Hundreds of guests gathered Saturday night at Edmonds Community College for an elegant “Havana Nights” evening, all benefiting the Edmonds CC Foundation.
Guests enjoyed a three-course dinner prepared by celebrity guest chef Maria Hines, owner and chef of the Golden Beetle Restaurant and Bar, Tilth, and Agrodolce and winner of the 2009 James Beard Award for Best Chef Northwest.
Speakers during the gala dinner and auction were Autumn Martin, Edmonds CC’s 2008 distinguished alumna and owner of Seattle’s Hot Cakes Molten Chocolate Factory and Astrid Baretti, a student scholarship recipient.
The Edmonds CC auction is the area’s biggest fundraiser in bringing in needed money for student scholarships, emergency funding, and college project grants.
Hines designed a special menu for the gala and worked with students in the college’s culinary arts program, who are preparing for careers as cooks, kitchen managers, bakers, pastry chefs, and other jobs in the food service industry.
Students also prepared an assortment of delectable desserts that went to the highest bidders through the auction’s dessert dash.
The Edmonds CC Foundation awarded 216 scholarships, 15 innovative grants, $20,000 in emergency funding, and more than seven awards of excellence as a result of the funds raised at last year’s gala and auction.
Contributions to the Edmonds Community College Foundation are accepted year-round. For more information, go to www.edcc.edu/foundation.
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