{"id":250117,"date":"2016-04-22T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-04-22T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sdnews.com\/a-fun-outing-for-a-serious-cause\/"},"modified":"2016-04-22T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2016-04-22T07:00:00","slug":"a-fun-outing-for-a-serious-cause","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/a-fun-outing-for-a-serious-cause\/","title":{"rendered":"A fun outing for a serious cause"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mama\u2019s Day food-and-wine gala celebrates golden anniversary<\/strong><\/p>\n

Por Dave Fidlin<\/p>\n

Mama\u2019s Kitchen celebrated its golden birthday last year, and on the heels of that milestone is the 25th anniversary of Mama\u2019s Day \u2014 the annual fundraiser founded with a Mother\u2019s Day theme.<\/p>\n

Mama\u2019s Day returns May 6, from 6:30 \u2013\u00a09:30 p.m., to its annual home at the Hyatt Regency La Jolla at Aventine, located at 3777 La Jolla Village Drive.<\/p>\n

The food-and-wine gala provides the bulk of the funding necessary to bring quality meals \u2014 free of charge \u2014 into the hands of people who vitally need such services.<\/p>\n

\"(back,<\/a>
(back, l to r) Chef Julie Darling of Just Calls Us Volunteers and Chef Chris Decker with (front) two student chef volunteers at Mama\u2019s Day 2015 (Courtesy of Decker Brothers Gourmet Soup)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

To the San Diego men, women and children affected by AIDS and cancer, the nutrient-filled meals are of the utmost importance, particularly since their immune systems are usually compromised.<\/p>\n

With a milestone on the horizon, Cort\u00e9s cannot help but wax nostalgic as he reflects on how Mama\u2019s Kitchen has stayed true to its roots, yet dually grown and evolved in the past quarter century.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve added components [to the mission statement] here and there, but it really hasn\u2019t changed that much,\u201d Cort\u00e9s said. \u201cIt\u2019s stood durable over time.\u201d<\/p>\n

What has changed since Mama\u2019s Kitchen was established in the early 1990s are some of the stigmas and misinformation concerning AIDS, HIV and other conditions that have impacted the LGBT and other communities.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was right in the throws of the AIDS epidemic,\u201d Cort\u00e9s said of Mama\u2019s Kitchen\u2019s earliest days as an organization. \u201cThe number of diagnoses were still very high, and it was considered a deadly condition. There was an atmosphere and stigma of fear and a real lack of information. It was a real hostile time.\u201d<\/p>\n

But as Cort\u00e9s sees it, the organization\u2019s importance in the community has been unwavering \u2014 even as society has evolved its attitudes. Humanizing the impact AIDS still has today is one of the fundamental goals behind the organization\u2019s outreach efforts.<\/p>\n

While Cort\u00e9s\u2019 leadership with the organization only goes back 14 years, he said he has been an ardent supporter of Mama\u2019s Day from the get-go.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the time, it was unique because fundraisers were usually known to be more formal with speeches,\u201d Cort\u00e9s said. \u201cI think we raised the bar and created a tradition other organizations have tried mimicking.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since quality food is at the heart of Mama\u2019s Kitchen\u2019s mission, it is only fitting the same holds true for the annual Mama\u2019s Day fundraisers. A hallmark of each year\u2019s event are the range of chefs \u2014 many from some of San Diego\u2019s finest and most notable restaurants \u2014 who prepare samples of some of their top dishes for attendees to enjoy.<\/p>\n

While final pieces of the puzzle are still being assembled in the weeks leading up to the 25th annual fundraiser, Cort\u00e9s said at least 55 local chefs have donated their time and talent for this year\u2019s event.<\/p>\n

The figure is notable, Cort\u00e9s pointed out, since the event takes place on a Friday \u2014 a time of the week when restaurants are usually bursting at the seams with customers.<\/p>\n

One of this year\u2019s participating chefs is Chris Decker, who co-owns Decker Brothers Gourmet Soup. As the company\u2019s name suggests, Decker\u2019s business partner is his brother, Karl. Together, the Deckers have been making a variety of health-conscious soup recipes inspired by their mom\u2019s concoctions over the years, sold wholesale or distributed throughout various restaurants in San Diego.<\/p>\n

This is the sixth consecutive year Decker Brothers are participating in Mama\u2019s Day.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s one of the most fun and impressive fundraisers out there,\u201d Chris Decker said. \u201cEveryone gets into it and has a blast.\u201d<\/p>\n

Decker and brother Karl hail from the East Coast and came to San Diego to tap into their love of surfing. They also are long-time supporters of LGBT causes.<\/p>\n

In addition to their regular support of Mama\u2019s Kitchen, the Deckers donate time and manpower to the Rob Benzon Foundation, which has regularly supported charitable causes, some benefiting the LGBT community.<\/p>\n

Speaking specifically to Mama\u2019s Day, Chris Decker said he has witnessed an evolution within the fundraiser, particularly as a growing number of participants have volunteered and rallied behind the mission of Mama\u2019s Kitchen.<\/p>\n

\u201c[The event has] grown in popularity,\u201d Decker said. \u201cBut we also see a lot of the same faces, year after year.\u201d<\/p>\n

As an ever-evolving organization, Cort\u00e9s said that he and other leaders constantly try and raise the bar so Mama\u2019s Kitchen can serve as many San Diegans in critical need as possible.<\/p>\n

\"Screen<\/a>Last year\u2019s Mama\u2019s Day gala netted $176,000 in proceeds. The figure, in turn, enabled the organization to serve 57,680 meals, each one tailored to the recipient\u2019s needs. In many cases, the meals are delivered straight to the recipient\u2019s home.<\/p>\n

In a time filled with milestones, Cort\u00e9s basks in one other notable statistic: Mama\u2019s Kitchen recently served its 8 millionth meal.<\/p>\n

Despite that incredible achievement, the longtime executive director and all those associated with Mama\u2019s Kitchen aren\u2019t planning to stop too long to gaze at the laurel.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a recognition that the work we do is absolutely critical,\u201d Cort\u00e9s said. \u201cIt all comes together because of a concerted community effort.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014Dave Fidlin es un periodista independiente con una afinidad especial por San Diego y su gente. Cont\u00e1ctelo en <\/em>dave.fidlin@thinkpost.net<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mama\u2019s Day food-and-wine gala celebrates golden anniversary By Dave Fidlin Mama\u2019s Kitchen celebrated its golden birthday last year, and on the heels of that milestone is the 25th anniversary of Mama\u2019s Day \u2014 the annual fundraiser founded with a Mother\u2019s Day theme. Mama\u2019s Day returns May 6, from 6:30 \u2013\u00a09:30 p.m., to its annual home […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":726,"featured_media":250118,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11555","_seopress_titles_title":"A fun outing for a serious cause","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11547,11551,11555],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-250117","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","category-news","category-uptown-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250117","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/726"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=250117"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250117\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/250118"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=250117"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=250117"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=250117"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}