Help on the menu
Star chefs shine at Santa Anita to benefit abused and abandoned kids
By Samantha Sincock 06/25/2009
Since the 1920s, Pasadena Rosemary Children’s Services has helped the most vulnerable among us — young children and teenagers who have suffered abuse, neglect and abandonment at the hands of those who are supposed to love them the most.
On Saturday, more than a dozen area restaurants will offer folks who can afford it a chance to make a difference in these kids’ lives, while dining, drinking and dancing at Santa Anita Park.
“An Evening with Star Chefs,” now in its 46th year, is the largest annual benefit for Rosemary Children’s Services, which serves nearly 400 children each year through its foster family and adoption agency, foster care group homes and special education and mental programs.
Restaurants providing the culinary talent for this year’s event include El Cholo, Il Fornaio, Mi Piace, Nikki C’s Restaurant and Bar, The Raymond Restaurant, Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, The Melting Pot, Celistino’s and The Terrace at the Langham Huntington Hotel. Pasadena-based gourmet ice cream makers Choctal Ice Cream will be providing frozen treats, and beverages will appear courtesy of the San Antonio Winery, Peet’s Coffee and Tea, the IZZE Beverage Company, Bacardi USA and MillerCoors.
Stone Soul, who performed at last year’s event, is returning to light up the racetrack with dozens of danceable Motown classics. The evening’s festivities will be hosted by KTLA Channel 5 reporter Wendy Burch, and celebrated opera star Suzanna Guzman is also a guest of honor at the event. Guzman, a Pasadena native who has sung with the LA Opera and at Italy’s Spoleto Festival, spoke at last June’s commencement for teenage girls graduating from the Rosemary School.
“Suzanna knows our organization very well and has a deep interest and connection with these foster and abused youth. We are very happy to have her use her star power to lead our event by introducing the star chefs,” said Rosemary Children’s Services Development Director Jennifer Radics.
“An Evening with Star Chefs has become an annual tradition for many, including El Cholo owner Blair Salisbury. “We have been asked to contribute for many years,” he said, “and I am glad to every time.”
“An Evening with Star Chefs”runs from 6 to 10 p.m. Saturday at Santa Anita Park, 285 W. Huntington Drive, Arcadia. Tickets are $150. Call (626) 844-3033, ext. 211, or visit rosemarychildren.org
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