The Johnson County community has no shortage of leadership guiding it in industry, civics and philanthropic endeavors.
But this weekend, the public will have the chance to answer the question: Who is the most skilled in the kitchen?
More than 30 leaders-turned-chefs will flex their culinary prowess, all to support local agencies and initiatives. Cooking for a Cause, which will be held from 1:45 to 4 p.m. Sunday, gives ticket-holders that opportunity to try samples of go-to dishes prepared by prominent Johnson County men.
Participating chefs are cooking up everything from Korean beef tostadas to Spanish gazpacho to snickerdoodle cobbler. Tips for the chefs count as votes, and the funds generated will go to support Habitat for Humanity of Johnson County, the Johnson County Community Foundation and Leadership Johnson County.
“It’s a unique and fun event. We are all partners in some way in the nonprofit community here, and it’s nice to be able to work together on a project, and bring a whole bunch of individuals together to raise funds for all three of us at the same time,” said Kim Kasting, vice president for development for the Johnson County Community Foundation.
Cooking for a Cause is the project of the Give Back Gals. The group members — Kasting, Stephanie Wagner, Tandy Shuck, LeeAnn Wilbur and Jennifer Price — joined forces after taking golf lessons together at Hickory Stick Golf Club.
All of the women worked for different local nonprofit organizations, including Habitat for Humanity of Johnson County, the Johnson County Community Foundation and Leadership Johnson County. They harnessed their newfound hobby, and decided to create a women-only golf outing to raise funds for those groups.
“We ran that event for nine years, and all of the proceeds from that were divided between those organizations,” Kasting said.
In the interest of keeping the fundraiser fresh, the Give Back Gals explored additional events they could host. Researching different options, and noting what had not been done in the past in Johnson County, a cook-off emerged as an exciting option.
“We would bring in male chefs with their assistants, and people could buy tickets to come and sample what the chefs were cooking,” Kasting said.
Rather than recruit professional chefs from the area, organizers instead reached out to other local leaders to whip up their go-to dishes that they cook at home.
Featured dishes range from savory tailgate foods such as white chicken chili prepared by Jeremy Pell, bacon-wrapped jalapenos from Pat Hagan or the loaded pork nachos fixed by Marcus Davis to delectable desserts such as Scott Horvath’s elephant ear cheesecake or Peter Goerner’s triple chocolate treasure bars.
The chefs have been fundraising for the past few months, and people could donate at the Cooking for a Cause website. The final tally will include tips that are provided to the chefs the night of the event. The participant that raises the most money is named “Top Chef.”
Along with that title comes the satisfaction of helping three important nonprofits expand their assistance.
“That money will support our groups’ missions and the work we do,” Kasting said.
