A Special Evening With Norm's Favourite Chef!
On Monday, June 30th my great friend and favourite chef Xavier Deshayes (bio at bottom) will be cooking alongside our friends from Littlejohn Farm here in PEC and Chef Zab from Craft Food House in Cobourg. 100% of the ticket price for the evening (click for highlights from last year’s event) will be donated to the Tawineyi Community School building project in Zimbabwe. This project has been spearheaded by Zimbabwean/Canadian stone sculptor Chaka Chikodzi.
I am a firm believer in the importance of supporting education. I truly believe that education is the best gift a child can receive. Having spent much of my life in Africa, I am committed to helping this ambitious and critical project in Chaka’s home village.
We will start the evening with a tasting of back-vintages from my private library. These sought-after back-vintage wines will be accompanied by the freshest PEI oysters, house-cured trout, boerewors (South African farmers sausage) braii/barbecued over the fire, and biltong (South Africa’s much nicer version of beef jerky).
At the end of the tasting/prior to the meal Chaka will give a short presentation on the progress and excitement of the imminent opening of the school. He will also give a brief tour of the sculpture garden and the works featured.
Dinner will follow where Xavier and the team will create a simple, elegant and magnificently delicious four course meal using fresh local ingredients. To pair with the meal we will be pouring our 2021 County Chardonnay and 2021 County Pinot Noir, both grown in the vineyards right next to the patio.
We are limiting this special event to 60 people to ensure it is a memorable experience. The evening will begin at 5:30pm sharp and wrap up by 9pm. Dinner will be served al fresco overlooking the sculpture garden, with indoor seating available in the event of rain.
I will be absorbing 100% of the costs of the evening (wine, labour, food) ensuring that all the proceeds go towards helping the school. We are asking for a minimum donation of $225 per person to the Education Without Borders partnership with Tawineyi Community School. A charitable donation tax receipt will automatically be generated for you. If you are in a position to donate more for your seat, we encourage you to do so. Visit the link here to read more and make your donation. Email joey@normanhardie.com to secure your spot on the guest list.
We look forward to you joining us for this magical evening.
Cheers,
Norm
Xavier & Norm
Norm and Xavier met at the Four Seasons Beverly Hills when Xavier was working for Michelle Richard. Norm convinced Xavier to come to Toronto and be the chef at Truffles at the Four Seasons Toronto, a post he held from 1993-1996. At the time Truffles was the only 5 diamond restaurant in Canada. In October 1996 Norm moved to Oregon for harvest, and Xavier moved to the U.S. For 10 years he was Executive Chef for the Ronald Reagan Building & International Trade Center in Washington, DC, cooking for U.S. Presidents and world leaders. Norm and Xavier have remained great friends to this day.
