Community Corner
Brandon Foundation Wins as Strehl Cooks for a Cause at Copper Bell
Richard Strehl, executive director of the Greater Brandon Community Foundation, as a celebrity chef at the Copper Bell Cafe on Parsons Avenue in Brandon.
As a benefits broker, Richard Strehl normally sits behind a desk crunching numbers. He took to the kitchen May 9 to help raise funds for the Greater Brandon Community Foundation, acting as a guess chef in this year’s Cooking For a Cause II at the .
No Gordon Ramsay or Wolfgang Puck, Strehl did his best to pitch in at the Parsons Avenue eatery, taking orders, busing tables and handing out menus.
So how did it compare with his day job?
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“This is much more fun. It’s crazy here,” said the executive director of the Greater Brandon Community Foundation.
Strehl wasn’t shy about letting friends and family know he would be a volunteer chef, part of the reason more than 400 meals were served as part of the event.
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“I wasn’t surprised by the turnout. I had been asking people to support us for a few weeks and I knew they would.”
Strehl said he hoped to raise $5,000, all of which goes to the foundation. “It’s the cause that is close to my heart.”
Darren Denington, owner of the Copper Bell, said all proceeds and gratuities raised during each of the six “Cooking For a Cause II” meals, prepared by celebrity chefs, will be donated that that chef’s selected charity. Serving is from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. and the cost of the meal is $10.
“It’s just a win-win, it’s such a fun day and the charities love it,” Dennington said. “The celebrity chefs love it, the people come in and get exposed to the café and they love it and we do what we love to do, cooking good food and feeding a lot of people.”
Moreover, he said, charities benefit, last year to the tune of $10,414.87. Last year was the first year “Cooking For a Cause” was instituted.
Upcoming Cooking For a Cause II chefs include:
- 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, and Del Castillo are returning community chefs. Also Cooking For a Cause in 2010 were Anne Nymark, Mike Fencel and George T. May IV.
