The Charlottesville 29

Photo by Robinson Imagery.

The generosity of the Charlottesville food community is dogged. Not even a pandemic can stop it.

It seems so long ago now, but back in 2019, before anyone had heard of lockdowns or social distancing, the Charlottesville food community came together to raise $250,000+ for the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank – enough to provide more than 1 Million meals to area residents in need. In The Charlottesville 29 Restaurant Auctions, the restaurants of The Charlottesville 29 each created a once-in-lifetime dining experience for whoever pledged the highest donation to the food bank. Thanks to the generosity of the restaurants, every dollar of winning bids went directly to the food bank.

In some cases, winning bidders scheduled their experiences before the pandemic began. But, others were forced to postpone their experiences due to COVID-19. On Sunday night, Ivy Inn hosted their auction experience: “Be a Michelin Star Sous Chef.” Former Ivy Inn sous chef Jeremiah Langhorne, who earned a Michelin Star for his Washington D.C. restaurant The Dabney, traveled to Charlottesville to join the auction winner in the Ivy Inn kitchen with chef-owner Angelo Vangelopoulos. Together, they prepared a spectacular tasting menu for the auction winner’s friends, along with special guests Luca Paschina of Barboursville Vineyards, and Gabriele Rausse of Gabriele Rausse Winery. Vangelopoulos said it is the most fun he has had in the kitchen in a long time. “Being around others who have such a rich passion for their craft and elevate others around them is such great inspiration and motivates me to no end,” said Vangelopoulos. “Much appreciation to all of them, and most of all to our guests, whose generosity and desire to help others makes Charlottesville such an amazing place.”

For the privilege of attending the experience, the winning bidders had already donated $10,000 to the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank, enough to provide 40,000 meals for those in need. The morning after the dinner, the winners were so inspired by the experience that they donated an additional $40,000 in honor of Angelo Vangelopoulos, for 160,000 additional meals. That donation brings the total raised by The Charlottesville 29 Restaurant Auctions to $295,241. Thank you to the Charlottesville food community for its extraordinary generosity.

Meanwhile, Vangelopoulos has been busy. If you want to see him in action, tune in to the Food Network Tuesday, December 14 at 9 pm, when he will compete on Beat Bobby Flay. Season 29, of course.