Miami’s culinary community joins Project Medishare for Chefs With a Purpose: Haiti March 30

Benefiting the Haiti rebuilding efforts of  Project Medishare for Haiti, Inc. and International Firefighters Assistance, Inc. (IFA) the second annual Chefs With A Purpose: Haiti will be Wednesday, March 30 at the InterContinental Miami from 6:30-9:30 p.m.

Pierre Garçon, Wide Receiver for the Indianapolis Colts and an active supporter of Haiti through various organizations, will be the special host for the evening.  In addition, Calvin Hughes, evening news anchor at WPLG/Channel 10 Miami, will be honored for his important contributions to Haiti’s recovery, advancing awareness and fundraising efforts.

Guests of Chefs With A Purpose: Haiti will be greeted in the grand lobby with bongos and performers of the cultural non-profit group Tradisyon Lakou Lakay.  Inside, the music of renowned Haitian performers Mushy Widmaier and Phyllisia Ross will entertain with live performances.

Advanced purchase tickets are $80 and are available at www.chefswithapurpose.org and $100 at the door the day of the event.

The event will feature over 20 tasting stations each offering a signature menu item by the participating top chefs.  In addition, students from the Culinary Program in Doral, Florida’s San Ignacio College, part of San Ignacio de Loyola Organization in Lima, Peru, will be hands-on volunteers assisting the participating chefs.

The evening’s silent auction will feature items ranging from InterContinental Hotels & Resorts and other luxury hotel stays, unique dining experiences, Tiffany & Co. jewelry, Haitian art and unique sports memorabilia items.  A new addition this year is a Haitian art exhibit by Michele Frisch, Haiti’s leading art curator and collector.  The lobby of the InterContinental Miami will feature Haitian art from the Galerie Marassa collection and coincide with arteaméricas, the premier fair of art from Latin America.

Participating restaurants include:

• Table 40 (Alexander Feher)
• Two Chefs Restaurant (Jan Jorgensen)
• Sra. Martinez (Michelle Bernstein)
• The Forge
• Mama Mia (Ron DuPrat)
• Tap Tap
• Gigi’s Noodle Bar
• Bond Street
• Chophouse Miami
• House of Caviar & Fine Foods
• Abokado (Cesar Rodriguez)
• Moca Café
• Chef Creole
• CookiePursonality (Smadar Katzman)
• San Ignacio College Culinary Program
• Chef George Catering (Jorge Montes)
• Rational Cooking Solutions (Tito Rodriguez)
• Ana Paz Cakes
• Diego’s Tapas y Vinos
• Dadou’s Kitchen
• Por Fin Restaurant & Lounge

Click here to purchase your advanced tickets today and save!

Event sponsors include Michele Frisch of Galerie Marassa, Prestige Beer, Central Parking System, PSAV Presentation Services, Deco Productions, Sir Speedy and Bayfront Floral & Event Design.

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Join us for Chefs With A Purpose:Haiti, March 30

The InterContinental Miami is preparing its second annual Chefs With a Purpose: Haiti fundraising event for March 30, 2011 benefiting Project Medishare for Haiti, Inc. and International Firefighters Assistance, Inc. (IFA).

Both organizations have been providing assistance to Haiti well before the 2010 earthquake and were present, ready to assist, in the Port-Au-Prince ‘ground zero’ at the moment tragedy struck.  This year, the organizations are joining forces and leveraging their resources to collaborate on efforts to train emergency responders and critical care medical workers in Haiti

The Chefs With A Purpose: Haiti event was conceived after the devastating Haiti earthquake in 2010.  At the time, the InterContinental Miami reached out to its staff to determine how many were from and/or had family in Haiti.  Nearly 90 employees, approximately one-fifth of the hotel’s staff, were affected.   The hotel assisted its employees and families in a variety of ways such as assistance in locating lost loved ones and monetary and product donations.  The fundraising event was created shortly thereafter to be able to have a greater reach in assisting the people of Haiti.

The InterContinental Miami organizes this event by donating its staff time and event space and services with 100 percent of the event proceeds going the Project Medishare and IFA.

“Chefs With A Purpose: Haiti was born of compassion and the urgency to partner with local community organizations in the relief efforts.  We are honored to partner for the second year with International Firefighters Assistance and to begin a new partnership with Project Medishare,“ Robert Hill, General Manager of the InterContinental Miami said. “One year later, this event takes on a greater importance because Haiti is not forgotten.  More than ever we need to continue to promote awareness and provide much needed help that is still required.“

Dr. Barth A. Green, Co-Founder and President of Project Medishare is delighted about the partnership between his organization and Chefs with a Purpose: Haiti.

“Project Medishare serves hundreds of thousands of people throughout Haiti with programs ranging from community health and development to trauma and critical care,” Dr. Green said.  “The most important ingredients in our recipe for Haiti are creating infrastructure and sustainable programs including capacity building (i.e. train the trainers) which are all mixed together to create a final product labeled long-term commitment.”

Lt. Nate Lasseur, Founder and President of International Firefighters Assistance, said he too feels fortunate to be partnering with both InterContinental Miami and Project Medishare.

“There is strength in unity and we feel so fortunate to be partnering with the InterContinental Miami again, as well as Project Medishare,” Lt. Lasseur said.  “Together we can leverage resources to do more and empower the Haitian people to respond to and prevent the numerous public safety and health concerns they face.  We can’t stop emergencies from occurring, but we can help Haiti better prepare for them.”

Guests of Chefs With A Purpose: Haiti will be greeted with music of renowned Haitian performers Mushy Widmaier and Phyllisia Ross.  The event will feature over 20 tasting stations each offering a signature menu item by the participating top chefs.  The evening’s silent auction will feature items ranging from hotel stays, unique dining experiences, art and other luxury items. A new addition this year is a Haitian art exhibit by Michele Frisch, Haiti’s leading art curator and collector. From March 16 through April 6, the lobby of the InterContinental Miami will feature Haitian art from the Galerie Marassa collection and coincide with arteaméricas, the premier fair of art from Latin America.

Advanced purchase tickets are $80 and will available starting Friday, February 18 here.

Chefs With A Purpose’s website will also feature updates on the chefs and the evening festivities as it becomes available.

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