Share Our Selves Wild & Crazy Taco Night a success

Submitted by Elizabeth Evans

Costa Mesa, CA, April 30, 2009 – With 22 chefs and more than 650 guests, Share Our Selves’ 16th Annual Wild & Crazy Taco Night on Thursday was a great success! Orange County’s finest chefs lent their amazing culinary talents to this community event which raised $33,030 to support the SOS Orange Aid Project – helping feed OC residents at risk of going hungry.

The VIP pre-event was a festive affair – Participating guests got early entrance into the tent, and the opportunity to sample seven chef’s tacos before the rush. Guests enjoyed Patrón margaritas and La Tradición Liqueur De Horchata beverages. Taco Night Committee member Yvette Garcia and her mother, Mary Gallegos, prepared homemade tortillas and salsas for the hungry crowd. VIP patrons were also entered in a raffle for three great prizes. Walt Drew was the lucky winner of the $200 gift certificate to The Golden Truffle, Mark Askelson won $100 to Flemings, and Elvis Gutierrez of Newport Beach Plaza Retirement Community won brunch for two at TAPS Fish House & Brewery.

The general event was as wild & crazy as ever! Guests mingled between the 22 chef stations – enjoying all of the unique tacos and entertaining chefs. Nancy Moss was the winner of the three-night stay at the Embassy Suites Pam Desert and a $100 Yard House Gift Card.

All of the proceeds of the event benefit The Orange Aid Project. This project was originally conceived by a dedicated group of Orange County residents including Hal Rosoff (former owner of Back Bay Running and Rowing and Meyerhofs Catering), Michael Kang (owner/chef of Five Feet Restaurant), Marla Bird (long time supporter/volunteer of SOS and a member of the SOS A-Team), John Martin and Jonathan Blum (both formerly with Taco Bell), and Karen McGlinn (SOS Executive Director and at that time member of the SOS Board of Trustees). The Orange Aid Project collects retrievable food from restaurants, grocery stores, bakeries, and caterers to distribute to low income Orange County residents. Six mornings a week, volunteer and staff drivers collect food from throughout the County and deliver it to SOS. Other volunteers package and bag the food for distribution to families. Five days a week, SOS gives out an average of 300 bags of groceries a day. This is a 40% increase over last year.