There’s no such thing as a free lunch—or dinner

The other day I heard about plans for an upcoming fundraiser. A few hundred dollars a plate going toward a worthy cause. Of course these types of events need food, so a multitude of chefs/restaurants were asked to donate food and labor. Everyone—the security, the band, decorators, bartenders, the rental company, and coordinators, pretty much everyone else involved with the event—was going to be paid to be there, except for the chefs. This is common for fundraisers. Mr. (or Ms.) Chef, please give food for free because it is good advertising for your restaurant.

In my experience, most people don’t even pay attention to the name of the restaurant they are getting their tasting plates from at a fundraiser. And most fundraisers do a very poor job of marketing where the food is coming from. So where is the marketing value to the chef?

Restaurants only average around 5 percent profit (that’s an industry average). So why are they continually asked to bear the burden for the main enjoyment at a fundraiser? I believe the insurance industry has much better profit figures—but just try to get your event insurance for free. Food is a tangible way to show value. You pay us $100 and you’ll get food from these great restaurants. No one is going to pay $100 to get frozen, pre-made hors d’oeuvres from a box.

Sure, we all like to have excellent food at fundraising events, but I think the underlying problem is that we do not put enough value on food, and the time and skill it takes to prepare good (or great) food. Think about how much time it takes you to prepare a dinner for friends. Now how much time would it take you to prepare a tasting plate for 500 people? And could you please do that for free?

Part of the reason I enjoy going to a restaurant is that I don’t have to plan a menu, go to the grocery store, chop anything, wash pots and pans, or clean up the kitchen afterward. I’ve seen first-hand how many people and how much time it takes. Because of the experience, I now put a very high value on the food I eat out and the time a chef puts into preparing it. I love duck confit, but do I make it? No way. If I want it, I get it at a restaurant and I savor…every…bite, knowing that I didn’t have to spend 2 days working on it.

I enjoy going to fundraising events, knowing that I get to have fun and the money is going to a (hopefully) worthy cause. But my enjoyment should not be at the expense of someone else’s livable profit.

I honestly hope that our great Memphis chefs pick a few causes to support and learn to say “no” to the unreasonable requests. I hope that the people who put on the extraordinary events in this town choose to value the food and pay chefs for their time and food costs. I hope that people attending fundraisers choose to support those organizations who are not continually asking for donations, but that don’t ever tell you where the money goes. I hope when you pick up a plate at an event, you note who cooked it and vow to go to their restaurant to reward them for their charitable efforts. I hope you value food. Someone took the time and effort to grow it. Someone took the time and effort to cook it. Someone washed the dishes and mopped the floor. And everyone’s time and effort has value.

There are not too many people who work as advocates for chefs. But by making conscious choices about food, you can be an advocate for that which we should value—good food, made from scratch. The alternative is scary—frozen, pre-made, industrial, additive-laden, no-chef-required food from a box.  My stomach churns at the thought.