A Cena’s Chef Gabe Grabeski and his sous chef
Eight fabulous chefs from the Portland area cooked a signature dish and auctioned unique packages off on Tuesday evening, November 13th, at Marriott Portland Downtown Waterfront, all in the name of babies. With their help, the 23rd annual March of Dimes Signature Chefs Auction raised $143,000 dollars to support the mission of March of Dimes.
The chefs included local favorites like Gabe Gabreski of A Cena Ristorante, Marissa Burback of Porto Terra Tuscan Grill & Bar, Aaron Bedard of The Stephanie Inn, Alex Parsons of El Gaucho, Greg Samples of Portland Prime, Andy Arndt of Marriott Portland Downtown Waterfront, Kenny Morgan of Sysco and Kevin Graham of Embassy Suites Portland Downtown.
The top selling packages were a 2-night stay at Admiral’s Beach Retreat in Lincoln City and a Seafood Extravaganza for 10 by Sysco’s Chef Kenny Morgan. All proceeds from the Signature Chefs Auction benefit March of Dimes to support lifesaving research and programs that offer hope for prevention of infant health threats of premature birth and birth defects.
March of Dimes Ambassadors Josh and Courtney Kliever shared their life-changing story about the premature birth of their son, Liam; helping to raise $39,500 during the Fund the Mission paddle raise. Tara Dublin, former local radio personality and permanent extra (as Detective Dublin) on GRIMM was a hit as emcee and guests also enjoyed the toe-tapping live music of Portland’s own Rhythm Dogs.
The 23rd annual Signature Chefs Auction was sponsored by: First Tech Federal Credit Union and Umpqua Bank.
See some photos from the event here.
