Chefs Take a Stand!

Last night, we headed to the National Network to End Domestic Violence's annual Chefs Take A Stand gala at the Convention Center. NNEDV is a group of domestic violence survivors who have been supporting victims in need for more than 25 years. We snapped the host committee members: Cindy Southworth, Jenny Backus, Deb Chandler, Jonathan Lindsley, Kim Gandy, Leslie Harris and Ben Hammer, and Facebook's Karuna Nain posing in the photo booth.

CTAS is a fun and casual evening where local chefs serve some amazing food for a great cause. Some of our favorites were The Partisan's bacon duck confit, Dolce Vita's deconstructed Caesar salad, and Hula Girl's root beer sticky ribs. Here, Allstate's Bridget Hogan, Jeff Williams and Jon Van Arsdell with GMA's Maggie McClain.

The mixologists created unique cocktails like Range's macchu pisco with green tea, cardomon and rose, and MIC's homemade hibiscus apple cider with brandy and pineapple rum to go with Swiss Bakery's pastries and BRABO's dark chocolate cremeux. Here, World Wildlife Fund's Juliana Camargo, Katz, Marshall & Banks' Avi Kumin and Debbie Katz, surrounding POGO's Halle Zander.

Guests went home with door prizes, Alex + Ani bracelets and a swag bag with a CTAS drinking glass and Kerry Washington's purple purse tassel. Here, survivor Cheryl Leaman and her husband, Carlo Lannandrea, jazz artist Ski Johnson, Prezza's Cate Timmerman and AASHTO's Penelope Weinberger.