Tickets available for GCHS Celebrity Chef Festival
The community will have an opportunity to support the Gulf Coast Humane Society next month at its inaugural Celebrity Chef Festival featuring some of the areas finest chefs.
The festival is scheduled to take place from 5:30 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 17, at Six Bends Harley-Davidson. Tickets are $125 a person and can be purchased online at www.gulfcoasthumanesociety.org.
Gulf Coast Humane Society Executive Director Jennifer Galloway said the big gala is normally held in November, Home for the Holidays.
“It’s exciting to do something new and fresh,” she said. “This event will be an event that everyone will want to come back to next year.”
The fun and interactive event will feature chefs making dishes in front of everyone at 10 different food stations.
The celebrity chefs preparing dishes will include Harold Balnik of Harold’s; Bob Boye of CRU; Benjamin Voisin and Fabrice Deletrain of Gather; Norman Love of Norman Love Confections; Brian Gorman of Artichoke & Co.; Jay Johnson of Bubba’s; Todd Johnson of RumRunners; Jordan Webster of Jordan Webster’s Catering; Greg Gebhard of Nice Guys; Fred Malone of Fort Myers Brewery and Carlo Rao of Mastello’s.
Galloway said each of the chefs are supporters of the humane society and loved the idea when it was presented to them.
“These are mostly places that we all visit all the time,” she said.
The event will also include live and silent auctions, live music and an open bar. Some of Gulf Coast Humane Society’s furry ambassadors will also be on the premises during the festival.
Auctioneer Scott Robertson will conduct the live auction. An online auction will begin a week before the event.
The live music will be performed by EMMY nominated director and notable upright/electric bassist Brandon Roberts.
Galloway said all of the money raised will go towards a quarantine area, so they can continue to help the animals. She said anything they do at the society depends on these type of fundraising events.
The humane society has been very busy, according to Galloway, even through a distemper outbreak.
“There are still a lot of dogs out for adoption,” she said. “We usually have about 150 dogs and about 80 cats. We stay busy.”
Galloway explained that every adoption that is made is at a loss due to all the medical care they provide before the animal is adoptable.
“Every adoption that we do, we don’t make any money,” she said. “It helps keep the doors open and the standard of care high, which is what our goal is, the gold standard.”