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Students and Chefs Make Sweet Pairings at Life Is Sweet 5
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Thursday, November 19th, 2009
Patrick Bazin and his Chef Buddy, Cameron Graham. Image: Amy Loeffler
Student Cameron Graham and Chef Patrick Bazin of Bazin’s on Church are old hats of the Life Is Sweet annual fundraiser for Best Buddies Virginia. They have been a team since the event’s inception five years ago and they embody the mission of the organization founded by Anthony Kennedy Shriver to foster friendships and employment opportunities for intellectually and developmentally disabled individuals. Cameron works the crowd while I pepper Bazin with questions. When I ask to take a photo of the two of them Cameron prompts me to wait and says, “Oh let me take off my glasses,” like a seasoned media pro. She is clearly in her element flitting from family member to passer-by. “She’s happy,” says Bazin smiling proudly. “And chefs” says Bazin,”like to make other people happy.”
According to Bazin the Life Is Sweet event gives students like Cameron a sense of comraderie and boosts self-confidence by allowing them to interact with culinary professionals and the public at large. This year she and Bazin collaborated, as they do every year, on what to make for the gala one month beforehand. They settled on a pumpkin mousse in a chocolate shell sprinkled with praline topping as a riff on pumpkin cheesecake. In fact collaborating on what they are going to serve is just as much of a ritual as the event itself. “We always discuss what we’re gonna make,” says Bazin.
Former White House Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier has spearheaded the fundraiser every year for the past five years and proved to be a raucous emcee. At one point he spontaneously put himself on the silent auction block for a lucky bidder to win his culinary expertise (and masseur skills!) for one evening of gastronomically induced revelry.
- No need to be sad when the chips are down if life is as sweet as a tray of Chris Ford’s deconstructed chocolate chip cookies. Image: Amy Loeffler
While pastry chefs donate their time, materials and effort for this Who’s Who gathering of area pastry toques, many chefs at the event on Tuesday voiced that they receive a lot in return for participating. Chris Ford, pastry chef at Trummer’s on Main, recently relocated to the area from New York. He says the event was a good opportunity for him to become familiar with the flour and butter goings on as a relative Northern Virginia newbie. “I meet other pastry chefs and get my name out there,” he says of the event.
Michelle Poteaux of Bastille in Alexandria would agree that the event for her was initially an opportunity to network, but changed once she was paired up with her Chef Buddy, Max Douglas. “Part of [the appeal] of this event for every pastry chef is to promote yourself,” she says. “That soon quickly goes by the wayside once you meet your partner. It’s not just a group, it’s this person Max.” She explained that she and Max even did an inpromptu T.V. appearance for the event.
Chris Ford of Trummer's on Main and Andrew Roberts.
Online donations are still being tallied, but at last count Life Is Sweet 5 raised more than $135,000 for Best Buddies Virginia. I’ve yet to tally the calorie count.
–Amy Loeffler
Tags: Amy Loeffler, Bastille, Best Buddies Virginia, Chris Ford, Gut Check, Life Is Sweet, Michelle Poteaux, Northern Virginia Magazine, Trummer's on Main
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