Omnivore Atlanta

Here’s a good opportunity to try a new restaurant and help support the Atlanta Community Food Bank:

Abattoir Chophouse, the sixth venture from celebrated Chefs and Restaurateurs Anne Quatrano and Clifford Harrison, will host Supper Club to benefit the Atlanta Community Food Bank’s Atlanta’s Table on Tuesday, August 11. Quatrano and Harrison, along with Chef and Partner Joshua Hopkins, invite Atlantans to experience this “meatcentric” concept with a menu that is based around “whole animal cuisine,” a term referring to Quatrano’s use of every functional piece of the animal.

Supper Club is a monthly event that allows diners the convenience of enjoying a meal at some of Atlanta’s hottest restaurants while supporting their community.  Each month, a different restaurant serves as host, and 20 percent of the evening’s proceeds benefit Atlanta’s Table, the prepared food rescue project of the Food Bank.

A more casual dining experience than Quatrano and Harrison’s other culinary destinations, Bacchanalia and Floataway Café, Abattoir is located at 1170 Howell Mill Road within the White Provision building that was originally a meat packing plant in the 1940s and ‘50s. Read Besha Rodell’s review to learn more about the restaurant.

Supper Club was created in the late 1990s to celebrate the partnership between Atlanta’s Table and Atlanta’s hospitality community.  Atlanta’s Table, a project of the Food Bank, provides approximately 40,000 pounds of prepared food for Atlanta’s hungry each month.  With sponsorship from Ethic Inc., Jezebel magazine, TrendCRM and 92.9 dave fm, Atlanta’s Table Supper Club generates funds to ensure continued operations of the project.  For more information about Supper Club, visit www.ACFB.org, or contact Daphne Hill at 678.553.5996 or daphne.hill@ACFB.org.

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Last week, the United Nations’ Food and Health Organization released a chilling statistic: More than one-sixth of the world’s people will go hungry in 2009. What qualifies one as “going hungry?” Less than than 1,800 calories a day, according to the FHO. The agency attributes the 100 million increase over last year’s figure to the global economic slowdown and consistently high food prices. Called a “silent crisis” by FHO Director-General Jacques Diouf, political instability and lack of infrastructure have compounded food shortages — shifting political boundaries and conflicts such as civil war keep much needed food from reaching people.

Want to help? Consider volunteering here in Atlanta. The Atlanta Community Foodbank accepts individual and group volunteers daily and for special events. Project Open Hand — a service organization that delivers meals to the chronically ill or elderly — needs help preparing and giving out food. The Hands On Atlanta website lists volunteer opportunities by date and interest so you can find a foodie way to be good to Atlanta.

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The Atlanta Community Food Bank will be holding their Supper Club benefit this month at JCT Kitchen and Bar.

On Tuesday, Mar. 10, 20% of the evening’s proceeds will go straight to help feed the community. To get more information about the Supper Club or to make reservations, call 404-355-2252 or go to www.jctkitchen.com. 1198 Howell Mill Road.

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The latest cycle of “Simple Abundance,” a series of cooking classes to benefit the Atlanta Community Food Bank, will begin this Monday, Jan. 26, at Cook’s Warehouse in Midtown.

The class, scheduled 7-9 p.m., will feature Chef Ford Fry of JCT Kitchen. His class is entitled “It’s
All about Bacon”:

It’s All About Bacon
Chef Ford Fry of JCT Kitchen
The Cook’s Warehouse – Midtown
($55, 7-9 p.m. Demonstration & Tasting)
This class is for all the bacon lovers out there. After all, everything’s better with bacon, right? Chef Fry brings his popular Southern farmstead cooking to Simple Abundance with a menu of Crispy Braised Bacon “BLT” with apple butter and brioche; Alan Benton’s Bacon-Wrapped Sea Scallop with arugula salad, caramel corn and spiced peanuts and Georgia apple vinaigrette; Sheep’s Milk Ricotta Dumplings with grilled JCT cured bacon, brown butter and crispy sage. Evening includes wine tastings and a chance to win tasty door prizes provided by Atlanta Beverage, Bella Cucina Artful Foods, Cabot Cheese and Via Elisa Authentic Fresh Pasta.
Location: The Cook’s Warehouse – Midtown: 549-1 Amsterdam Avenue, Atlanta GA 30306

Consult the Food Bank’s website for more information about classes and to register.

