An all-star lineup of local chefs is headlining a fundraiser to benefit a local charter school.
The Ritz-Carlton St. Louis will host the second annual Savor for Students Grand Tasting Event, an event that raises funds for Lift for Life Academy, on Thursday, August 30. Some of St. Louis' top chefs—including Gerard Craft (Sardella, Pastaria, Brasserie, Taste), Kevin Nashan (Sidney Street Cafe, Peacemaker Lobster & Crab Co.), Kevin Willmann (Farmhaus), Ben Poremba (Nixta, Parigi, Elaia & Olio), and Ben Grupe (Elaia)—will cook at the fundraiser. Guests will get to sample the chefs’ fare in a variety of small plates.
The event is the brainchild of Melissa Lee, executive chef at The Ritz-Carlton. Lee appealed to local chefs to join the fundraiser. Lift for Life Academy opened in 2000 and is a local charter school for middle and high school students that provides educational programs at no cost. Nutrition is an important part of the school's mission, as it provides balanced, nutritious meals free of charge, five days a week.
Nathaniel Reid, Jesse Mendica, Kevin Nashan
Other award-winning chefs in the St. Louis area are also participating. Nathaniel Reid, owner and executive pastry chef at Nathaniel Reid Bakery; Jesse Mendica, executive chef at Olive + Oak and Clover and the Bee; David Choi, owner of Seoul Taco; Loryn Feliciano-Nalic, owner of Balkan Treat Box food truck; Mike Emerson, founder of Pappy's Smokehouse; and Simone Faure, executive pastry chef at La Patisserie Chouquette, will be lending their culinary know-how to the event, along with about 15 other chefs (listed on the fundraiser's website).
Guests will experience, among other dishes, Vietnamese-style butter and garlic shrimp from Qui Tran, Applewood-smoked ribs from Mike Emerson, strawberry-passionfruit pavlova from Nathaniel Reid, and Peking duck from Melissa Lee. The event will feature not only tapas-style bites from the chefs, but also sushi, sashimi, a raw bar, beer, wine, spirits, and live music.
“It’s a great event. Food brings us together. We always want to give back to the community,” Tran said in an on-camera interview with FOX2 News.
Students will also have a hand in the fundraiser. Chefs will work with Lift for Life Academy students at the event to craft small plates. “We’ll teach them how to cook,” Tran said in the Fox 2 interview. “We’re very excited. We love to give back to the community, and this is a beautiful thing to do.”
Tickets are $99 per person plus processing fees. The opportunity to rub elbows with the area's premier chefs comes free of charge.
