Chef Challenge rolls in the dough
Private chef Greg Nehlich participates in a culinary contest Oct. 13 during CDAIDE's Chef Challenge. Nehlich was declared the overall winner. The event brought in more than $70,000 to support local restaurant and hospitality workers.
Photo by PAUL MORGAN
Cafe Carambola chef Colomba Aguilar, winner of last year's CDAIDE Chef Challenge, prepares to pass on the winning chef belt during the 2022 event on Oct. 13.
In year two, CDAIDE's Chef Challenge doubled its recipe for altruism.
CDAIDE Executive Director Jason Nye reported the Oct. 13 event, attended by more than 200 people, raised more than $70,000, nearly twice as much as the inaugural event that raised $33,444 in 2021.
"I meet and talk with people that CDAIDE helps every day," Nye said Tuesday. "I hear their life stories, their struggles, their challenges. So it was an emotional night for me personally, seeing our community demonstrate such compassion and charity as they turned out to support their neighbors who work hard serving in the restaurant and hospitality industry."
Presented by the Culinary Stone and held in the Hagadone Event Center, the Chef Challenge featured six local chefs who participated in kitchen challenges, such as whisking meringue by hand and trussing chickens, and a judged cooking competition.
Private chef Greg Nelich was declared the 2022 winner.
Kootenai Health's John Minichino won the people's choice award for best appetizer.
"I feel privileged to be a small part of this process and am grateful to all those who came out and helped CDAIDE continue to change lives in our community," Nye said. "I'm also thankful to work with an amazing, talented and passionate team of people who put together this incredible event."
Founded in 2017, CDAIDE is a nonprofit that serves those who work in hospitality and service jobs in the community — cooks, dishwashers, servers, housekeepers — who often don't have the safety nets of other industries, such as insurance benefits or consistent work through the winter. CDAIDE connects them with resources and support to help them through a crisis and prevent a descent into homelessness.
Nye said food left over from the Chef Challenge was donated to a local food bank.
"Thanks to the support of event attendees and sponsors, CDAIDE will be able to continue helping change lives in our community," Nye said. "It's exciting to see so many people recognizing the struggles workers in the hospitality industry face and stepping up to help them. Hopefully our community will continue to support each other as the region grows and we face whatever new challenges come our way."
