It’s time to get your food and drink on for charity, folks. That means you fork over your cash, but then keep you at least get to keep fork out for dinner.

There’s a series of big-time dinners and events coming up tied to various charities and causes in and around D.C., with celebrity chefs, stacked lineups of food and drink and much more. Here are some of the biggest and most noteworthy, including three in a three day stretch in September.

 

September 15th – Celebrity Chef Tasting Dinner for Careers Through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP)

Careers Through Culinary Arts ProgramC-CAP is celebrating 25 years of efforts to transform lives through the culinary arts with a special Celebrity Chef Tasting Dinner which also honors chef Richard Sandoval.

The event showcases a five-course dinner with wine pairings on Monday, September 15 from 6-9 pm at the Carnegie Institution for Science. All of the funds raised will support C-CAP, a pioneer and national non-profit leader that provides scholarships, education and career opportunities in the culinary arts to at-risk high school students throughout the nation, partnering with schools in the Washington DC region.

The chefs cooking up the food in the kitchen will include Haidar Karoum of Proof, Estadio & Doi Moi, Kaz Okochi of Kaz Sushi Bistro, Roberto Donna of Al Dente and Alba Osteria, Michel Richard of Central, and Troy Williams of The Spot Deli. Just as good though is that assisting the chefs will be our high school culinary students, eager to put their mark on the culinary world. C-CAP alum and Master Sommelier Carlton McCoy will select the wines.

More information is available at their website.

September 21st – From Farm to Fork

From Farm to Fork Central Farm Markets
Central Farm Markets is hosting this event at Gypsy Soul in Fairfax, Virginia, in support of Future Harvest, the Chesapeake Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture.

The chefs are the James Beard Award-winning RJ Cooper of Gypsy Soul, along with John Mooney from Bidwell, Katsuya Fukushima of Daikaya, Spike Gjerde of Woodberry Kitchen, Ian Boden of The Shack, Lee Gregory of The Roosevelt and Giane Cavalaiere, pasty chef from Gypsy Soul.

The event features live music, a live auction, and farm-inspired cocktails and wine pairings.

Tickets cost $200 per person, with VIP admission costing $250 and offering an early VIP kitchen reception.

September 22nd – Inaugural Chef’s Roast, a Tribute to Culinary Icon Nora Pouillon

Inaugural Chef Roast

It’s the first of its kind charity-culinary-roast, honoring and roasting chef and pioneering restaurateur Nora Pouillon. It’s a night of food, comedy and philanthropy at Dock 5 at Union Market, held September 22nd from 6:30-9:30 pm.

The event benefits the Chef Action Network, an organization dedicated to building the next generation of chefs advocating for policies that support health, nutrition and sustainability.

A few of the many culinary luminaries preparing food including Mike Isabella, Cathal Armstrong, Scott Drewno, John Mooney, Mary Sue Milliken and half a dozen others.

Those aren’t the only culinary stars in the building though, because there’s also a lengthy list of roasters, a who’s who of food world personalities including Rick Bayless, Carla Hall, Michel Nischan, Mary Sue Milliken, Robert Egger and more.

Individual tickets to the Chef’s Roast cost $300 and are available online through Eventbrite.

September 23rd – Chefs for Equality

Chefs for EqualityThe Human Right Campaign is back with Chefs for Equality held at the Ritz-Carlton in Washington, D.C.  This year, more than 100  D.C.-area chefs, pastry chefs and mixologists are joining forces in support of the legalization of same-sex marriage in the state of Virginia.

The event’s signature will be 12 masterful multi-tiered wedding cakes from the likes of Charm City Cakes,Georgetown Cupcake, Hello Cupcake, Fiola Mare, The Ritz Carlton, DC, Fluffy Thoughts Cakes and many others, with even more treats coming via Makin’ Whoopie!, Red Truck Bakery, Dolci Gelati, and Sticky Fingers Sweets & Eats.

Tickets cost $150 per person and are available at ChefsforEquality.org.

November 10th – Farmland Feast

Freshfarm Markets 2014 Farmland Feast PosterThe best very well may be saved for last, so hopefully by November you still have your appetite, and your charity budget intact. Farmland Feast is back for yet another blowout, the 12th annual edition, held on Monday, November 10th at the Ritz Carlton.

Chef Brian McBride, of RW Restaurant Group and Sommelier Moez Ben Achour of Marcel’s are leading the star-studded team in the kitchen and at the bar. The three-course dinner will showcase regional wines and autumnal food, all fresh from the farm of course, showcasing  the very best in sustainable yet luxurious experiences.

The huge cocktail party will include cocktails from the likes of Derek Brown, Gina Cherservani and Adam Bernbach, an oyster and beer bar from Rappahannock Oyster Company, live music and a silent auction. Washington Post food and travel editor Joe Yonan will be the MC for the event.

Featured chefs for the cocktail party include Travis Croxton, Tarver King, Barry Koslow, Harper McClure, Kaz Okochi, Paul Stearman, Nick Wiseman, and for the locally-sourced dinner, Victor Ablisu, Tony Chittum, Mike Friedman, Spike Gjerde, Todd Gray, Marjorie Meek-Bradley, and Nick Stefanelli. There are also plenty of notable pastry chefs and sommeliers on the scene as well.

You can buy tickets either just for the cocktail party, at $125, or for the whole evening, at $300. Buy them online here.