Feeding the Community

Philanthropic foodies, mark your calendars. Two new installments of the popular Revival Social Dinner are on the horizon for late summer and fall.

Revival Social Dinner is series of charitable dinner parties that are the brainchild of Joy and William Burke. The event’s namesake stems from the desire to revive community and goodwill. The dinners serve as a way for people to come together over good food and drink and discuss ways to make positive changes in the community while supporting various local organizations involved in those efforts.

The next event is planned for 3-5:30pm Sunday, August 19, at CLE Urban Winery in Cleveland Heights. Tickets to the Sunday Soirée are $40 and include tastings from several chef stations and a cash bar with house wines and mocktails. Funds raised will benefit Downs on the Farm, a nonprofit that provides children with special needs with access to Animal Assisted Activities.

The fall event, scheduled to begin at 6pm Saturday, October 27, at Prep Kitchen-CLE in Cleveland, will focus on the history of Southern cuisine. Tickets are limited, and are $150 per person. “Ideally, I hope to have enough interest for two dinners—the first featuring foods from 1670 to the founding of Charleston, and another from 1865 to present,” Burke said.

With six events behind them since its inception, the Burkes and some of the most noteworthy chefs in the Cleveland area have raised more than $8,000 for local nonprofits, including Girl Up, Mended Little Hearts of Northeast Ohio, and Cleveland Kids’ Book Bank.

Chef John Selick, senior culinary manager for University Hospitals Ahuja Medical Center, is among more than 40 chefs inspired to volunteer thus far. “Will and I met at a charity event, and when he told me about his vision for Revival, I couldn’t wait to get involved. He’s doing great work at bringing people in, and getting people involved who are able to give back,” John said.

Stay tuned to the Revival Social Dinner Facebook page for event updates.

—Tricia Chaves. Photo by Karin McKenna