The Montgomery County Free Clinic is proud to announce the 9th annual Dining with the Chefs presented by “Michelin Star” sponsors McGowan Insurance Group and Auto-Owners Insurance.
The event will take place Aug. 12 at Wabash College. Reserve seats now for $85 per person or $640 for a table of eight. Registration closes August 4 or when the event sells out. Get your tickets now at bit.ly/DWTC23.
Two of this year’s chefs include Jason Anderson, executive chef with Bon Appetit at Wabash College and Rick Warner, chef turned history professor.
“It’s an amazing cause and does so much to help people here locally who need it,” Anderson said. “It’s my pleasure to keep coming back. I enjoy the camaraderie with the other chefs and seeing what they are doing. I always hope to pick up something new.”
Anderson was born in Chicago Heights in 1971, where he grew up spending time with his grandparents at their old farmhouse developing a love for food and cooking. He attended culinary school in Charleston, South Carolina, during which time he worked at an award-winning resort, honing his skills under an amazing chef. Post-graduation, he worked in several restaurants throughout the Midwest, and eventually even owned his own.
“It’s important to serve and give back to the community,” he said. “God has given us all different gifts and I believe it is our calling to use those to better mankind. Those of us who have access to and can afford healthcare sometimes may take it for granted. The clinic and all their volunteers are amazing. It is an honor to be able to help them raise money to provide services for those in need.”
As executive chef for Bon Appetit, Anderson features seasonal and sustainable menus. His Italian inspired dishes for Dining with the Chefs include seared diver scallops, truffled creamy risotto and charred asparagus.
Rick Warner worked as a chef for 11 years in Vermont and California and attended the California Culinary Academy before returning to school to obtain a doctorate degree in history. He teaches Latin American and World History at Wabash College, as well as courses related to food and its history. Warner has entertained numerous local and Wabash folks at his house, now named “the 308.”
Warner has been involved with Dining with the Chefs since its inception and sees the importance of supporting an organization that provides healthcare to those who are unable to seek it elsewhere.
“I’m impressed that the Montgomery County Free Clinic is actively answering one of our more vexing problems in society: how to ensure that healthcare is more widely available,” Warner said. “I like to imagine a world in which we do as much as we can to bring help to humanity as a whole. I’m pleased to support efforts to strengthen our community by addressing this need.”
Warner’s dishes at Dining with the Chefs are inspired by Latin and South America. They will include Chifa ceviche shooters (Chinese influenced marinated fish) and Brazilian feijoada (black bean and sausage stew).
In addition to delicious food from around the world, the Dining with the Chefs evening program will include honored guests, MCFC volunteer awards and a special silent auction to help fund the Clinic’s work to serve un- and under-insured residents of Montgomery County.
For 55 years, beginning with the Well Baby Clinic and then the Christian Nursing Service, health care providers and concerned members of the Crawfordsville community have been providing a variety of services for un- and under-served individuals and families. The Montgomery County Free Clinic Board incorporated and became a not-for-profit organization in 2009 as an outgrowth of CNS able to offer similar and additional services.
Montgomery County Free Clinic Inc. offers high-quality medical and dental care and health promotion and disease prevention services to residents of Montgomery County who lack insurance and would otherwise go without basic health care. The MCFC is led by an administrative and medical staff and guided by a generous Board of Directors.
The MCFC operates the Dr. Mary Ludwig Free Clinic at 816 Mill St., home of MCFC, the Meals on Wheels program in Crawfordsville, the Faith Alliance Mammography Program and the MontCares Listserv, a community non-profit communication system.
