[Charity Event] Dixonlicious a delicious fundraiser for Dixon Hall

Event:  #Dixonlicious Fundraiser for Dixon Hall
When: Wednesday, March 29, 2017  
Where: Daniels Spectrum at 585 Dundas Street East
What: An evening of delicious food and beverage, musical entertainment, and a live and silent auction
Website:  www.dixonhall.org 
Why: Proceeds support vital programs that provide food for people in need

For over 85 years Dixon Hall agency has served many people with support to many community organizations.  With proceeds from fundraising events like #DIXONLICIOUS they are able to feed homeless individuals and isolated seniors and also provide help to in need youth.  They provide funds for Out of the Cold programs, HIV/AIDS, Summer camps and more.  They provided 66,000 meals to people in need last year. There is a growing need in this city as housing costs sky rocket and the gap between the rich and poor widens.  Dixon Hall is there to lend a hand so it's very important for them to raise as much money as they can for their programs.

I was very fortunate to attend their Dixonlicious 2017 event with some of my fellow Food Blogger friends.  One of my friends has been to this event before but it was new for the rest of us and we are all eager to spread the word about the great things they do and the great event that brought together very generous people who wanted to help make it a successful event.  Daniels Spectrum is a great venue and super easy to get to and reasonable parking underground too.

Photo by BKONTHESCENE (Mary, me, Natalie, Shuang)

It's always great to attend well organized events that happen to raise money to do good things.  That's a WIN WIN for everyone.

There was live entertainment and a silent auction and a great bunch of Food Vendors and Wine and Beer vendors spread around the room.   No bunching up in a crowd trying to get food.  It was well laid out for mixing and mingling and sampling food and drink.

One of the notable dishes we all went crazy over was the Chili spring roll stuffed with cheesy goodness from Daniel et Daniel.  

I was so full but they went back for seconds.

Hooked

We all really love it when the Hooked women are at all of these great Charity events because they bring delicious Oysters that are addictive.

And for the second day in a row we see our new Chef Friend Ricky Casipe from Hawthorne Food & Drink.  Ricky is a guy you want to follow because not only does he make great food but he trains future food industry workers in his Restaurant and does a lot of catering at a lot of local charity events and festivals.

There was also Longos who provided Cannoli, and George Brown College who made a couple of different dishes.  The Food Dudes made Macaroni and Cheese.

I don't know how much money they raised at the event but I hope it was a lot and I hope it brought some attention to help them receive more donations in the future.

If you can support them they have some great new ways to team up with your partner and be part of the Board of Directors with a say in what they do.

Please donate, volunteer or do whatever you can to help them out.  Every little bit helps.  I hope my little scribbles on this post inspire you to step up and do a bit of good for people that need a hand.

Facebook www.facebook.com/DixonHall1929/
Twitter https://www.twitter.com/dixon_hall
Website: https://www.dixonhall.org
Instagram:  www.instagram.com/dixonhall_toronto

*Disclaimer:  The ticket was complimentary but all of the opinions on this post are my own.

#Dixonlicious 2017 for Dixon Hall

DIXONLICIOUS 2017

A Culinary Celebration in support of Vital Food Programs

When: Wednesday, March 29, 2017 from 6 PM – 9 PM
Where: Daniels Spectrum at 585 Dundas Street East
What: An evening of delicious food and beverage pairings, musical entertainment, and a live and silent auction
How: Purchase Early Bird Tickets up until March 8th at special prices -- $90 per ticket, $60 for youth (under 30). Tickets include food, drinks, entertainment, and a charitable tax receipt. Purchase online via www.dixonhall.org or by phone at 416.863.0499 x 2066.
Why: Proceeds support vital programs that provide food for people in need

Join Dixonlicious 2017 and experience a delicious food event featuring chefs and restaurants from around our neighbourhood.

Guests will sample mouth-watering cuisine from an array of diverse and creative food stations set up around Daniels Spectrum.

Food offerings are paired alongside a selection of fine wines and refreshing craft beers carefully chosen to compliment each scrumptious bite.

All proceeds support our food programs including Meals on Wheels, Summer Camp, Homeless Shelter Programs, Out of the Cold, AIDS Programs and more.

Buy your tickets today and help provide nutritious meals to those in need!

Dixon Hall is excited to announce the return of Dixonlicious, a culinary event featuring some of Toronto's best local restaurants, chefs, and caterers. Now in its third year, the event raises funds for Dixon Hall's vital food programs and supports vulnerable populations in the city's downtown east. Dixonlicious 2017 takes place on Wednesday, March 29th from 6 pm – 9 pm at Daniels Spectrum.

Dixon Hall's food programs provide over 200,000 nutritious meals each year, serving a diverse mix of vulnerable populations. All proceeds from Dixonlicious benefit these vital food programs including Meals on Wheels, homeless shelter programs, Out of the Cold, March Break and summer camps, seniors programs, and HIV/AIDs programs.

The number of people accessing Dixon Hall's meal programs continues to increase, and demand remains high, especially from homeless and vulnerably housed individuals. Dixon Hall's two emergency shelters, Heyworth House and Schoolhouse, remain at 99% capacity and have maintained this rate consistently for three years. The Out of the Cold program, focused on providing shelter during winter months, has seen an 11% increase in occupancy since 2016. The Out of the Cold program serves over 15,500 meals from November through January. As community members continue to face tough decisions daily, juggling financial responsibilities of paying rent vs. purchasing healthy groceries to feed their families, the need for food programs remains constant.

