FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Additional Chefs and Other Participants to Join the Fun at 2009 Cookin’ for Kids Benefit
FORT WORTH, TX - February 17, 2009 - Kids Who Care, a non-profit international musical theatre company based in Fort Worth, announces additional chefs and other participants who will join the fun at the upcoming Twelfth Annual Cookin’ for Kids, Fort Worth’s original celebrity chef cook-off benefit.
Cookin’ for Kids, held on Sunday, March 1 at 5 p.m., is the single largest fundraising event for Kids Who Care each year. During the evening, Celebrity Chefs and Notable Texans team up to support Kids Who Care in a race against the clock. Each team is provided the same cooler full of ingredients, two bunsen burners and 45 minutes to create two plates. One plate is delivered to the judges, and the other is auctioned off to the evening’s highest bidder. This year, a group of Amateur Chefs will compete in their own category. The team of judges will be led by Chef Jon Bonnell of Bonnell’s Fine Texas Cuisine.
Celebrity Chefs competing in the 2009 Cookin’ for Kids Cook-Off are:
• Frederic Angevin - Four Seasons
• Deb Cantrell - Cuisine for Healing and Savor Personal Chef Services (Austin)
• Terry Chandler - Outlaw Chef, Fred’s Texas
• Anthony Felli - Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse
• Mario Jasso - El Paseo and Tres Joses
• Lou Lambert - Lambert’s
• Gabe Ochoa - Ridglea Country Club
• Juan Rodriguez - Reata
• Denise Shavandy - Central Market Southlake
• Charles Youts - The Classic Café
Notable Texans who will assist and cook with the professional chefs include:
• Jim Austin - Austin Company
• Mike Crow - Morning DJ, 92.1 Country Legends
• Sal Espino - City Councilman District 2
• Eric Fox - Candidate for City Council
• Greg Kallina - Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse
• Melissa Lehman - Four Seasons
• Mark Lowry - Theatre Jones
• Mike O’Toole - 2008 Winner of “You be the Notable Texan” auction item
• Joan Trew - Williams Trew Realtors
• Jody Ullich - Arts Council of Fort Worth and Tarrant County
Amateur Chefs participating in the 2009 Cookin’ for Kids Cook-Off include:
• Judy Burgess - Freese & Nichols
• Mitch Conditt - Mitch Conditt, DDS
• Jim Ogden - Kids Who Care “Resident Chef”
• Joseph Vincelli - Jazz Saxphonist
“We are thrilled that Cookin’ for Kids has been such a success that we had to expand to a larger venue this year,” said Karen Vermaire Fox, chairperson for the Twelfth Annual Cookin’ for Kids benefit. “Kids Who Care has been producing confident kids and community leaders for more than 20 years, and Cookin’ for Kids is our single largest fund raiser each year.”
The evening will feature live entertainment by the Kids Who Care Resident Company and silent, big board and live auctions. Auction items include the Celebrity Chef Cook-Off plates, DJ for a Day from The Ranch Radio Group, accommodations at a vacation home in Mexico, accommodations at a guesthouse in Cape Cod and a Kids Who Care Resident Company event performance.
Restaurants, breweries and wineries participating as tasting stations at this year’s event include:
• Boomer Jacks
• Coors
• Cuisine for Healing
• El Paseo
• G Texas Custom Catering
• Gallery Art Café
• Grand Cru Wines and Gifts
• Hoffbrau Steakhouse
• Jack Daniel’s Distillery
• Lambert’s
• Latte Da Dairy
• Margarita Express
• Ovations
• Simply Fondue
• Smokey’s BBQ
• Sushi Tao
• The Ginger Man
• Z’s Café
Sponsors for the event include The Happy Davis Foundation (Presenting Sponsor), The Ranch Radio Group (VIP Party Sponsor), Ben E. Keith Foods (Chefs’ Food Sponsor), Freese & Nichols (Amateur Chef Sponsor), Craig Strehl - Chairman of the Arts Council (Amateur Chef Sponsor), Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Jack Daniels, Mellina & Larson and Reliant Signs.
Cookin’ for Kids benefits Fort Worth’s Kids Who Care, a non-profit musical theatre organization dedicated to producing creative, confident kids through leadership and musical theatre education and performance. Karen Vermaire Fox is chairperson for this year’s event, and Kris Davis Leitzman is the honorary chair.
All proceeds from Cookin’ for Kids benefit Kids Who Care and help provide scholarships, youth leadership training and other support that makes Kids Who Care arts education and performances available to children in the community.
The Twelfth Annual Cookin’ for Kids benefit event will take place on Sunday, March 1, 2009 at River Ranch, located in the Fort Worth Stockyards at 500 N.E. 23rd Street. The VIP party begins at 4:00 p.m., and doors open for the main event at 5:00 p.m. Amatuer Chef sponsorships are available for $2,500. VIP party guest tickets are $100, and main event-only guest tickets are $50. Reserved tables of 8 are $500 and up. All proceeds benefit Kids Who Care, a non-profit organization. For more information, please contact 817.737.5437 or jannice@kidswhocare.org.
About Kids Who Care
Celebrating its 20th anniversary, Kids Who Care is a non-profit international theatre company based in Fort Worth, Texas that seeks to produce confident, caring and creative kids through leadership development, musical theatre education and performance. Kids Who Care offers professional musical theatre classes, leadership training, summer musical theatre camps, international cultural exchanges, a touring Resident Company, public performances and more. The Kids Who Care Resident Company has performed Off-Broadway at the Lamb’s Theatre, at both Disney’s, at The Kennedy Center, at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, at 30,000 feet aboard an airplane for the Make-A-Wish Foundation and at many other locations across the U.S. and overseas. The core values of the organization include: excellence in artistic development, artistic integrity of kids, leadership roles for kids, financial and cultural diversity and ensemble production. For more information, please visit www.kidswhocare.org.
Contact:
Kelly Kirkendoll Shafer
Shafer Communications for Kids Who Care
817.236.6075
kelly@shafercommunications.com
