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Silent Auction, Celebrity Cookbook Sale & Food Festival
Emceed by Chef Daisy Martinez of Food Network
Hoskins Hall, Saugatuck Congregational Church, Westport, CT
On January 30, food world celebrities banded together to raise money for the United Nation's World Food Programme's Fund for Haiti under the direction of a Westport resident and with the sponsorship of Saugatuck Nursery School and Saugatuck Congregational Church.
In an atmosphere of Caribbean music and food, Food Network's Daisy Martinez emceed and auctioned off dinner for four with her at famed Puerto Rican dining establishment Don Coqui in New Rochelle, N.Y. She also personalized two copies of her latest cookbook for winning bidders.
More than 50 cookbook authors and food personalities generously donated items for sale and auction. Please click here to see a full list of donated books.
Also up for bid were a dinner for four prepared in home by Iron Chef sous chef Lorilynn Bauer; champagne garden tour for four by Westporter Mar Jennings, host of TV's Life on Mar's; spa and makeup certificates, handmade jewelry; signed copies of Julie & Julia from Julie Powell, food writer and cookbook author Molly O'Neill's New York Cookbook and Mostly True, signed copy of Fish Without a Doubt by Rick Moonen of Top Chef Masters; cookbook signed by its illustrator, The New Yorker cartoonist Ed Koren. Please see the Auction page to see the winners and items available for purchase!
The United Haitian-American Society had an informational table and provided helpers for the event. The school provided children's activities. And there was musical performances by popular local musicians JP Ruggieri and Lisa Heile. Attendees also picked up some tasty treats at the onsite bake sale, shopped for children's books (from Scholastic Press) and picked up t-shirts, all to benefit Haiti.
The event was the brain child of Westport resident, food writer, cookbook author and chef Ramin Ganeshram, Saugatuck Nursery School and Saugatuck Congregational Church. Ramin, who is of Trinidadian and Iranian descent, took a special interest in organizing this effort because of her Caribbean heritage. She was extremely gratified by the outpouring of support from her fellow food writers and chefs, and particularly the Saugatuck Nursery School's generous willingness to help this cause. It was the hard work of school director Ellen DeHuff and the Saugatuck Nursery School parents that remarkably brought the event together in little time, and when the need was greatest. 100% of the proceeds went to the United Nations World Food Programme Fund for Haiti.
View this event's Volunteer Page to see not only how many people gave of their time and energy, but how few people it takes to truly make a difference in a day!
Saugatuck Nursery School, Co-Sponsor
 Saugatuck Nursery School is a non-profit, interfaith, multicultural school licensed under the State Department of Public Health. For the past 41 years, the school has provided an opportunity for children of different backgrounds to play and learn together. Changing family needs have prompted expanded programming and a scholarship fund. Diversity is welcomed in race, religion, cultural background and economic situations. Saugatuck Nursery School prides itself on its mission of providing a program that is nurturing and committed to having each child feel successful in all of their endeavors. The school is located at 245 Post Road East in Westport. For information, call Ellen De Huff, Executive Director, at 203-226-9192 or visit saugatucknurseryschool.org
The Saugatuck Congregational Church, Co-Sponsor
 For generations, on both sides of Post Road, The Saugatuck Congregational Church has provided not only a place of meeting for the Christian worship of God and for instructions in faith, but also for an exchange of ideas and the challenges of society. Originally the site of Westport's first town meeting, the church continues to hold its doors open to the needs of many people. Currently, there are more than 50 different 12-Step Groups meeting daily in various facilities, and the church is host to a Scout Troop, a nursery school and various other community groups. The congregation is dedicated to the goal of providing a safe, functional, comfortable and appealing house of worship and rooms and facilities that will enhance the work of all who seek and have need of this premise. The church is located at 245 Post Road East in Westport. For information visit saugatuckchurch.org
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