Last week we had the honor of participating in the annual Corks & Forks fundraiser hosted by the Meeting Professionals International Northern California Chapter to benefit The Food Education Project. We’d call the evening a stellar success; our CEO and co-founder Laura Lyons discussed green business practices during an engaging educational workshop, and the pairing plate we served earned our team first place in the tasting competition!
The event was hosted at Bespoke in Westfield San Francisco Centre.
The event, a combined networking and educational opportunity, was hosted in the Bespoke event space above the Westfield San Francisco Centre. MPI members congregated early for an educational workshop focused on sustainability in the hospitality industry. Komal Ahmad, CEO of Copia, spoke to the company’s mission of eliminating food waste. We love working with Copia and hope to see more meetings professionals adopt their program. Chris Benziger of Benziger Family Winery shared the biodynamic farming processes employed by the brand. During her own session, Laura discussed the environmentally conscious practices that have cemented Global Gourmet as an industry leader in green catering and events, from using compostable tableware to purchasing carbon offsets for our clients.
CEO Laura Lyons leading an educational session on green business practices.
For the evening portion of the event eleven Bay Area catering teams were paired with top Northern California wineries and tasked with creating a small plate to pair with one of the winery’s chosen vintages. Each guest was given a wine cork at the beginning of the event, and after sampling each pairing they voted by dropping the cork at their favorite station. We paired with Chimney Rock Winery and served a Braised Beef Shank Crépinette with Anson Mills Polenta, Maitake Mushrooms, Red Wine Demi Glace and freshly shaved Black Truffle alongside their 2013 Elevage blend. Once all the corks were counted at the end of the night, the Global Gourmet team was declared the first-place winner!
The winning dish: a delicious Braised Beef Shank Crépinette with freshly shaved Black Truffle.
The Corks & Forks event provided an exciting combination of valuable education, friendly networking and a variety of absolutely excellent food and wine. Taking an award home made it even better, but we’re always happy to be included in events that benefit great causes like The Food Education Project and gather our industry friends through organizations like MPINCC. We’re so proud of our team, and thoroughly impressed by all the other vendors that collaborated on this fantastic event.
From left to right: Dontaye Ball, Tasting Chef; Aaron Zimmer, Executive Chef; Teddy Legasse, Equipment Manager; Ursila Martinez, Executive Event Sous Chef; Jacob Zimmer, On-Site Chef; Scott Fairbanks, Creative Director; Michelle Kohm, Chef de Cuisine; Mia Parker, On-Site Chef; Laura Lyons, CEO.
Photo credit: Orange Photography
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