Dinner with the Angels - A Gastronomique Affair

Last year, I had the great pleasure of attending Anglicare Victoria’s Gatronomique event - which is an absolutely fabulous evening raising money for the great work they do in looking after the futures of children, young people, families and adults. Anglicare Victoria is the largest foster care provider, and over 2014-15 placed 2091 babies, children and young people with foster carers. 

This year, the annual Gala Dinner has been newly renamed ‘Dinner with the Angels - A Gastronomique Affair’, but still has all our favourite things - great chefs, great food, great cause. 

Chefs and restaurants kindly donate their time and produce, to deliver a spectacular feed to the hundreds of people who attend the evening. Last year, I had the great pleasure of being seated at a table that Estelle Bistro, and therefore Scott Pickett, was serving and our meal was pure delight.

Delicate green tomato and mozzarella (I think) entrees, followed by great big share plates of pork and heirloom carrots makes the evening social and very much an evening of sharing. 

This year Scott Pickett is once again taking part, but other chefs you could also be enjoying the food of include:

Nicky Riemer from Union Dining

Dusty Treweek from Bottega

James Kummrow from Fatto

Matt Dempsey from Gladioli

Zac Cribbes from Lucy Liu

Stuart Munro from Merricote

Peter Roddy from Noir

Tim Goegan from Supernormal

Tony Twitchett from Taxi Kitchen

Stuart Bell from Ten Minutes by Tractor

Andy Harmer from The Point Albert Park

Graham Jeffries from Tulip

Rhys Blackley from Circa

Ed Navghare from Tonka

…amongst others! Talk about a star studded evening of cuisine! 

Between the food, touching stories from people who’ve benefited from Anglicare Victoria’s aid, great music and entertainment (Caryn and I burnt up the dance floor!) and amusing auctions, you’re in for a great night. I definitely can’t wait to attend again this year. 

Date: Wednesday 7 September 2016 - 6:30pm - 11:45pm

Venue: Peninsula, Central Pier, 161 Harbour Esplanade, Docklands, Melbourne

Tickets: $300 per person (includes a $150.00 donation for which a tax receipt will be issued)

www.dinnerwiththeangels.org.au

(03) 9412 6133

Sacred Heart - Dining with Heart

Disclosure: I was invited as a guest to the Dine with Heart preview

The Sacred Heart Mission dining hall. 

With all the tables cleared away, and the ginormous commercial kitchen with sparkling stainless steel filled with some of Melbourne’s top chefs…it certainly isn’t your usual dinner venue. 

But for some people, this is their regular dining room through the day. The Sacred Heart Mission’s meals program serves 400 free and nutritious meals a day to people who are homeless or disadvantaged. 

Throughout the month of May, restaurants and cafes around the City of Port Phillip will partake in ‘Dine with Heart’, which will run throughout the whole month and either have a signature dish which will have the proceeds from that dish go towards helping fund the Mission’s meals program, or diners will be encouraged to add $4 to their bill…which is the cost for one meal at the Mission. 

Certainly puts your meal in perspective after that doesn’t it? 

As part of ‘Dine with Heart’ month, for the second year running, ten of Melbourne’s top chefs will work together for the Dine with Heart dinner for 200 people, held on the stage of St Kilda’s Palais Theatre on Tuesday the 26th of May. 

And on this particular evening, we were very fortunate to be getting just a taste of what the chef’s might offer on the night. 

From refreshing smoked salmon on a potato blini with creme fraiche and salmon roe from Tony Collis (The European) to Adam Draper’s (Donovans) simply moreish toasted (and crunchy) sourdough with olive tapenade with home-cured bresaola, even though we were just getting little mouthfuls, the chefs were not shy in flexing some flavour. 

I was thrilled to see Jesse Gerner’s (Bomba) sumptuous ox cheek croquettes floating around the room, quickly grabbing two…or maybe three. And Chris Watson’s (Luxembourg) foie gras pate en croute, with a couple of raisins was a very lush little nibble. 

Daniel Wilson (Huxtable), Derek Boath (Bay Leaf Catering), Philippa Sibley, Sean Judd (St Hotel) and Themi Milikouros (Phamish), will also be taking part in the dinner on the 26th and really, for $220 per person (tables of 10), you can’t get a better price for that much talent all in one meal!

I think it’s great this year that Dine with Heart has expanded from just one meal, to a whole month, so that no matter what your budget is, you can be involved and help giving back, even if it’s just a little. Although I’m not often in St Kilda, I’ll certainly be making the effort to hit the beach suburb a little more often (even if it’s getting a little chilly!)

If you’d like to find out which restaurants are involved with Dine with Heart, visit Sacred Heart’s website, or if you’d like to book for the amazing Dine with Heart dinner, call or email Peter Mercer at 1800 443 278 or pmercer@sacredheartmission.org…there won’t be many places for long!

Sacred Heart Dine with Hearthttps://www.sacredheartmission.org/support-us/events/fundraising-event-dinner

DineSmart - Dine Out, Help Out

So it's kind of crazy that Christmas is creeping around the corner, and I'm still trying to get through a blog backlog that stretches out to July. Yikes. 

Fortunately my family and friends aren't completely crazy about gifts and going overboard with that whole 'ho-ho-ho' thing, so my Christmas shopping expeditions are usually pretty laid back and for me, it's more a time to catch up with friends and spend some time with them, reflecting on the year, usually over some good food. What are you guys like during the silly season? Do you guys find you eat out more during this time of year?

From now until the end of the year is also when StreetSmart's DineSmart program kicks into gear, meaning you can enjoy a great meal out (like many of us will), but also give back to the community and help out those who may be doing it tougher through Christmas.

It's super simple, as part of the DineSmart program, partnering restaurants ask guests to simply add a small donation to their bill at the end of their meal, which can be as small as $2.

Not even the price of a  coffee.

What does your money go towards? A whole range of projects to support homeless refugees and charities, from helping to provide food and shelter, to critical services and emergency aid, to projects that promote social inclusion and sustainable change for people who are homeless. 

After all, we all ought to have someone warm to sleep, food to eat and some genuine social interaction don't we?

100% of the funds raised go towards homeless organisations. Last years efforts helped to fund 99 grassroots projects, and maybe this year, with everyone's help, we can enable StreetSmart to help so much more.

It's really so simple to be a part of, and it does make a difference. 

I know I'll definitely have my eye on the DineSmart website over the next month and booking dinner dates with friends at the partnering restaurants. With a variety of partners such as Longrain, Crabapple Kitchen, Bay City Burrito, Chin Chin and many more, you're bound to find a restaurant on the list that everyone you're heading out with will be happy to visit.

And it's not just in Melbourne, but also in New South Wales, South Australia and Queensland, so don't forget to share this great initiative with your inter-state friends as well!

I've always loved the idea of DineSmart (and the other initiatives that StreetSmart run through the year), but just been a bit disorganised and forget to pop it up on my blog! So now that I've done it (and I know you're reading it if you've gotten here), be sure to visit the DineSmart website to check out the restaurant partners, or see how else you can help out. 

DineSmart Website

Complete list of partner restaurants