Dream Team Charity Dinner

Huge thanks to everyone who so generously supported this special event which raised £10,483 for Youth Talk in one night.

The first Lussmanns’ Dream Team Charity Dinner, on 7 February 2017 hosted by Andrei Lussmann has raised £10,483 for local counselling charity Youth Talk.

Chefs from four local restaurants: Richard Cramer (Oxscale), Drew Knight (Dylan’s at the King’s Arms), Nick McGeown (Lussmanns) and Phil Thompson (Thompson St Albans) prepared a special four course meal for 76 diners at this fundraising event at Lussmanns St Albans.

Special guests included Lady Verulam (Paton of Youth Talk), Trevor Fromant (Chief Executive of Youth Talk) and Maggie Turner OBE (Trustee of Youth Talk), along with Peter Borg-Neal (Founder and CEO of Oakman Inns) and Andy Harrison (Chairman of Dunelm Group and former CEO of Whitbread PLC).

Diners were welcomed with drinks and canapés, had the opportunity to find out more about Youth Talk’s much-needed counselling services for local young people, and met each chef as they introduced their dishes.

The four courses were:
Starter – Richard Cramer, Oxscale
Pork and Apple ~ pressed pork shoulder, liver parfait, apple, red cabbage, crispy crackling
Fish – Nick McGeown, Lussmanns
South Coast MSC mackerel soused heritage beetroot, blue borage
Main – Drew Knight, Dylans at The Kings Arms
Red wine braised ox cheek ~ cauliflower, beef dripping, Tunworth
Dessert – Phil Thompson, Thompson St Albans
Rhubarb and custard arctic roll ~ poached home-grown rhubarb, aerated white chocolate and pistachio (pictured)

Coffee and tea, with petits fours prepared by Phil Thompson

Proceeds from the ticket sales and a special raffle held on the night to win dinner for two at all four participating restaurants raised £5,241. This total was then doubled by a personal donation from entrepreneur Luke Johnson, a major shareholder and member of the Board of Directors for Lussmanns.

At the end of the evening, Andrei Lussmann presented a cheque for £10,483 to Youth Talk and Lady Verulam thanked everyone warmly for their efforts in making the event a success.

Reflecting on the night, Andrei Lussmann said: “This was a unique experience in St Albans, enjoyed by all, where ‘local’ really meant local! Every hour of labour and every ingredient was donated for free to raise as much money as possible to support the excellent work of Youth Talk. Huge thanks to all the guest chefs and Lussmanns staff that volunteered and to everyone who joined us.”

Trevor Fromant, Chief Executive of Youth Talk said: “The Dream Team Dinner was a complete triumph. Andrei, the guest chefs and Lussmanns staff did an amazing job and produced delicious dishes. The amount raised for Youth Talk was incredible. It will make a significant difference to the number of young people that we can work with this year.”

Download our news release [pdf] for more images from this special event.

See also: Lussmanns and Youth Talk launch their new charity partnership [pdf]