Celebrity chefs stir up $1.6 million at Saint Martin’s event

Celebrity chefs from ABC-TV’s “The Chew” helped raise a sizzling $1.6 million for student scholarships Saturday at the Saint Martin’s Gala, the Lacey-based private university reported Monday. That’s the highest amount raised in the gala’s 10-year history.

About 740 guests attended the black-tie celebration, which was headlined by chefs Mario Batali, Michael Symon and Carla Hall and show co-host Clinton Kelly. “The Chew’s” fifth cast member, Daphne Oz, was unable to attend because of the recent birth of her second child, but she sent a video greeting for the event.

One of the biggest auction items of the night: three days in New York City with gourmet excursions that include a private tour of Eataly, Batali’s 50,000-square-foot Italian food emporium. The trip originally went for $23,000 before “The Chew” cast offered a second trip to fetch a final amount of $46,000, according to a news release.

The event’s chairs were Armandino and Marilyn Batali, Rick and Pam Panowicz, and Kathy Lombardo and Fred Wright.

Next year’s gala, slated for Nov. 5, will feature celebrity chefs Ligia Karazawa of Eataly Brasil and Andrew Zimmern of Travel Channel’s “Bizarre Foods.” For more information on the event, go to stmartin.edu/gala.

This story was originally published November 9, 2015 at 1:32 PM with the headline "Celebrity chefs stir up $1.6 million at Saint Martin’s event."