Lemonade Aid, Philly-Style
Jim Poris
Posted: June 19, 2009
PHILADELPHIA—Among the many character traits required for success as a chef these days, none may be more necessary than an innate spirit of generosity, the desire—really the need—to make others happy. By that criterion then, count Marc Vetri and his many chef/restaurateur friends who will be training, planing, and automobiling to Philadelphia June 13 to turn Broad Street near his Osteria into a festive, fund-raising street fair for Alex's Lemonade Stand as very successful. And very well-known.
Yes, Alex had a lemonade stand. She—Alexandra Scott—insisted on starting one in Manchester, Connecticut, in 2000, soon after the four year old received a stem cell transplant to treat neuroblastoma, the type of childhood cancer that had plagued her since just before her first birthday. She wanted to raise money to give to her doctors to help them find a cure. That first year, she rang up $2,000 in sales, a number that grew to $1 million under the aegis of the Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation by the time she passed away in 2004. Since then, the foundation, a registered 501c3 charity, has collected over $25 million for childhood cancer research.
"We have become very friendly with Alex's parents [Jay and Liz Scott], and four years ago we started a small fund-raiser with local chefs," says Vetri, who also runs the fine dining Vetri in his hometown. "It's now grown into The Great Chefs Event, hosted by Alex's Lemonade Stand and the Vetri Foundation for Children. We close down Broad Street, invite 600 to 700 of our closest friends, put up a big tent, and have chefs come in from all over the country—cook, auction, music, et cetera, et cetera. This year we have 28 chefs, including Tom Colicchio, Bobby Flay, Michael Symon, John Besh, Suzanne Goin, Paul Kahan, Masaharu Morimoto, Dan Barber, and Eric Ripert, among others. Many of these guys are returning chefs from last year, when we raised $150,000. This year we're hoping for half a million."
That's a goal that shouldn't be difficult to reach considering the come-hither dishes that will be on the grab-and-go tables: Flay's fried squash blossoms with ricotta and roasted corn with sweet and hot yellow pepper sauce; Symon's fresh bacon with Haloumi and watermelon; Morimoto's yellowtail pastrami; Kahan's pistachio financiers with Camembert, black raspberries, and Manjari chocolate gelato; and Besh's wild berry flambé over lemon ricotta filled crêpes. As for Vetri: "We're making sausage." Now that's fare for a street fair. Goes well with lemonade, too.
