Taking the heat for a charitable cause

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 22/09/2018 (2855 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

I don’t wish to brag, but I am once again putting my legendary culinary skills on the line in a sincere and humanitarian effort to make the world a better and more delicious place for everyone.

What I am trying to say is that on Monday evening, from 6 to 8 p.m., I will be perspiring like a Thanksgiving turkey in a professional kitchen, helping an award-winning executive chef whip up kid-friendly food for 60 economically disadvantaged children and their parents or guardians.

This special night out, organized by Variety, the Children’s Charity of Manitoba, is being held at Chef Wayne Martin’s newest eatery, Capital Broadway, the sister restaurant to Capital Grill & Bar, which he opened in May 2015.

I will be there wielding sharp knives and slaving over a steaming grill for one simple reason: my philanthropist buddy Louis Trepel, a founding member of Variety who works tirelessly behind the scenes to organize events such as this, thought it would be hilarious to see a 300-pound humour columnist pretending to be a chef.

When Louis asks me to do something, I have learned to just say “yes,” because he is both persistent and persuasive.

Last year, for instance, he talked me into (a) dragging my overstuffed stuff on stage for a performance by Thunder from Down Under, an Australian all-male exotic dance review; and (b) portraying Shermy the hapless shepherd in a special performance of Manitoba Theatre for Young People’s holiday production of A Charlie Brown Double Bill.

When Louis learned his buddy Wayne was going to open a new downtown restaurant, he instantly pitched the idea of holding a special dinner for Variety kids.

“When we heard Wayne was opening a new restaurant, I said I’ve got a great idea for you — pack the place with Variety kids and their families,” Louis told me Thursday as we sat in the dining room at Capital Broadway, which doesn’t officially open until early October.

“Then we thought, ‘Why not get the kids to help make the food.’ You can be Wayne’s sous chef, Doug. You can start off in the kitchen preparing food and you’ll supervise some of the kids, showing them how to make some things. I know with your leadership skills, it’s going to be great. You’ll have a lot of fun.”

The point is, Wayne agreed to donate his restaurant, staff and all the food and on Monday night I will be there trying not to sever a medically important limb as we whip up a menu of sliders, mini pizzas and rigatoni, along with assorted fruits, veggies and dips.

Prepare to be extremely jealous, because they are going to give me an official apron and a chef-style hat to wear.

“I think you can roll out the dough and make the pizzas with the kids,” Wayne explained as movers dropped off chairs at the new eatery.

“You can flip some burgers, too. I don’t want the kids near the knives or the stove, but they can help mix the dips for the fruits and veggies.”

For his part, this longtime chef, who has won awards throughout the world, insisted he is not breaking a sweat about having an untrained humour columnist wandering around his shiny new kitchen.

Which is when Louis chirped: “I’m worried. I know you love cooking, but I’ve never seen you in action and this is going to be busy. I just want to make sure you can deliver under pressure.”

Wayne sought to reassure me by pointing out I would have to come about an hour before the dinner starts for a brief training session.

“No offence,” he added, “but I will have at least one real cook there to help out.”

Feeling somewhat put upon, I scowled and said: “You know, I’m a pretty good cook, if I do say so myself.”

Which is when Louis (sadly, this really happened) laughed so hard he spewed coffee on the front of my shirt. “If you get overwhelmed with what’s going on in the kitchen, they can always put you on dishes,” he said, sighing.

Also with us Thursday morning at the restaurant was Jeff Liba, chief executive officer of Variety, which provides specialized equipment, programs and services for kids with special needs in Manitoba.

“Louis pitched me the idea and I loved it,” Liba said, beaming. “We love to do special things for the families we help. This is a huge night out for them. The cost of raising a child with special needs is huge, so they don’t have the money to be able to go out and enjoy themselves like other people do.

“It’s tough. If you’re the family of a child with special needs, going out is a challenge. They can also worry about everyone around them paying attention to their child’s disability. So to have 60 people that are all in this together, families of kids with disabilities, it’s a comfortable environment and they can relax and enjoy it.”

The Variety organizers were just a little misty-eyed over the fact Wayne was willing to throw open his doors to help a bunch of kids in need — and give an overweight newspaper columnist a chance to practise his culinary skills.

“We’re excited,” Liba said. “We’re thankful to Wayne for his generosity.”

“It takes a very special person and a company with heart to be so generous,” Louis added.

Chef Wayne shrugged and said he’s just happy to give back to the community.

Monday’s special dinner will be a great dry run for his new place.

“This will be the first time firing everything up at the new restaurant,” he said, smiling.

“It’s a chance to test everything and make sure we don’t burn anything.”

Which is when Liba quipped: “What kid doesn’t love burnt pizza?”

Unfortunately, with this columnist in the kitchen, there’s a good chance we’ll find out.

doug.speirs@freepress.mb.ca