Foundation for Global Scholars: Eat, Drink, Travel

Eat, Drink, Travel is an international food and wine tasting fundraiser featuring food and wine from around the world. Held at the University of Denver Fritz Knoebel School of Hospitality and Management, it provided a lovely evening of wine tasting and international food fare from Africa, Italy, France, Australia, each paired with a selection of carefully chosen world-wide wine labels.

The evening began with the VIP pre-event with Chef Paul Reilly from beast + bottle restaurant which was a hands-on cooking demonstration and wine pairing. Chef Reilly carefully prepared a gourmet meal of white fish in parchment with vegetables a la grecque paired with Casafamento Verdicchio. The Chef playfully demonstrated how to prepare the vegetables with olive oil while he adamantly recommended the use of salt. It brings out the natural flavor of everything you cook he said. His suggestion for his favorite salt was one called Maldon salt. He showed how easy it was to cut and use parchment paper for cooking. People questioned his use of salt but listened intently as he encouraged the crowd to use parchment paper for cooking and not just for holiday cookies. The paper, he said, gives everything a richer, bolder flavor.

Then guests flowed into the Tuscany Ballroom for more exotic dishes prepared by the hospitality school kitchen all partnered with a wide array of unusual wine to choose from. The silent auction kept guests busy running back and forth for a taste  of a different wine and to check on a bid. The evening ended with the Auction Diva, Shelley St. John, who helped to keep the funds and scholarships alive with support from bidders. A few lucky ones went home with travel packages to New Zealand and Australia, and one wine-lover-bidder took home a wall of wine.

The delicious event was fun for anyone who had studied, lived, or worked in another country or simply enjoyed an evening of globally infused food and wine. The event offered members of the international business community an opportunity to form connections with global peers.

Be sure to go to the website http://www.foundationforglobalscholars.org to see how you can be a part of this organization.

The Foundation for Global Scholars enables deserving college students to study abroad and gain international understanding and perspective, without regard to financial ability. All proceeds will go to scholarships for deserving college students for international education programs.