"Dixonlicious is community helping community. It's local culinary experts reaching out to their neighbour offering their talents in exchange for hope where there is food insecurity. Food has always been the way cultures unite as a community." said Dixon Hall CEO Neil Hetherington. "There are far too many people in our community who don't know where their next meal is coming from and now thanks to Dixonlicious we can answer that unknown."

Dixonlicious 2017 will feature delicious bites by Food Dudes, Hooked, Longos, and social enterprise restaurants Show Love Café and Hawthorne Food & Drink. Guests will also experience live entertainment, and get to bid on a selection of silent and live auction prizes including gift baskets, restaurant gift cards, theatre tickets, and home accessories.

Last year, proceeds from Dixonlicious helped bring more than 20,000 healthy meals to people in need – homeless men and women, frail and isolated seniors, Regent Park youth, and many more. This year's goal is to raise $75,000 and increase the amount of meals served to 25,000.

About Dixon Hall

Dixon Hall is a multi-service agency located in the heart of east downtown Toronto.

For more than 85 years, Dixon Hall has offered a variety of supportive programs and services to seniors, at-risk youth, homeless men and women, the unemployed, and other vulnerable populations in Regent Park, Moss Park, Cabbagetown, St. James Town and surrounding neighbourhoods.

SOURCE Dixon Hall  

What's on the Table - The Stop knows

I went to an amazing event this week at the Daniels Spectrum On Dundas Street East in Toronto. It was the fundraising Gala WHAT"S ON THE TABLE an event that raises money for the Stop's Community Food Programs. I have been to a couple of the Stop's events and they are really great but the best part is that people have a great time and they raise a lot of money for people dealing with poverty and food insecurity and other local issues that their programs help with.  With the help of some great donations for silent and live auction and raffle prize The Stop was able to raise over $328,000 at this event.  This will literally serve a lot of people in community.  With over 30 food and wine stations providing some really tasty bites and sips prepared by some of the Top Chefs in Toronto it was a fantastic way to almost restaurant hop and try a bit at one restaurant and then to the next one.  A lot of the Chefs in Toronto are really supportive of each other and are great friends so they donate their time and food and get to see the people in the industry that are always working when they are.  It's pretty much a win win for everyone which is what makes it a great event.  The space at the Daniels Spectrum was beautifully decorated with big white hanging lit round balloon lights which added a lot of whimsy to the room

There was a lot of food and I ran out of room by the time it came to dessert so I only tried a truffle and a mocha choux pastry from Nadege but I wanted to try almost everything.  My friend Mary was able to try just about everything but I think I got about 3/4 of the way through the savoury dishes.  My favourites included Richmond Station's thanksgiving on a cracker and DaiLo's Big Mac Bao a really interesting Bao bun.  I also really liked the Oyster station from Hooked and Mildred's Temple Kitchen's Beet Lox. Aria's veal ragu gnocchi were light and great simple classic Italian.

PARTICIPATING RESTAURANTS DISHES:

• Aria/Noce - Homemade gnocchi 2 ways
• Beast - Rainbow trout and sunchokes
• Baretta - Caramelized onion and pulled beef stuffed sesame bun
• Cafe Belong - Buttermilk biscuits with scrambled eggs and micro greens
• Citizen Catering - Roasted duck, pumpkin pie, black walnuts and maple whisky
• Creemore Kitchen - Blue potato ice cream with beet caramel, pumpkin seed praline
• DaiLo - Big Mac Bao
• Frangiapane - Assorted patries
• George - Lemon thyme donuts
• The Good Son - Smoked sweetbreads, pistachio crust, parsnip puree
• Hooked - Selection of Oysters
• Luma - Octopus with pumpkin and pepitas
• Mamakas - Greek stew with beef cheeks, parsley root
• Mildred's Temple Kitchen - Beet lox on a pretzel crisp
• Monforte Dairy - Assorted cheeses
• Nadege - Assorted pastries
• Pluck Teas & The Rolling Pin - Chai hot chocolate, teas, brownies, donuts and tarts
• Providore Catering - Smoked duck, barley miso, kumquat marmelade
• Richmond Station - Turkey mortadella, stuffing cracker, cranberry chutney, celery salad
• Salt - Salt cod croquettes
• Skin + Bones - Cavatelli with lamb neck ragu
• Soma - Hazelnut hot chocolate and 2 types of truffles
• The Stop Community Food Centre - Sweet and sour trout
• The Tempered Room - Choux a la creme
• Tundra - Wild boar pastrami, ramp kimchi on a milk bun

WINES:

• Cave Spring
• Chateau des Charmes
• Coyote's Run
• Flat Rock Cellars
• Frogpond Farm
• Stratus

BEER:

• Steam Whistle

Luma, Beast, Richmond Station, The Good Son, Cafe Belong, Mamakas, The Citizen, DaiLo

There were so many desserts I wanted to try but just didn't have enough room in my stomach but here's a snapshot of all of the assortment of goodies that were there to sample.

It's not too late if you want to donate or give them some of your time.  

To contact them check their website for further information.  http://thestop.org/

*Disclaimer:  I was invited to attend this event but the opinions in this post are my own