They came, they saw – and they enjoyed.
Over 300 people attended the sixth annual Centre Wellington Rotary Club’s Grand Taste at the Grand River Raceway here.
The event is a showcase for local restaurateurs and food supplies. All the patrons were given a booklet of tickets with the name of each of the local businesses, and were entitled to hand in that group’s name and sample what it was offering.
And there was lots on offer, from beer and wine to tarts, specialty soups, all kinds of tasty appetizers, and specialty desserts.
“I’m very pleased,” said the club’s event organizer Noreen Winters. “We’ve got wonderful vendors and wonderful food.”
She was herself one of the vendors. She and her husband operate the Elora Uptown Cafe.
Admission to the event is $30 per person, and there was so much food it was difficult to find anyone who was able to sample everything on offer.
Besides the taste experiences, the Rotary Club had collected a wide variety of goods and specialty services from donors for a silent auction. That included everything from Stratford Shakespearian Festival tickets that included wine and a lunch, Blue Jays tickets, fine art, all kinds of kitchen gadgets, cooking lessons, and gift certificates to a large number of stores. Throughout the course of the afternoon, bidding was heavy.
MP Michael Chong dropped by and enjoyed sampling food with his wife, Carrie.
Despite the election on Monday, he appeared to be enjoying himself and the snacks. “Have a great day and enjoy all the food,” he said when asked to speak.
Russ Spicer and his wife, Susan, were sampling food in one of the rooms.
“It’s a good event,” Spicer said. It’s an excellent lunch and it for a great cause.”
Joel Quenneville, the Chief Executive Officer of Groves Hospital, also enjoyed the food, as well as the donation the club was giving to the hospital.
“This is terrific,” he said.
Sherri Sutherland, the Executive Director of the Groves Foundation, added, “This [Rotary] club has given over $35,000 from its last three event.”
Sutherland particularly liked the idea of community involvement and partnerships with the food providers to raise funds at a community event.
“This is putting on a face and giving the hospital people a chance to learn about the food … and that’s a wonderful gift.”
She added that the Grand Taste has become a tradition with many people.
“It’s been around long enough that people know it’s an event to come to,” she said. “At $30 it’s a wonderful value.”
Winter said in an interview after the event was over that last year the club raised $14,500, and she expects the results would be similar this year, too.
“You never know until all the [costs] are counted,” she said.
And there will be another one.
“I think we’ll have to put it on again next year,” she said with a laugh.
Winter added that if the hospital raises enough money to pay off the CT Scanner before next year, the club will simply have to find another charity to support.
