There’s still a few weeks to go before Craig Stoneman and his team launch into organized chaos, creating a four-course meal for more than 150 guests at the Delta Victoria Ocean Pointe Resort and Spa.
But the executive chef of the hotel for the last 24 years is already tingling with excitement when it comes to planning the menu since this isn’t just any old dinner, it’s a fundraiser in support of the B.C. Children’s Hospital Foundation.
Using as many local ingredients as possible, so far Stoneman’s menu for the special night includes a fish course or beef tenderloin, followed by a blackberry sorbet, which will likely be made in the week leading up to the Sept. 10 dinner, Harvest on the Harbour: A Night Under the Stars.
Cooking an elaborate meal for so many people is something he and his team have done several times in the past, and always involves a tremendous amount of planning in order to go off without a hitch.
“Everything is to do with timing. You just prepare for it,” said Stoneman, who will have five to six people in the kitchen to help expedite the food.
“You make out a plan, prepare a list and work on what things will be done on certain days. The last thing is searing the fish and cooking the beef and prepping the veggies so everything is fresh.”
This year marks the first year the Delta Victoria will be hosting the fundraising dinner for the hospital foundation, which raises funds to support the hospital, Sunny Hill Health Centre for Children and the Child & Family Research Institute.
Last year, more than 86,000 children were treated at the hospital, which is the province’s only full-service hospital dedicated to treating critically ill and injured children.
Organizers of the fundraising dinner have a goal of raising $10,000. Nicole MacKinnon, the hotel’s director of sales and marketing, hopes that number will grow in future years.
“Any money that’s raised in this community goes directly to the B.C. Children’s Hospital Foundation,” said MacKinnon. “Many families on the Island are benefitting from the hospital. It’s just such a great charity.”
Harvest on the Harbour: A Night Under the Stars begins at 5:30 p.m. with a silent auction, followed by dinner at 6:30 p.m. and a live band. Tickets are $150. For more information visit deltavictoriagala.com.