Please join us on Sunday, June 23rd for a very special fundraising dinner. Norm’s great friend and favourite chef Xavier Deshayes will be here to cook alongside him for a delicious, elegant meal. All proceeds will go towards completing our ongoing Tawineyi Primary School building project, in collaboration with stone sculptor Chaka Chikodzi.
Norm is a firm believer in the importance of supporting education. Having spent much of his life in Africa, he is committed to helping build this school in Chaka’s home village. He truly believes that education is the best gift a child can receive.
Nelson Mandela said it best – “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”
The evening will start with Norm hosting a tasting of library wines from his favourite past vintages. To snack on while tasting we will serve the freshest PEI oysters, house-cured trout, boerewors (South African farmers sausage) braiid/barbecued over the fire, and biltong (South Africa’s much nicer version of beef jerky).
Chaka Chikodzi, whose gorgeous work adorns the property and who has spearheaded this project in his home village in Zimbabwe, will give a tour of the sculpture garden and a brief presentation about the school.
Dinner will follow with wines specially chosen by Norm for the evening. Norm and Xavier will cook/collaborate/smile/laugh and put together a tremendous simple delicious meal for all the wonderful people who choose to come and support this initiative.
Norm will be absorbing 100% of the costs of the evening (wine, labour, food) so that all the proceeds go towards completing the school. We are asking for a minimum donation of $200 per person to the Tawineyi School Foundation, which you can send by clicking here. Please ensure that you add “For the Tawineyi School Foundation” to the notes of your donation, and then email joey@normanhardie.com to confirm your phone number and how many guests are in your party. 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.
We are limiting the evening to 60 guests. The evening will begin at 5:30pm sharp and wrap up by 9pm (before the mosquitos descend). Dinner will be served al fresco overlooking the sculpture garden, with indoor seating available in the case of rain. We truly hope you can join us for this magical and important evening.
Read on to hear more about Norm and Xavier’s history and to see a great picture of both of them from 30 years ago.
Cheers,
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 came 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.
