Hillsborough Supervisor of Elections Earl Lennard Set To ‘Cook For a Cause’ at Copper Bell Cafe in Brandon

Last year six community leaders “Cooking for a Cause" raised $10,414.87 for area charities and this year’s race is on to beat those numbers.

The second leg of the race is April 18, at the Copper Bell Café in Brandon, where Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections and former Hillsborough County School Superintendent Earl Lennard, a 1960 graduate of Brandon High School, is set to cook up a dish of chicken and yellow rice.

It marks the second year  for Lennard’s participation in the celebrity cook-off instituted by Darren Denington, owner of the Copper Bell Cafe.

Last year Lennard raised "$1,800 plus,” for the charity of his choice, the Boys and Girls Club of Riverview, and this year Lennard added that he hopes to raise “at least $2,000” for the same charitable endeavor.

“I was at Copper Bell Cafe today getting some prep time in and I’ll be back around 10:30 tomorrow morning [April 18] getting ready to go,” he said.

Serving is from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. and the cost of the meal is $10, with all proceeds and gratuities going to the chef’s selected charity.

Lennard’s meal will consist of “slow roasted all-natural chicken mixed with seasoned yellow rice” and served with “roasted vegetables and Salsa Verda toast."

“I had a great deal of fun last year seeing some old friends I hadn’t seen in awhile and meeting some new ones,” Lennard said in a phone interview April 17.

Copper Bell is at the corner of Oakfield Drive and Parsons Avenue.

Cooking For a Cause II kicked off April 11 with Melissa Snively, a State Farm Insurance agent and this year’s chair of the Greater Brandon Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, who cooked for the Brandon Outreach Clinic.

Also on tap this year:

• May 2 — Tony Del Castillo, general manager, St. Petersburgh Brandon Times, cooking for Life Care of Brandon.
• May 9 — Richard Strehl, financial advisor, cooking for the Greater Brandon Community Foundation for which he serves as executive director.
• May 16 — Former state Senate President Tom Lee, cooking for A Kid’s Place.
• May 23 — Tammy Bracewell, president of the Greater Brandon Chamber of Commerce, cooking for the YMCA.

Bracewell, Lennard and Del Castillo are returning community chefs. Also Cooking For a Cause in 2010 were Anne Nymark, Mike Fencel and George T. May IV.