NEW YORK, September 16, 2005— On October 17, the Institute of Culinary Education (ICE®) is hosting a fund-raising dinner to benefit Share Our Strength’s Katrina Relief Fund. Writer Calvin Trillin and Chef Susan Spicer will be among the guests of honor to address the audience, who will enjoy a five course New Orleans-inspired menu prepared by ICE® chefs. ICE® aims at raising $20,000 through the sale of $200 tickets and a live auction.

Share Our Strength is providing financial support to the food banks in New Orleans, Mobile, Baton Rouge, and Dallas, and will provide targeted funds to families of foodservice workers who have lost their employment in the wake of the hurricane. ICE® is proud to be able to contribute to this effort through this fundraiser.

A cocktail party will launch the event at 6:30 p.m., and guests will sit for dinner at 7 p.m. Over the course of the evening, Trillin, Spicer, professor and author Dr. Randy Fertel, will provide entertainment in the form of remarks, anecdotes, and music. As a staff writer for The New Yorker and Time magazine and the author of over eight books, Trillin frequently writes about food, travel, politics and the south. Spicer is the executive chef and partner in restaurants Bayona and Herbsaint in New Orleans, and won the 1993 the James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef, Southeast Region. Fertel is the son of Ruth Fertel, founder of the New Orleans-based Ruth’s Chris Steak House chain. He is at work on his first book, The Gorilla Man and the Empress of Steak, which is a memoir about his parents, food, and growing up in New Orleans.

The evening will also be filled with music, courtesy of artists Judy McLane, Joel Higgins, and Michael Lavine. McLane is an award-winning actress and singer currently playing the role of Tanya in Mamma Mia! on Broadway, while Higgins is a seasoned, bi-coastal TV and stage actor turned composer and producer and Lavine is an internationally known pianist, singer, and musical director.

When: Monday, October 17 at 6:30 PM (Cocktails at 6:30; dinner at 7:00)
Where: ICE®, 50 West 23rd Street, New York City
Price: $200 per person ($160 per person is tax deductible; a letter confirming one’s donation will be sent by Share Our Strength following the event)
Tickets: Call 212-847-0770

To purchase tickets ($160 tax deductible), please call ICE® at 212-847-0770. The Institute of Culinary Education is located at 50 West 23rd Street, New York NY 10010 and online at www.iceculinary.com. For more information on Share of Our Strength’s work, please visit www.shareourstrength.org.