FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – ORANGE, CA. – Jan. 9, 2019 – The 6th annual Illumination Foundation OC Chef’s Table returns this year on Sunday, March 3rd, 2019, with an unprecedented 40+ top chefs of Orange County and L.A. participating. Presented once again by the Disneyland® Resort, the Resort’s acclaimed Culinary Director Andrew Sutton will be hosting the visiting chefs for another year.
The March 3rd event takes place at the Disneyland® Hotel. Tickets and sponsorships are available at OCChefsTable.com
Goal: Help Illumination Foundation Build Emergency Housing for Homeless and Unstably Housed Families
On one extraordinary evening each year, Orange County’s most prestigious chefs prepare their favorite recipes tableside for hundreds of guests as everyone joins together with Illumination Foundation to break the cycle of homelessness.
This year, OC Chef’s Table will be raising funds for Illumination Foundation’s Emergency Housing Program. The Foundation created one such home for families, The Theriault House which, to date, has served more than 280 families who are most vulnerable and living without shelter. Currently, Illumination Foundation has a wait list of 73 families that are living in motels, parks, beaches and cars. Another “Theriault House” is the focus of this year’s OC Chef’s Table fundraising endeavor in an effort to get these families permanently off the streets of Orange County.
“OC Chef’s Table is our chance to help someone find a new answer and get back on that path,” says Chef Rich Mead of Farmhouse at Roger’s Gardens.
“Illumination Foundation gets it … they have a different vision for our world, and when you’re part of this event, you begin to see, too. You meet the wonderful people at your table, hear the stories from the stage, and feel the commitment everywhere … and you begin to understand the size of what Illumination Foundation is really doing,” he says.
A Food Lover’s Dream: A Giant Banquet Room Overflowing with Extraordinary Chefs
This year, the OC Chef’s Table roster of chefs has climbed once again, with a record-breaking 40 executive chefs in attendance, including the return of Food Network’s Celebrity Chef Jet Tila.
“I’ve been involved in a number of charity events and dinners, but OC Chef’s Table has really had an impact on me,” says Celebrity Chef Jet Tila.
“People are coming together with this heightened sense of community to be involved in something that is such a crucial issue for our fellow human beings. There’s really nothing like it.”
Additionally, internationally renowned Chef Martin Molteni, the “Top Chef” of the country of Argentina and winner of the globally-acclaimed cooking competition, Bocuse d’Or in Lyon, France, will be joining the event with his brother, another acclaimed award winner, Mariano Molteni.
Top L.A. Chefs Ask to Be Included for the Cause
For the first time, many top-ranked L.A. chefs have also asked to be involved in the cause, including Chef Jason Neroni of Santa Monica’s famed Rose Café, Chef Tyler Gugliotta of the uber-popular Baran’s 2239 in Hermosa Beach, and the revered Petros Benekos of L.A.’s high-level staple, Petros.
More Than 30 Top Chefs Return Again to OC Chef’s Table
Many Orange County-based award-winning chefs are returning to OC Chef’s Table, including Food Network and Slapfish Founder Chef Andrew Gruel, Chef Clint Chin of Club 33 at Disneyland®, Chef Rich Mead of Farmhouse, Chef Michael Rossi of The Ranch Restaurant & Saloon in Anaheim, Chef Timothy Plumb of Summit House, Chef Peter Lai of the award-winning Blind Rabbit speakeasy, Chef Joseph Tripi at Trevor’s at the Tracks, Chef Leo Raza of Villa Roma and Cambalache, and Chefs Magellan Moore and Stephan LaFountain from Mastro’s Ocean Club and Mastro’s Steakhouse, respectively.
“For me, the real sense of “family” at this event began when the Disneyland® ballroom doors opened and all these amazing people came in to support Illumination Foundation’s cause,” says Chef Michael Rossi of The Ranch Restaurant & Saloon.
“The crowd and the stories and the leaders on the stage who are so committed to ending the homelessness issue … it brought it all home to me. It was just overwhelming being part of such a good thing. There’s no way I’d allow myself to miss this event again,” he says.
New OC Chef Participants Also on Board
New Orange County-based chefs joining OC Chef’s Table this year are creating a once-in-a-lifetime roster with their chef cohorts. Cooking tableside on March 3rd will be Chef Bryan Brown of acclaimed Bourbon of the Monarch Beach Resort, Chef Greg Daniels of the new Laguna Beach Harley, Culinary Director Brian Okada of Kings Seafood Company restaurants, including Water Grill, Chef Chris Hutten of Capital Grille, Chef Anthony Berganza of Red O, Chef Riley Huddleston of Lido House and many more.
“It is extraordinary to see these amazing chefs offer so much time and effort and culinary talent to our annual OC Chef’s Table,” says Illumination Foundation Co-Founder Paul Leon.
“Their partnership with us allows us to touch and change literally thousands of homeless adult and children’s lives. It’s really very humbling for all of us.”
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About Illumination Foundation
Today in Orange County alone, there are more than 32,000 children that are homeless or unstably housed in cars and motels. An excess of 55,000 homeless individuals reside in Southern California alone.
The non-profit organization, Illumination Foundation, was founded in 2007 with the sole mission to break the cycle of homelessness. From its start, Illumination Foundation has focused on providing permanent housing solutions, along with emergency housing for families in dire need, recuperative care centers for homeless individuals recovering from hospital care, and a cadre of mental and physical health services, career counseling and placement, children’s resource centers for tutoring and healthy socialization and more.
The co-founders and board of Illumination Foundation think big, actively arranging partnerships with cities throughout Orange County and the L. A. Basin to help address the homeless needs. It is no surprise, then, that OC Chef’s Table was born six years ago as a way to weave the color, life and passion of the area’s most lauded chefs into Illumination Foundation’s world of solution.
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