Chefs' Night Out: club managers and guests gather for a benefit in honor of Edgewood Children's Center.

On a mild spring evening at Al-gonquin Golf Club in suburban St. Louis, close to 300 guests gathered to enjoy the culinary offerings of 22 of the city's finest chefs--all to support a wonderful cause. May 17, 2004 marked the ninth annual "Chefs' Night Out" event, a culinary and charitable extravaganza with proceeds benefiting Edgewood Children's Center, an institution dedicated to the care and treatment of behaviorally and emotionally troubled children and their families in the St. Louis area. The event--which every year has grown in size--is a cooperative effort between Club Management magazine and the St. Louis Chapter of CMAA, and is attended largely by the members of private clubs, club managers, and culinary enthusiasts of every stripe.

"Edgewood Children's Center was founded in 1834 and is the oldest child caring institution west of the Mississippi River," said Wayne Crull, president and CEO of Edgewood. "Programs such as Chefs' Night Out are critical to providing the funds necessary to support our range of special education and treatment programs."

For an institution such as Edgewood, which provides such services as residential and day treatment programs, prevention programs, and respite and after-care programs, "the support of loyal donors and supporters contribute nearly 12 percent of our $8.5 million budget," Crull added. For Club Management, Chefs' Night Out officially represents the magazine's "Club Management and Club Managers Giving Back to the Community" charity.

Located on a 23-acre campus in the suburb of Webster Groves in St. Louis County, the Rock House at Edgewood--built in 1850 and the centerpiece of the Edgewood facility--was designated a National Historic Landmark and serves as a symbol of the advancement of institutional child welfare. The Rock House has its own special history, having been constructed by the Reverend Artimus Bullard, a brother-in-law of the famed Henry Ward Beecher. The Rock House and its surrounding property were purchased in 1869 by the St. Louis Protestant Orphan Asylum, which was later renamed as Edgewood Children's Center in 1944.

"State funding and corporate giving have really been hammered this past year and has severely impacted agencies like Edgewood," said Thomas J. Finan, IV, editor and publisher of Club Management. "This event is important to the continued success of institutions such as Edgewood Children's Center, and is something of which we are proud to be a part."

For the management at Algonquin Golf Club, this year's Chefs' Night Out marked the first time that the event wasn't held at a downtown city club. "Our clubhouse manager, Laurie Schwetz, wanted to give Chefs' Night Out a different feel than in years past," said Mass Shakiba, general manager at Algonquin. "The idea of holding the event outside around the pool area also allowed the guests to relax a bit and have more fun."

In addition to the look of this year's event, Schwetz also addressed some logistics issues that surfaced in previous years. "We came up with the plan of letting people access the buffet line from both sides, eliminating bottlenecks and helping the traffic move continuously," she said. This feature became even more important due to the fact that this year's attendance was its highest ever. "The word is out that this is a fun event to be a part of," Shakiba said.

Craig Meyer, executive chef at Algonquin, noted that the gathering of 22 of St. Louis' prominent chefs in one spot was no small task, but "this is one event where they all accept--no questions asked," he said. "They all know what an important fundraiser this is for the kids at Edgewood, so they make a point of arranging their schedules to accommodate this." The biggest challenge for an event of this kind, Meyer added, was "staying in contact with all the chefs and knowing exactly what they were all bringing, so there wouldn't be any overlap."

Chefs participating in this year's Chefs' Night Out were:

* Alan Hellyer, Missouri Athletic Club;

* Eddie Neill, Cafe Provencal;

* Lou Rook, Annie Gunn's;

* Craig Meyer, Algonquin Golf Club;

* Pierre Chambrin and The Culinary Staff, Saint Louis Club;

* John E. Bogacki, Westwood Country Club;

* Chris Desens, Racquet Club Ladue;

* Sam Niemann, Anheuser-Busch Executive Dining;

* John V. Kennealy, Noonday Club;

* Paul Kampff, Saint Louis Country Club;

* Lisa Slay, Blue Water Grill;

* Daniel Pliska, University Club of Missouri University, Columbia;

* Aidan Murphy, Old Warson Country Club;

* Dave Rook, Aqua Vin Restaurant;

* Brian Hale, Monarch Restaurant;

* Bernard Pilon, Norwood Hills Country Club;

* Gary Suarez, University Club;

* J. Kevln Storm, Bellerive Country Club;

* Julia Usher, Julia Usher Desserts;

* Nika Solsson, The World Cafe, White Crow Productions;

* Jonathan Gerusalmy and Michael Johnson, Figaro

Most importantly, Chefs' Night Out netted $72,000 for the children of Edgewood, the highest total ever. "Thirty members of Algonquin attended this event," Shakiba noted, "And one member bid $8,000 on auction items for Edgewood." According to Shakiba, this year's auctions were enhanced by the addition of smaller items "that allowed everyone the chance to bid on something, not just the large items," he said. "Over 100 items in total were donated, both large and small."

At the end of the event, Shakiba was proud of how his staff made the evening a success. "At the end of the night, my staff still had smiles on their faces," Shakiba said. "And we managed to get through it all without any rain." Laurie Schwetz added, "If we hold this event next year, we definitely need to get a tent--just in case."