Charity begins at Hom

                                Ken Hom Charity Dinner raises over £16,000 for Action Against Hunger

                                                                       Pacific Oriental, 1 Bishopsgate, London EC2

                                                                                                Sunday 14 May

On Sunday 14 May 2006, celebrity chef Ken Hom hosted an evening of culinary delights, entertainment and fundraising.  He welcomed the cream of London’s chefs as well as special VIP’s in an effort to raise much-needed funds for international humanitarian charity Action Against Hunger. Over £16,000 was raised that evening.

Celebrity and top chefs such as Anton Edelmann, Ross Burden, Nancy Lam, Sophie Michell, Ching and Giancarlo Caldesi pitched in with Ken to support Action Against Hunger, who operate in some 40 countries, supporting the charity’s work at the forefront of the fight against hunger and malnutrition worldwide. Each of them hosted tables, giving guests the opportunity to rub shoulders with their favourite stars from the food and drink scene.

Guests were treated to a Taittinger champagne and Singha beer reception and a sumptuous five-course dinner with wines especially matched for each course supported by Penfolds, Bibendum, Gallo Wines and Enotria Winecellars.

BBC’s Nigel Barden hosted and guided the guests through the evening. Observer’s wine critic Tim Atkin MW hosted a mystery wine competition sponsored by Enotria Winecellars that put the guests to the test to see if they could tell their pinot noir from their pinotage. The charity’s supporters Ken Hom and Bill Knott played judges to a pancake rolling contest where the chefs raced against each other to prepare and present a duck pancake. The varied entertainment set the evening off with great cheer and spurred on the guests’ generosity.

The prizes on auction and raffle were generously donated by Frankie’s, Kiarie, State of Undress, Links of London, English National Opera, Beatrix Ong, BP Gas Cylinder, Taittinger, Penfolds, Ken Hom, Ching, Nancy Lam and Arsenal Football Club and many more.

Ken Hom’s devotion to Action Against Hunger stems from the charity’s strong presence in south east Asia which is not only his home but where so many members of the Oriental Restaurant Group originate from.  En route to Phuket when the tsunami struck last year, the plane on which Ken Hom was travelling was diverted away from danger. In view of the aftermath of the disaster, Ken generously offered to host a dinner over Chinese New Year last year at Pacific Oriental to help raise money in support of Action Against Hunger’s relief work.  Funds raised from this year’s dinner will be channelled to a number of projects across the globe aimed at addressing not only hunger and malnutrition in the short term but also at helping people and communities to regain their autonomy and self-sufficiency for long-term sustainability.

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