Witham Gala: Dining for Dollars

By Scott Hutcheson/The Hungry Hoosier

May 15, 2008 11:07 am

— Food has long been a part of our charitable endeavors and this community has a particularly generous attitude when it comes to food and philanthropy. We try to both feed the hungry and to use food to raise money for causes that are important to us.
We have the Caring Center and the Shalom House to provide help to those who may not have enough to eat and my family’s church has started a new tradition — a food offering. Each Sunday morning we not only pass the collection plate, we also send our kids out into the congregation to collect cans, boxes and other food that members bring each Sunday. The kids load the bounty into baskets at the front of the church and those baskets get delivered to the Caring Center.
Our community also has some great traditions of selling food to raise money for important causes. It just doesn’t feel like springtime until the Kiwanis’s have their pancake dinner at the annual Home and Garden Show and community celebrations like Back to the 50’s, the Forth of July, and other special occasions offer lots of opportunities to eat well and do good.
A couple of years ago, I decided to get in on the act by providing an auction item for the Witham Health Services Foundation Gala, held about this time each year. This year’s Gala is Saturday, May 17, and I’ll once again be offering this auction item — a dinner for 4-6 people prepared in the winner’s home.
Before the dinner, I consult with the host to create a one-of-a-kind menu that will feature fresh, seasonal ingredients with a special effort to include ingredients produced right here in Indiana.
The meal will include four courses — appetizer, salad, main course, and dessert. Courses will be paired with wine or non-alcoholic beverages if preferred. After dinner, the host and their guests can relax while I do the dishes and clean up the kitchen. The menu from the most recent auction meal included the following:
Appetizer - Crostini with Indiana Chevre, Caramelized Onions, and Mission Fig Marmalade.
First Course - Salad of Organic Endive, Fennel, and Blood Oranges
Second Course - Mini Shrimp Scampi Pizza
Intermezzo - Limoncello Granita
Third Course - Fischer Farms Beef Tenderloin Marsala with Roasted Indiana Asparagus and a Gratin of Potatoes and Trader’s Point Artisan Cheeses
Dessert - Flourless Chocolate Torte made with David Alan Chocolate topped with Ganache Infused with Jasper County Mint Oil
The way this meal works is that I purchase the ingredients and donate the time and Witham gets the entire auction amount. This year, all the proceeds of the Gala go toward Witham’s Women’s Health Services. If you are planning to attend the gala, I hope I’ve whetted your appetite enough to make a bid. If you are not attending, perhaps you can find someone who is, and they can be your proxy.
We’re fortunate to have Witham in our community and the Gala is a wonderful event that my wife and look forward to each year. Hope to see you there.
www.hungryhoosier.com

Photos

Scott Hutcheson