press release:
Fifteen of the region’s top chefs will participate in South’s 2012 Gifts from the Earth gala, the annual event that celebrates the hospitality industry and raises funds for college programs and student scholarships. The singular event provides food and wine aficionados, donors, and sponsors a unique opportunity to interact with celebrity chefs and South students while enjoying innovative cuisine and the finest Washington wines.

The festivities, sponsored by Food Services of America, take place Saturday, January 28, 2012, at South Seattle Community College beginning at 5 pm. The evening features hors d’oeuvres, wine tasting and a silent auction, followed by dinner and a live auction that includes unique wine and dining packages.

It’s the can’t-miss event of the year, as the region’s celebrity chefs create their own menus and prepare a multi-course gourmet feast for two tables (10 guests per table) each. All the courses are paired with fine wine from Washington wineries, poured by student sommeliers from South’s own Northwest Wine Academy.

Event emcee Margaret Larson hosts KING-TV’s popular daytime show New Day Northwest. For more than 25 years, she worked as a broadcast journalist, most notably with NBC News as a foreign correspondent based in London, news anchor for the Today show and Dateline NBC reporter, and as a reporter/news anchor at KING-TV. She is the recipient of numerous broadcast journalism awards and is well-known for her humanitarian work. In 2005, she was named "Best Voice for Humanitarianism" by the Seattle Weekly newspaper and, in 2007, was selected for the Women of Vision award by the "Women Work!" organization in Washington D.C.

Gifts from the Earth is more than a unique fundraising event; it also provides invaluable, hands-on learning and professional networking opportunities for South Seattle Community College students Hospitality Management bachelor’s degree program students manage guest relations, Culinary Arts students prepare meals alongside celebrity chefs, and students in the Wine Technology program pour wine with winemakers.