Eat*Drink*Cleveland: Russell King Jr.

Cleveland Chefs for Chardon

I am originally from Portage County and have always loved visiting our neighbor to the north Chardon. Their downtown area and gazebo, the Geauga County Maple Festival, and Rosepoint Cottage Tea Room keep me coming back time and again. I have many friends and coworkers from the area as well.

On the morning of Monday, Feb. 27,2012, my heart sank as I heard the horrible news about a school shooting at the high school. The whole region, and eventually the country, would share the horror as it unfolded. But I had a very personal connection. My thoughts immediately went to my friend Patty's son Matthew who is a senior at the school and my friend Stacey's daughter Lexi. My hands shook as I tried to find out if they were ok. With great relief, I found out that both of my friends' children were safe and they would be able to hug them later that day.

Unfortunately, not every story ended up with a happy ending. The whole nation grieves with Chardon as they come together to mourn and bury the too young victims of a senseless rampage:

Demetrius Hewlin

Daniel Parmertor

Russell King Jr.

Local chefs have joined together to show their support and help raise money for the these and all of the victims of this tragedy.

Dinner in the Dark is a monthly event that has six local chefs creating a unique meal that is not revealed until you arrive. Each month the hosting chef picks a charity and all proceeds are donated. This month Dinner in the Dark announced that all proceeds will benefit Chardon. Tickets for the March 19th event at Amp 150 at the Marriott by the airport can be purchased here. Instead of a sit down meal prepared by six chefs, they have switched the format to tasting tables and more chefs are involved. While the chefs are not normally revealed until the event either, this month they are offering a sneak peak:

ROCCO WHALEN - FAHRENHEIT

CHRIS HODGSON - HODGES

MIKE NOWAK - MARKET GARDEN BREWERY

GREENHOUSE TAVERN/NOODLECAT

CORY HESS - LINCOLN PARK BISTRO

ANNA HAROUVIS - GOOD TO GO

KY WAI WONG - TRI-C

LAUREN STEPHENSON - CROP BISTRO

JIM BLEVINS

JEFF JARRETT - AMP 150

BRIAN OKIN - FOUNTAIN

ADAM BOSTWICK - HODGES

KIMBERLY MCCUNE - HONEYBEE

ERIC WELLS - SKYE LARAE'S

WENDY THOMPSON - COOKIE AND A CUPCAKE

Because of the tremendous response and number of chefs who want to participate, Cleveland Chefs for Chardon was created to compliment the Dinner in the Dark. This event will also be held on Monday March 19th but the location is at Flour in Moreland Hills. Tickets are $75 each and be purchased here. There will be a silent auction for a dinner for 10 prepared by Iron Chef Michael Symon as well.

You will be dining on food from some of the area's top chefs who have donated their time and talents for the evening. The featured chefs are:

Matthew Anderson-Umami

Dante Boccuzzi - Dante and Ginko

Brit-Marie Horrocks Culey - Coquette Patisserie

Brian Doyle - Sow Food Catering

Marlin Kaplan - Dragonfly

Douglas Katz - fire food and drink

Michael Longo - Harvest Kitchen and Lounge

Matt Mathlage - Light Bistro

Paul Minnillo and Matt Mytro - Flour

Fabio Salerno - Gusto! and Lago

Ricardo Sandoval - Fat Cats and Felice

Karen Small - Flying Fig

Wendy Thompson-A Cookie and a Cupcake

Michael Tolosa - Moxie, the Restaurant

Eric Williams - Momocho

Lauren Bozich, Marianne Carroll and Matt Myers - The White Flower Cake Shoppe

All of the proceeds from the event will be donated to the Chardon Healing Fund at PNC Bank that has been set up for the families affected as well as the entire community.

If you are unable to attend the event but still want to donate, you can text CHARDON to 85944 or visit the United Way Chardon Healing fund page for more information.

Remember Me, Christina Rossetti