Fundraiser for survivors of domestic violence

Ann Mukherjee
Ann Mukherjee

CHICAGO: Chicago’s top restaurants will unite at Taste for Life, Apna Ghar (Our Home)’s annual gala celebrating domestic violence survivors on Thursday, May 1.

The event, sixth in a row, will be at Chicago Cultural Center in Downtown Chicago on May 1, 2014 with a VIP reception from 5:30pm – 6:30pm and general tasting from 6:30pm – 10:00pm.

Ravi Baichwal, news anchor for ABC7
Ravi Baichwal, news anchor for ABC7

Guests will savor small plate dishes from Bar Louie Skokie, Bombay Wraps, Cabot Creamery Cooperative, Chocolat-Uzma Sharif, Emilio’s Tapas, Ethiopian Diamond, Falafill, Floriole Café & Bakery, Gaylord Fine Indian Restaurant, Metropolitan Club, Naansense, Peacock Indian Restaurant, and Sataza Contemporary Indian Grill. The event also features wine tastings donated by Latitude Beverage and Wirtz Beverage. PepsiCo will donate all the non-alcoholic beverages.

Ann Mukherjee, SVP and CMO of Frito-Lay North America will be the evening’s featured speaker. She will begin the main event with her story of survival and success. She is an award winning, marketing trailblazer who currently leads a large team responsible for the growth agenda at Frito-lay. Born in Kolkata, she holds an MBA from the University of Chicago, Booth School of Business. She is very active with the Indian community in Dallas, currently serving as Honorary Chair of Chetna, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping South Asian women overcome domestic violence. She will also do a book signing for her new book, Gale Gand’s Lunch.

Ravi Baichwal, news anchor for ABC7, will be the evening’s emcee.

Each participating restaurant will incorporate a purple (color of domestic violence awareness) food item into one of their dishes. Guests will vote on their favorite dish and the winning restaurant will receive the Purple Dish Award. Chef Gale Gand will present the winning restaurant with this award.

Apna Ghar (Our Home) provides holistic services to women and children across immigrant communities in the Chicago area to end the cycle of domestic violence. Apna Ghar empowers women to be self-sufficient by providing a full spectrum of services from legal services to emergency and transitional housing to counseling and case management.

Apna Ghar’s multicultural, multilingual staff guides clients through difficult times with six comprehensive, free-of-charge programs.

Surendra Ullal