Enjoy secrets, tastes of great cooking at Renz Center benefit
Community residents are invited to sharpen their culinary palate at Renz Addiction Counseling Center's third annual Epicurean Delight fundraiser from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 25, at Elgin Community College Culinary Arts & Hospitality Institute's Spartan Terrace Restaurant.
Attendees who have a passion for food will have the opportunity to learn cooking secrets, taste savory and sweet foods, enjoy complimentary wine tastings and take home recipes from the evening's affair.
And new this year, sommelier Don Clemens will give pairing advice and guide guests through the labyrinth of wine selections, and sculptor Kevin Molidor will create unique pieces of art using fruit.
Guests will have an opportunity to watch chef Tom Johnston and top ECC culinary art students cook alongside such local business celebrity chefs as David Bear, McDonald's Restaurants of Elgin; Mary Hyatt, Kane County Court Services; Deborah Pankey, Daily Herald Food Editor; and Jeff Risch, SmithAmundsen, as they prepare hors d'oeuvres and desserts.
Throughout the evening, culinary-themed baskets filled with gourmet food, cookbooks, and utensils will be raffled off, in addition to a Sony Dash Personal Internet Viewer, Blue Man Group tickets, a $500 Diamond Mart gift certificate, and more. As the evening concludes, Chef Johnston will take center stage with a special dessert.
Tickets are $70 per person, and are available by calling (847) 742-3545, ext. 236, via e-mail at dhowe@RenzCenter.org.
Top event sponsors include First Community Bank, Tighe, Kress & Orr, EFS Foundation, IHC Construction Companies, Susan Angell-Case of Baird & Warner, and IHC Construction Companies LLC. Renz Center is seeking additional sponsors who wish to make monetary or raffle basket donations and gain recognition for each donation.
Renz Addiction Counseling Center provides a variety of prevention, early intervention and treatment programs for alcohol, drug and gambling addictions and related disorders. It serves residents of central/northern Kane and western Cook Counties with offices in St. Charles, Streamwood and Elgin.
A nonprofit, charitable organization, Renz Center is funded by the federal government, Illinois Department of Human Services Division of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse, United Way, and the local 708 boards of Hanover Township, St. Charles and Schaumburg. Visit renzcenter.org.