Chef honors his 'brother' at mentoring fund-raiser
By Zenaida Serrano Espanol
Advertiser Staff Writer
 |
| 11th annual Gourmet Affair
6-10 p.m. March 27 Hilton Hawaiian Village Tapa Ballroom $200 per person Details: 521-3811, bigshonolulu.org |
"Bruce basically saved my life," said English, who now lives in Boston. "... I was sort of a young, confused lad, so he tried to help me straighten things out in my life."
English and Cross, now of Scottsdale, Ariz., became good friends — Cross was best man at English's wedding. They will meet again March 27 in Honolulu at the 11th annual Gourmet Affair: A Taste of Tuscany, a fund-raiser for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Honolulu.
The event commemorates the national organization's centennial and achievements in matching up adults as role models for children since 1904.
English and Cross will celebrate the values and effectiveness of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America and the lifelong friendship they have enjoyed through their involvement with the agency.
"There's a need to really help kids today that don't have guidance, and any sort of mentoring we can do ... is certainly, in the long run, going to help not only those kids and their families but society as well," English said.
The 43-year-old said he has come a long way from his troubled youth: He's the chef-owner of award-winning restaurants Olives, Figs and KingFish Hall. People magazine named English one of its 50 Most Beautiful People a couple of years back.
His guest-chef appearance at Gourmet Affair comes courtesy of Sam Choy, who has been involved with the fund-raiser since it began more than a decade ago. With Choy's help, previous Gourmet
Affairs have included the likes of Emeril Lagasse, Ming Tsai and Masaharu Morimoto.
"Todd and I are good friends," Choy said. "He's an exciting chef, his food's incredible, he's a talented chef and he's a nice guy."
English and Choy will prepare a Tuscan feast to include specially prepared pork tenderloin, tuna and salmon, among other dishes, available to event-goers at nearly a dozen food stations. Choy will be on hand to add Island flavors to the Mediterranean fare.
"That's always been my role," Choy said. "They come in and they do their magic ... and then what I do is I add the local ingredients to it."
Choy's menu includes a poke bruschetta and ono (fish) carpaccio.
In addition to the culinary offerings, the event features live and silent auctions, prize drawings and a sale of paintings by local artists Michael Powell and Hiroshi Tagami.
Great food and good times aside, organizers hope to raise enough money to serve hundreds of local children. Last year, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Honolulu served 632 children; officials hope to increase that to 700 this year.
"Part of our national movement right now is to expand our reach and serve more children, because there are so many out there who could benefit from having a mentor," said Dennis Brown, president and CEO of the Honolulu agency.
The national organization has set a goal of one million match relationships by 2010. Brown aims to contribute by serving 1,500 children locally by 2010.
"We do need the community's support to reach that goal and to be able to expand our programs," Brown said.
Reach Zenaida Serrano Espanol at zespanol@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-8174.
