delivered to afterschool programs. Hunger Busters helps reduce food waste while providing quality food to children in need of fresh and healthy meals.
“The access to nutritious food is a basic human right, yet many children face food insecurity, especially in low-income communities,” Phillips said. “Society addresses food inequality and promotes social equity by providing healthy dinners to elementary school children, regardless of their socio-economic background. It ensures that all children have an equal opportunity to thrive and succeed.”
Hunger Busters said that, according to Feeding America, one in five children in Texas is food insecure and nearly one in four children in Dallas County is food insecure.
Hunger Busters works to address this need by ensuring children receive essential nutrients for their growth and development.
Founded in 2012, Hunger Busters is committed to providing third meals to food insecure students within Dallas ISD. Through its signature Food Rescue program, representatives visit restaurants throughout Dallas/Fort Worth to pick up food that was not sold that day. Then, with the aid of volunteers, meals are prepared at the Hunger Busters facility before being delivered to afterschool programs.
Each day, volunteers make and deliver meals to 11 Dallas ISD schools and six afterschool programs. The Hunger Busters’ flagship program “Feed the Need,” aims to bridge the gap in food access by delivering nutritious food to food deserts.
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