The Manchester Enterprise
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Culinary guru Rae hosts cooking fundraiser
Proceeds to benefit educational field trips for elementary students
By Daniel Lai, Editor
PUBLISHED: April 3, 2008
Famed culinary chef Sheila Rae will bring her interactive cooking show to Manchester April 19 as part of a Klager Elementary School Parent-Teacher Organization fundraiser.
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"This is really a first-time effort by our members to approach fundraising in a more creative way," event co-organizer Deb Beagle said.
Beagle said the interactive program will feature several Food Network-style events including complimentary taste tests, a food-themed audience quiz, dynamic recipe presentations and a chef challenge in which Rae will invite one guest from the audience to bring a food item from their home for her to prepare a meal with during the show.
"It's a lot of fun," Beagle said. "We're hoping if we raise enough money, this will replace one of our larger fundraisers we have done in the past."
However, Beagle said response to PTO members' efforts has been slow.
"We can't get enough people interested," she said. "We don't have the advertising budget to market it the way we want to, so we're doing as much word-of-mouth as possible."
Beagle said in the past three weeks, the group has only managed to sell 10 of its 600 tickets for the event.
"It's disappointing especially because what we will raise goes to the kids in our schools," she said.
Rae said after parents approached her during a recent expo in Ann Arbor, she jumped at the chance to help the school district.
"I haven't done many fundraisers, but I thought this would be a great way to help out the PTO as well as get kids to learn the many different aspects of cooking," she said. "They will get to taste and experience an authentic cooking show similar to what they may watch on the Food Network only right there in Manchester."
Rae said some of the meals she will prepare include how to make the perfect steak, fried pasta, vegetable smoothies, birthday cakes, homemade pizza, and a 20-minute homemade bread recipe.
"We're going to do so many cool things," she said. "The people that don't come are going to wish that they had because this show will be the talk of the town for quite awhile."
In preparation for the event, which will be held at the Manchester High School auditorium, Rae said her entire kitchen set will be broken down, transported and built for her use at the school.
"We'll laugh, learn a lot, and have a fabulous evening," Rae said.
Prior to the cooking show, a tradeshow featuring local vendors, will take place at 5:30 p.m. at the school. Vendors who would like to participate can pay a $25 table fee for their display and are encouraged to bring an item to be raffled during the cooking show.
"We still have room for our vendors," Beagle said.
All proceeds from the event will fund future field trips for Klager Elementary students.
"Quite a few of our teacher field trips are not funded and the teachers often end up eating the cost," Beagle said. "We are here to support our teachers and students. We will certainly make every effort to help them."
Tickets to "Cooking Simple With Sheila Rae" are $15 in advance and $17 at the door. The program startsat 7 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at the Coffee Mill CafÈ or Classic Pizza on Main Street. Tickets can also be purchased by calling Beagle at 428-0733 or Jennifer Crouch at 428-8783.
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