Chefs for Jimmy offers participants a memorable evening with delicious local dishes, raising money for cancer research and patient care at Dana-Farber.
Voted the “Best Charity Event” by The Valley Advocate’s “Best of Reader’s Poll” for several years in a row, this spectacular event has raised more than $1.5 million since 1990 in support of Dana-Farber’s lifesaving mission to conquer cancer.
The event is held annually in memory of Neal Webber and Stan Winer, long-time supporters of the Jimmy Fund.
30 area restaurants participated in the fundraiser – presented by Winer Levsky Group of UBS Financial Services Inc. and hosted by the Jimmy Fund Council of Western Massachusetts.
The event featured tastings of sample dishes from each of the restaurants, an opportunity drawing and a silent auction, while more than 90 percent of the proceeds will benefit the Jimmy Fund to support patient care and cancer research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. At the end of the evening, Kittredge Equipment donated a Hobart slicer to one of the restaurants as a thank you for their participation.
“All of the top restaurants participate – it’s wonderful. They donate their time, food and their chefs – it’s a very upscale evening in terms of quality,” said Michael Katz, co-chair of the committee responsible for organizing the event. “We do a large check presentation every year to the Jimmy Fund where we tally up what we’ve raised, knowing the money we’ve raised is going to either cure cancer at some point or to prolong the life of a child – it’s just a wonderful feeling.”
Restaurants and caterers created dishes and décor to reflect the 2019 event theme an “Enchanted Evening.”
2019 Participating Restaurants:
1105 Main
350 Grill
Burgundy Brook Café
Cal Mare
Cerrato’s Pastry Shop
Chez Josef
Dana’s Main Street Tavern
Delaney’s Grill & The Mick
Elegant Affairs
Fazio’s Ristorante
Lattitude Restaurant & Events
Leone’s Restaurant
Longmeadow Country Club
Max’s Tavern
Murphy’s Pub
Nadim’s Downtown
Nosh Restaurant & Café
On the Border Mexican Grill & Cantina
Palazzo Café
Pierce Brothers Coffee
Pintu’s Indian Restaurant
Rondeau’s Dairy Bar
Shortstop Bar & Grill
Slainte
Steaming Tender
Storrowton Tavern Restaurant & Carriage House
Tekoa Country Club
The Chandler Steakhouse
The Student Prince Cafe & The Fort Dining Room
Katz, who created the event 29 years ago, said he was inspired to do so after his father was diagnosed with leukemia and received treatment from the Dana-Farber Institute.
“My dad received such incredible treatment at Dana-Farber, I wanted to repay the Institute in trying to help with their mission statement. He was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer at his local hospital on the Cape and they gave him less than three months to live,” he told Reminder?Publishing. “Through the Dana-Farber, he stayed alive almost three years, as opposed to the three months.
“He was treated so fantastically by not only the doctors, but the parking lot attendants and nurses. They have wonderful specialists and everybody is married to the mission,” he continued.
The Jimmy Fund solely supports Boston’s Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, raising funds for adult and pediatric cancer care and research to improve the chances of survival for cancer patients around the world.
The Fund is the official charity of the Boston Red Sox, the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association, the Pan-Mass Challenge, and the Variety Children’s Charity of New England.
Since 1990, Chefs for Jimmy has raised more than $1.5 million for adult and pediatric cancer care and research at Dana-Farber.