A Thai flavored Food & Wine Festival hosted by Chef Stuart Skversky and his chef friends who will create dishes for the 4thannual Stu and the Kids Fundraiser on Sunday, July 30. Proceeds will fund scholarships for Hill Tribe kids in Chaing Mai, Thailand.
Participating chefs for this year’s event include Hosts Neal and Amy Fraser, Vibiana; Brooke Willamson and Nick Roberts, Playa Provisions; Walter Manzke, République; Eric Klein and Connor Shanahan, Wolfgang Puck Catering; Shirley Chung, Steamer’s Co. Raw Bar & Bowl of Hug; Gilberto Cetina, Chicken Itza; Matt Lee, Restaurant 917; Kris Yenbamroong, Night+Market; Jason Neroni from The Rose Café; Akasha Richmond, AKASHA and AR cucina; Sherry Yard, The Tuck Room; Warren and Rose Schwartz, Magpies Softserve; Jason Fullilove, Barbara Jean’s; Tetsu Yahagi,Spago Beverly Hills; Roxana Jullapat, Friends & Family; Gavin Mills, Miro; Joel Miller, The Wallace; Carlos Enriquez;Bakers Kneaded; Matt Dixon, Division 3; Gilberto Cetina, Chichen Itza; Food Network Celebrity Chef Jet Tila and special guest Rocco Whalen of Fahrenheit who will be flying in from Cleveland, Ohio with his team. Other chefs to be announced.
Other participating restaurants include 71 Above; Bar Alma; Chadaka Thai; and Jitlada (complete list of participating chefs and restaurants below).
Beverages will be plentiful, featuring the Stu and The Kids popular fresh Coconut Bar and Herb + Orchard water infusions. The Bodega Wine Bar will offer Santa Monica Brew Works beer and a great selection of beverages for a summer afternoon. Wines will be provided by Youngs Market, including sparkling wine and cider. Thanks to a generous donation from Tito’s Handmade Vodka, the festival will showcase a Thai-inspired cocktail mixed with Austin’s favorite spirit.
In 2009, Stuart Skversky, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America and a rising- star chef, made a dramatic life change by giving up a promising chef career in Los Angeles to move to Chiang Mai, becoming a full-time volunteer at the Wat Dan Chan (a local Buddhist temple), teaching local children English, cooking and baking. Recognizing a need to help prepare these high-risk Hill Tribe kids following their graduation, he founded Stu and the Kids to better prepare them for adulthood, helping them get into a university or technical college and giving them the tools for an independent future. Proceeds from this event go directly to the children’s education, school uniforms, supplies, housing, food and tuition for higher education. Now in their ninth year of fundraising throughout the world, Stu and the Kids has raised over $300,000 for the charity, including last year’s astounding record of $110,000 accumulated from the LA festival, fundraising on the east coast and online donations during 2016. Stu and the Kids supervise seventeen kids, including fifteen who have earned four-year scholarships to university and a seven and fourteen-year-old that is supported with rent and food due to family hardship. The charity hopes to increase the awards to twelve four-year university scholarships in the coming year.
During the evening there will be an educational presentation and activities for all ages, including a vivid display of Northern Thai umbrellas and lanterns from the Tourism Authority of Thailand and performances of Thai music and dancing. The silent auction benefiting Stu and the Kids will include photos of locations in Chiang Mai, Thailand, hand-made Hill Tribe bags and silver jewelry, gift certificates, gift baskets, autographed cookbooks and a month of yoga classes.
The incomparable Billy Harris, celebrity charity auctioneer and host of Hanging with Harris will lead the live auction with several spectacular experiences:
- An exclusive 4 night, 5 day trip to Thailand to meet the kids and enjoy the beauty and flavors of Chiang Mai.
- 2 tickets to the two hour finale and live reunion show for Survivor: Heroes v Healers v Hustlers.This also includes an exclusive, fun luncheon with the Survivor players where the winner can meet, chat and take photos. Winner of the auction will also participate in some Survivor challenges that will be set up on the CBS lot. This once in a lifetime afternoon for the diehard Survivor fan is tentatively scheduled for Dec 20th, 2018 at CBS in Los Angeles. Dates might fluctuate slightly.
- Dinner for eight guests at The Rogue Experience, Wolfgang Puck’s experimental Test Kitchen at the Pacific Design Center. A one-of-a-kind full dining experience valued at $5000.
- Dinner for four at Vespertine by Jordan Kahn, valued at $1000.
Hours are 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tickets are $125 General Admission, $195 for VIP Admission and $25 for children 6-12. To purchase tickets, visit StuandtheKidsTickets
Sunday, July 30, 2017, 4 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. for VIP tickets
General Admission: $125
VIP Admission: $195; early admission at 3:30 p.m. including a meet and greet with Chef Jet Tila, the Culinary Ambassador to Thailand and of the Food Network fame. Includes a personalized autographed copy of Chef Tila’s new cookbook, “101 Asian Dishes You Need To Cook Before You Die.”
Kids tickets: $25 for kids 6-12
Tickets for general admission, VIP admission and kids may be purchased online: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/stu-and-his-friends-a-thai-style-food-festival-to-support-stu-and-the-kids-tickets-33984327037
Vibiana, 214 South Main Street | Los Angeles, California 90012
ABOUT STU AND THE KIDS:
Stu and The Kids is a 501c3, tax-exempt nonprofit organization that provides scholarships for orphaned and underserved Hill Tribe children for continuing their education in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
For further information on Stu and the Kids, visit www.stuandthekids.org
Become a fan on Facebook: www.facebook.com/stuandthekids
Follow Stu and the Kids on Twitter and Instagram at @stuandthekids
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Participating Chefs
Presenting Chef and Culinary Ambassador to Thailand – Chef Jet Tila
Gilberto Cetina
Shirley Chung
Neal and Amy Fraser
Jason Fullilove
Eric Klein and Connor Shanahan
Jason Neroni
Warren and Rose Schwartz
Rocco Whalen
Brooke Willamson and Nick Roberts
Sherry Yard
Tetsu Yahagi
Kris Yenbamroong
Participating Restaurants
71 Above
Akasha
AR cucina
Bar Alma
Barbara Jean
Broken Spanish
Chadaka Thai
Chichen Itza
Division 3
Fahrenheit (Cleveland, Ohio)
Friends & Family
Jitlada
Magpies Softserve
Miro
Night+Market
Pastry Lab
Patina Catering
Playa Provisions
Redbird and Vibiana
République
Restaurant 917 at the Porches Experience
Savore Catering
Sinners & Saints
Spago Beverly Hills
Steamer’s Company, Raw Bar and Bowl of Hug
Tender Greens
The Ensaymada Project
The Olive Pit
The Rose Café
The Tuck Room
The Wallace
Wolfgang Puck Catering
Sponsors
6 Degrees LA
Behind the DJ Booth
Chef Spoons
Chefs to End Hunger
Erik Fisher Photography
LA & SF Specialty
Sustainable Works
The Bouqs.com
Tito’s Handmade Vodka
Tourism Authority of Thailand
Vibiana
Wolfgang Puck Catering
Young’s Market Company
