The Naples Woman’s Club created Culinary Adventure last year as a way to support restaurants and chefs as well as those facing hunger due to the pandemic. The event was so successful that it is being expanded to include 20 restaurants that offer these special small luncheon experiences on three dates: January 26, February 23, and March 23, 2022. Tickets are $150 or $250 for patrons, with the net proceeds benefitting the Naples Woman’s Clubs philanthropic programs to help these social agencies.
Talented chefs at Naples restaurants will be preparing very special luncheon menus and presentations for groups of 16-20 guests and the net proceeds of the ticket will benefit three key agencies that address the issues of food insecurity and homelessness: Meals of Hope, The Hunger and Homeless Coalition and Legal Aid Services of Collier County.
Steve Popper, President of Meals of Hope, has built an organization that provides food to the growing number of people in our area who are compromised. Meals of Hope has several distribution locations and provides groceries and prepared foods to hundreds of families each week. The Hunger and Homeless Coalition of Collier County has a team of individuals who seek out those who are living in their cars or in tentative shelters and helps bring those desperate individuals to more secure surroundings with counseling on how to connect with the aid they deserve. Legal Aid Services, says director Carol O’Callaghan, is helping clients navigate the tragedy of eviction, and the agency expects the number to grow in the upcoming months as the cost of housing in the Naples area continues to grow.
Chef Vincenzo Betulia and restauranteur Tony Ridgway were among the first to sign on to support the Culinary Adventure program. Chefs go out of their way to provide a unique adventure for the guests, knowing that their creative energies are also helping the community. “We are always ready to help the Naples Woman’s Club and the community, and we are glad to show off our culinary talents as part of the process,” says Betulia. One aspect of the “adventure” is that guests find out which restaurants they will go to a week before the event, and in many cases, they will be meeting a chef at a restaurant they have never attended before.
For information about the event, participating restaurants and ticketing, go to CulinaryAdventureNaples.org.