March 2010

Last night I had the very fun opportunity to volunteer at the Taste of the South End, an annual event that brings restaurants, bakeries, and wineries together with foodies for a great cause, the AIDS Action Committee.

From the Taste of the South End website:

The Taste of the South End is Boston’s premier food & wine event in our neighborhood and it brings together all of the South End chefs for the AIDS Action Committee. It is a fine way to both raise money for a wonderful organization that does vital work in our community and also have fun saying hello to friends, neighbors and colleagues. I would not miss this event for the world,” said participating chef Gordon Hamersley

I arrived at around 4:45 and got to take a quick walk around to see the hustle and bustle of the setup. After a brief volunteer orientation, we got to work. I was in charge of assisting Masa, Avila, and Flash’s. It was an easy volunteer gig; all I had to do was make sure they had enough ice, napkins, utensils, plates etc. We were also to watch out for spills and to bus tables to make sure there weren’t dirty dishes laying around.

Aquitane’s lovely menu item

Gaslight’s Eiffel Tower of chocolate

I stopped by and visited the table from Rodney Strong, a winery I will be visiting in California wine country in just a week and a half! I also tried to chat to reps from another winery I planned on visiting. . . and they were quite unfriendly! Reconsidering that visit. . .

Boston Center for Adult Education had a gorgeous display of tasty cupcakes. Aren’t they pretty?

Aroa Chocolate offered a variety of treats, including a spiced hot chocolate that they were brewing up on site.

28 Degrees had these awesome cups of tuna tartare.

And my favorite brunch spot, Masa, was serving up their habanero watermelon margaritas.

The Flour / Myers + Chang crowd were all smiles as they served up decadent eclairs and little boxes of chicken noodle salads.

Chef Barros from Myers + Chang wins for best headgear 🙂 I’d say that Flour and Myers + Chang win for the most fun restaurant tables at the event.

I hate to say it, but I forget which restaurant served these delicious bites. But I had two 😉

Sibling Rivalry and their refreshing mango gelee topped with crab salad.

Petit Robert’s delicious chocolate macarons (I also had 2 of these.)

Cocktails poured down an ice luge at the Franklin Cafe table

Volunteering was a lot of fun and very easy. I got to chat with a few of the other volunteers, and the best part of course was that we got to take breaks to sample the delicious food on display. The only downside was that we could not taste the wine, and there were a few great wineries there. Next year, I would definitely consider buying tickets to attend the event. With the money going to a great cause and the sheer number of quality South End establishments cooking up a storm, its really a great deal for an evening out.

The planning team and everyone involved deserves a real round of applause. They did a great job, and from what I could see, everything went very smoothly.

Have you ever volunteered at an event? What was it, and what was the experience like?

My ALLY Foundation raffle will end on March 20, my birthday

$10/ticket at http://firstgiving.com/meghanmalloyteamally

The prizes so far? A custom me & goji mix, a one month membership to Healthworks fitness, a case of wine from Wine Cellars of Stoneham, a tour and private tasting for 10 at Westport Rivers Winery, and a $100 Williams Sonoma gift certificate. There aren’t a ton of entries, so there is a good chance of winning!