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Legal Sea Foods will host this month’s Supper Club benefit for the Atlanta Community Food Bank on Monday, January 12. Each month a different restaurant donates 20 percent of the evening’s proceeds to Atlanta’s Table, which is the prepared food rescue project of the Food Bank.

Legal Seafood, located right in the Luckie Marietta District across from Centennial Olympic Park and the Georgia Aquarium, will serve a fresh menu with a raw bar featuring oysters, clams, mussels and jumbo shrimp cocktail. There is also a varietal kid-friendly menu with low sodium and gluten free dishes.

Visit the website for more information or to make reservations for Supper Club, or call 678-500-3700.

Also, read more about the Atlanta’s Table Supper Club.

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Empty shelves at the Atlanta Community Food Bank

The holidays are here, but the joys of giving, receiving, and helping others have become more of a fantasy than reality this season. As our economy’s stock market plunged and millions of people got their pink slips, the ability for people to reach out and give back has declined drastically.

Monetary and food donations are suffering most as a result of the failing economy. It’s a sad phenomenon considering this society capitalizes on draining consumers dry with every given holiday. We make money by selling dreams and gifts to accompany them. But now our life essentials are put in jeopardy.

Food banks have experienced a major drop in donations although there was an increase in the demand for service. More people understand that others need help in this crisis, but there is less in the position to do so as they usually could. One food bank in Chamblee said that last November there were only 70 families seeking assistance. This year, at the very same food bank, 896 families sought out help.

Recently, I attended the Salvation Army’s annual food drive. The “Canathon” — which is also sponsored by Channel 11 Alive — has a turnout that was much lower than in previous years. There was also a growth of people looking to get food help for the holidays. A spokesperson for the Salvation Army said in order to help as many people as possible they would have to give less to stretch the donations.

Many food banks have had to make that sacrifice. Where they would usually be able to help families with a large food supply, they are looking to feed more families with about one day’s meal each. For those families who are running out of food, or cannot afford a big holiday dinner, every little bit helps.

Here are some places to give donations: Atlanta Community Food Bank, Salvation Army, and Society of St. Vincent de Paul. MyFox Atlanta also got in on the discussion about feeding more with less food.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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Okay, so the Mormon church owns a couple orchards in Utah and Idaho that apparently yielded an immaculate crop of peaches and apricots so large the Latter-Day Saints thought, hey, let’s send some peaches to the Peach State.

Whether the church’s cheekiness was intentional or simply unrealized, the 70,000 cans shipped to the Atlanta Community Food Bank was no laughing matter.

(Photo from Wikimedia Commons)

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Aja, the latest Tom Catherall restaurant, opened Nov. 7 in the space formerly occupied by Emeril’s (3500 Lenox Rd.). Catherall has hired William Sigley, who has worked at Wolfgang Puck’s Chinois and Todd English’s Olives, as chef.

The menu is pan-Asian. You can find more details on the Here to Serve website. I can’t wait to see the 10-ft. brass Buddha.

Speaking of Catherall, I found this on his blog:

For the first time ever, four distinctive Atlanta restaurateurs – Pano Karatassos, Bob Amick, Tom Catherall and George McKerrow – will be roasted and toasted at 4 Legends of Atlanta Hospitality Roast on Monday evening, Nov. 17, at 6 p.m. at the Atlanta Community Food Bank. They are all sure to feel the heat, but they know it’s for a tremendous cause – to support the hungry and the work of the Atlanta Community Food Bank this holiday season.

Following a cocktail reception, foodies, philanthropists, and socialites will be treated to a delectable three course meal and dessert reception, prepared by four-star chefs Peter Kaiser, Jamie Adams, Carvel Gould and Jonathan St. Hilaire, each adding their own special flair and elegance to the evening. Atlanta magazine restaurant critic Christiane Lauterbauch will provide the evening’s introductions, and Carolyn O’Neil will emcee the Roast.

For more information, sponsorship opportunities or to purchase tickets, visit www.ACFB.org/ROAST or call 678-538-9000.

Tickets are $300-$500.

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