The Trotter Project Fundraiser

The Culinary Vegetable Institute at The Chef’s Garden will host a one-of-a-kind multi-course dinner on Saturday, November 18th, 2017 featuring alumni of legendary Chef Charlie Trotter’s eponymous restaurant. This world-class dinner and auction will benefit The Trotter Project, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that seeks to unite budding young talent interested in the culinary arts through the Pillars of Excellence Mentorship. This program is designed to educate, engage, and inspire dedication and passion in the next generation of talent, propel careers, and build community through the charity’s scholarships, paid internships, and educational programs.

CVI Chef Liaison Jamie Simpson will join the Trotter Alumni who will be our guest chefs for this evening, including: Christopher Laramie, Veronica Laramie, David LeFevre, Matthias Merges, Giuseppe Tentori, and Debbie Gold.

About the Trotter Project:

Charlie Trotter strove for excellence in every aspect of life. Every day at his restaurant, Chef Trotter demanded excellence in cuisine, ambiance and hospitality. When he mentored youth, he inspired the utmost excellence in their dedication and passion. When he cared for others, he showed it through excellence in his willing service.

The Pillars of Excellence program passes down Chef Trotter’s philosophy and standards to teach, nurture and motivate youth to achieve excellence not only in their careers, but in life. It is designed for students seeking a career in the culinary arts, as well as for anyone committed to learning who desires excellence in every pursuit. Programs are taught by Charlie Trotter alumni and culinary supporters, mentors who work in conjunction with educators from schools and culinary courses. Each program is based on four main pillars: Food, Wine/beverage, Service/hospitality, and Ambiance. For an aspiring chef or hospitality expert, nothing could be more inspirational or helpful than learning from industry greats. The Trotter Project’s programs allow protégés to work alongside professional mentors and develop the best technique and an unstoppable drive. Not only do these memorable, special opportunities allow mentees to see their potential, chart new careers, and expand their possibilities, but these programs introduce mentees to supportive professionals who can help guide their futures.

The Trotter Project mentors are industry leaders who have been personally taught or influenced by Charlie Trotter. They recognized his impact in their lives and want to keep alive Chef Trotter’s mission to uphold the standards of supreme service, nurture raw passion and new talent, and live a life of giving.

Your participation in this evening at CVI will help to fund programs that perpetuate the vision and perpetuate the legacy of teaching and learning.

The Ment’or BKB Foundation is a nonprofit that aims to educate and inspire excellence in young culinary professionals and also preserve the traditions and quality of cuisine in America. Ment’or is led by founders Chefs Daniel Boulud, Thomas Keller and Jérôme Bocuse, as well as an esteemed Culinary Council of over forty renowned chefs. Educational grants and internships are offered to culinary professionals through the Continuing Education Program. The Young Chef and Commis Competition series offer yet another opportunity for them to further their careers. Ment’or has awarded almost $1.4 million in grants since 2014 to young chefs all across the US. Ment’or is also responsible for recruiting, training, and financially supporting the promising young American talents who represent Team USA in the prestigious biennial Bocuse d’Or competition, held in Lyon, France. For the first time in history, Team USA 2017 won the coveted Gold Medal at the Bocuse d’Or. Visit: www.mentorbkb.org.

The Chef's Garden

The Chef’s Garden has been delivering specialty products with optimum shelf life, quality, flavor and nutrition direct from the farm to the world's most discriminating chefs for nearly 30 years. Under the guidance of Bob Jones, Sr., Lee Jones, and Bob Jones, Jr., The Chef's Garden employs traditional farming methods combined with innovative technology to stay on the leading edge of the produce business.

Even though the farm was built on a foundation of traditional farming methods that have served our grandfathers well for decades, we are also focused on perpetually innovating and developing new products that help us remain the leading grower of artisanal produce in the nation and serves to foster a deep and abiding relationship of respect and collaboration with chefs that we have worked with throughout the world.

Our pioneering food safety programs include diligent testing for foodborne illnesses that begins with the seed and continues right up to the time our fresh vegetables, microgreens, herbs, edible flowers and more are packaged and shipped to our customers, as well as a bar-code system that tracks each and every product from seed to shipment. Our efforts ensure our customers that they are serving their guests food that is safe, healthy, and packed with flavor.

Everything that we do on the farm is integrally linked to the conversations we have been honored to enjoy with chefs for over thirty years. Our success is born from the like-minded work and sustainable farming philosophies that we share with our customers and is derived from a steadfast will to not only survive, but thrive, in agriculture. This abiding commitment to deliver the highest quality, most nutritionally dense and flavorful fresh vegetables, microgreens, herbs, edible flowers and more direct from Earth to Table® and our willingness to listen carefully to a chef’s needs is what motivates and enriches our work and inspires us each and every day.

Event begins at 6:30 pm. Auction will end after Dinner service, approximately 9 pm EST.
Online auction participants who cannot attend the live event have the option of entering Proxy Bids.
Final bids will be entered after dinner service.

The Culinary Vegetable Institute at The Chef’s Garden will host a one-of-a-kind multi-course dinner on Saturday, November 18th, 2017 featuring alumni of legendary Chef Charlie Trotter’s eponymous restaurant. This world-class dinner and auction will benefit The Trotter Project, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that seeks to unite budding young talent interested in the culinary arts through the Pillars of Excellence Mentorship. This program is designed to educate, engage, and inspire dedication and passion in the next generation of talent, propel careers, and build community through the charity’s scholarships, paid internships, and educational programs.