Sweet Escapes, an annual fundraiser for Community Link, will take place on Saturday, April 13 at 7 p.m. The event started as a chocolate-only evening of tastings with silent and live auctions and was managed by Geoff Blount, an expert chocolatier and former professor at Central Piedmont Community College. When Blount moved to Myrtle Beach, he handed oversight of the culinary side of the event to 300 East’s Ashley Boyd.

The event still has a heavy emphasis on chocolate, though attendees sought more savory bites to counter the sweets. Thanks to that feedback, the upcoming event will have five savory chefs and seven pastry chefs providing bites.

The evening begins with live music, cocktails, and dishes from the savory chefs in the main lobby of the Mint Museum on Randolph Road. Dishes will include pork mole with corn polenta and a jicama and radish slaw from the chefs of Streamline Kitchen and a duck confit with spicy mango slaw, roti flatbread, and cilantro crema from chef Quientina Stewart of Johnson & Wales. Other participating savory chefs include Chris Young of Queen City Market, Ryan Forte of Southminster, Michael Bowling of Soul Food Sessions, and Joy Turner of Pine Island Country Club.

As guests proceed to other levels of the museum, they’ll find the pastry chefs, including Miranda Brown of The Asbury, who is making a caramelized white chocolate and miso blondie, and Adam Duke of Duke’s Bread, sampling sweet potato bonbons, toasted marshmallow and white chocolate spheres, maple bourbon rice crispies, and popcorn. Jennifer Young of Queen City Market, Joel Talento, Bouavanh Southivorarat of Southminster, Samantha Allen of Wentworth & Fenn, and Blair and Margo Potts of Potts Chocolate will also be providing sweet bites.

The event is supported by Southminster retirement community, which provided funds for chefs’ stipends, chocolate sponsor Callebaut, and Freshlist, which is providing chefs with ingredients. Community Link is a non-profit centered on affordable housing, whether through working with those in need of a place to live or advocating for affordable housing. Previous years’ events have raised $150,000. This year’s fundraising goal is $200,000. Tickets cost $100, and 80 percent of the ticket cost goes back to charity.

This is Boyd’s third year coordinating the chefs for the event, and she is happy to continue supporting the nonprofit.

“It’s a really great organization to work with,” Boyd says. “I did my research before committing to do the event three years ago and I was really, really excited to work with them.”

Purchase your tickets here. —Kristen Wile

 

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