A gala charity dinner featuring a four-course dinner prepared by some of the city’s top chefs has raised more than $57,000 to help buy food hampers for people needing some festive cheer during Christmas.
Held at the Pullman Reef Hotel Casino on Saturday night, the third annual 5-Star Chefs for Charity event featured dishes prepared by the head chefs from Hilton Cairns, Pullman Cairns International, Shangri-La and the Pullman Reef Hotel Casino.
The sold-out event was themed Casino Royale, with $25,350 raised through the sale of 160 tickets and a further $32,000 from auctions, raffles and donations on the night.
All money raised goes to the Mayor’s Christmas Cheer Appeal, which is used to buy food hampers for families and older members of the community who need a helping hand to make their Christmas festive.
Cairns Mayor Bob Manning thanked the hoteliers, those who donated to the event, and of course those who attended, for their generosity.
“This is third time we have held this event and each time we have raised the bar in terms of the amount of money collected for the Christmas appeal,” Cr Manning said.
“This dinner has certainly become a signature event on the Cairns calendar and the support from the local business community has been simply outstanding.
“Everything associated with the delivery of this event, from the food and beverages, lighting and audio visual, the entertainment and theming, right through to videography and photography services, designs and printing, is all donated by local business.”
Over the past three years the event has raised over $124,000 for the Mayor’s Christmas Cheer Appeal.
The Pullman Cairns International will host next year’s event.
