Fortune – One hundred people will sit down to a fundraiser for tsunami relief in Fortune this weekend at a gourmet dinner with Chef Michael Smith and friends.
The dinner, entitled Hands Across the Water, will be followed by a dance with entertainment by Mark Haines.
The event is being organized by a small group of friends who live in Fortune and carry on the community’s reputation for creativity and fun.
The event will include one of Smith’s signature dinners, as well as an oyster bar, a silent auction and plenty of fun. Smith is the former chef at the Inn at Bay Fortune and the current host of several television programs on the Food Network: Chef at Large, Chef at Home and the Inn Chef.
The fundraiser took on a life of its own two weeks ago when a group of friends (including Smith and Haines), who all live in Fortune, decided to do their bit to help tsunami victims.
Within days, donations were pouring in.
The local Co-op and IGA stores stepped up while Russell Dockendorff, owner of P.E.I. Mussel Farms, came up with 150 pounds of mussels without hesitation, as did North Lake Co-op when it came to scallops and local fisherman Johnny Flynn for oysters.
Even the Delta Prince Edward hotel’s new head chef, Chris Moreland, and service manager Robert Jorden flung open their cupboards and loaned dishes, silver, glasses and linens for more than 100 people.
“We’ve had an absolute riot putting this together,” said Kathy Lambie, who is part of the Fortune group.
With her are fellow organizers Gordie Lambie, Phil Ferraro, Maureen Campbell-Ross, Mike Smith, Racheal Leslie-Smith, Mark and Maggie Haines, Lynn and Peter Townshend, Alexander Hanley, Loretta Campbell and Nancy Willis.
“It’s incredible the number of people who are so willing to help, from the folks right here in the district buying tickets, to those donating everything we need, including labour,” said Lambie.
The event took an interesting twist over the weekend when the storm kept Smith from being in New York to shoot the last of this season’s Chef at Large series.
So instead of rescheduling the New York taping, Smith and his producers decided to make Hands Across the Water the final show.
The Hands Across the Water dinner and dance will take place at the Fortune Community Centre on Saturday, Jan. 29, with a storm date of Sunday, Jan. 30.
Tickets can be purchased for $50 apiece from any of the organizing committee by calling 687-2040 in Fortune or 368-2005 in Charlottetown.
