Tenth annual Passions fundraiser a tasty success

Last night (September 15), I attended the 10th annual Passions fundraiser as a media guest. The event took place at the Dr. Peter Centre (1110 Comox Street) and featured tasting plates created by 24 Lower Mainland restaurants, as well as cocktails, wine, and both a live and silent auction. Passions is an annual fundraiser for the the Dr. Peter AIDS Foundation, a Vancouver-based non-profit organization that provides comfort care and resources for people living with HIV/AIDS.

This year, guests sipped on New Zealand wines and craft gin cocktails created by Bittered Sling mixologist Lauren Mote and Fairmont Pacific Rim head bartender Grant Sceney. Chefs from across the city provided tasty and intruiging dishes. There were plenty of meat and seafood-laden plates, but it was also nice to see several vegetarian options. Guests who love sweets had many desserts, including cupcakes, cheesecake, chocolate rice pudding, and ice-cream to choose from.

Participating restaurants included Beaucoup Bakery, Bittered Sling, Burdock & Co., Chambar, CinCin, Coast, Crave on Main,Espana, the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, Forage, Fraîche, Joe Fortes, Le Gavroche, Le Parisien, Maenam, MARKET by Jean-Georges, Miku/Minami, MIX the Bakery, the Observatory, Oru,Provence, Tojo’s, Urban Fare, and West.

Passions organizer Nathan Fong Tweeted this morning (September 16), that the event raised a record $130,000, resulting in more than $1 million raised for the Dr. Peter AIDS Foundation over the past decade.

See more photos from Passions 2013 below.