The Crowd -- B.W. Cook

The 10th annual Summer Food and Wine Festival, benefiting the Second

Harvest Food Bank and Someone Cares Soup Kitchen, was held recently at

South Coast Plaza. The event, sponsored in part by Crate & Barrel and

Macy’s Home Store, attracted more than 2,000 revelers. Organizers had

expected only 800 to attend.

The festival and the cooking demonstrations raised significant funds

for the two charities, which both serve needy families in Orange County.

According to the groups, there are 400,000 men, women and children in

Orange County at risk of going to bed hungry every night.

Anton Segerstrom, scion of the Segerstrom dynasty operating South

Coast Plaza, has made this event an annual project that is not just a

commercial exercise but a personal commitment based on a real connection

to helping eradicate hunger in our midst. Segerstrom was inspired by the

dedication of Merle Hatleberg, who started Someone Cares Soup Kitchen in

1986.

In a wheelchair, Hatleberg began her hunger project using whatever

funds she could gather, originally serving some 30 people a day in Costa

Mesa. Today, at age 75, this dynamic woman feeds more than 200 people

daily during the week and still handles all of the management of the

kitchen.

The other charity involved, Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County,

is a private nonprofit food bank that collects and distributes surplus

food to Orange County residents in need through a network of 378 local

outlets, reaching more than 210,000 people. Experts estimate that 60% of

these recipients are children and seniors.

The restaurants of South Coast Plaza made a massive commitment to the

cause, donating food to satisfy the participants, who paid $40 in advance

or $50 at the door to make a difference in the lives of people who really

need help.

Participants included Antonello Ristorante, Back Bay Rowing and

Running Club, Bangkok Four, Birraporetti’s, Bluewater Grill, Bodega

Chocolates, Champagne French Bakery Cafe, The Clubhouse, Godiva

Chocolatier, Gusstaf Anders, Maggiano’s Little Italy, Morton’s, Nello

Cucina, Quattro Caffe, Rainforest Cafe, Royal Khyber, Ruby’s Diner, Vie

de France, Wolfgang Puck Cafe and Z’Tejas Southwestern Grill.

Some of the participating wineries and breweries included Anapamu

Cellars, Atlas Peak Vineyards, Bayhawk Ales, Barefoot Cellars, “BV”

Beaulieu Vineyard, Calterra, Callaway Coastal Winery, Canadaigua Wine

Co., Clos du Bois, Curtis Winery, Canzante, Fetzer Vineyards, Firestone

Vineyard, Firestone Walker Brewing Co., Flying Goat Cellars, Galleano

Winery, Gallo of Sonoma, Josef Bierbitzch Golden Pilsner, Karl Strauss

Breweries, Lindemans, Marcelina Vineyards, Maurice Car’rie Winery,

Pedroncelli Winery, Penfolds, Phillips-Hogue, Quady Winery, Rancho Zabaco

Winery, Robert Mondavi Winery, Rosemount Estate, Steelhead Brewing Co.,

Thornton Winery, Tustin Brewing Co. and William Hill Winery.

* THE CROWD appears Thursdays and Saturdays.