Detroit Restaurant Week Prelude Party Will Support Gleaners Community Food Bank

Supporters of Detroit Restaurant Week, which will offer special fine-dining deals April 16-25 at 17 establishments, are encouraged to bring food donations to a kickoff event.

Cash contributions will be even better.

"(It's) a party with a purpose," says Detroit Restaurant Week executive director, Jason Huvaere, of the prelude party that will benefit the Gleaners Community Food Bank. The party will run from 5 to 9 p.m. on Thursday, April 15, at the MotorCity Casino Hotel.

Detroit Restaurant Week, in its second year, features three-course dinners priced at $27; that's about half the normal price for fine dining in a major city. Managers of participating restaurants say their turnout nearly doubled during the initial Detroit Restaurant Week last September, bringing new life and vibrancy to the downtown area.

Admission to the prelude party is free, but patrons are encouraged to bring cash donations or non-perishable foods, such as cans of corn, green beans or tuna fish.

"Some people like to bring the food directly," says Sister Anne Schenk, senior director of development for the Gleaners Community Food Bank. "They feel comfortable that the food will be eaten, and we appreciate any free food that is donated."

At the same time, a cash donation can carry even more value. Gleaners Community Food Bank is linked with the Food Bank Council of Michigan. Each cash dollar that is donated produces more than $10 in retail value, because the food bank is linked to wholesalers who release surplus products.

Schenk says that with increasing hardship, Gleaners Community Food Bank will distribute 36 million pounds of product this year, up from 31 million a year ago and 28 million two years ago.

"We have been fortunate that cash donations remain strong, and we also are getting more money from the federal government through the economic stimulus," Schenk says. "We have been more aggressive than ever before about getting food out into the pipeline. For every dollar that is given, we want donors to know that this represents three full meals for families in need."

Participants will be greeted at the Detroit downtown skyline with jazz music and what Huvaere describes as "four avant-garde food installations," featuring such appetizers as spring onions and carrot curls, followed by "decadent desserts" and a cash bar.

To make an advanced reservation, guests should e-mail rsvp2010@detroitrestaurantweek.com and signal "DRW Prelude" in the subject line.

Detroit Restaurant Week participants for the week of April 16-25 are:

- 24 Grille, Westin Book Cadillac.
- Andiamo Detroit Riverfront, GM Renaissance Center.
- Atlas Global Bistro, Midtown.
- Coach Insignia, GM Renaissance Center.
- Cuisine, New Center.
- Da Edoardo Foxtown Grille, Fox Theatre Building.
- Detroit Fish Market, Paradise Valley.
- Forty-Two Degrees North, Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center.
- Iridescence, Motor City Casino Hotel.
- Mosaic Restaurant, Greektown.
- Opus One, Downtown.
- The Rattlesnake Club, Stroh River Place.
- Roast, Westin Book Cadillac Detroit.
- Saltwater, MGM Grand Detroit.
- Seldom Blues, GM Renaissance Center.
- The Whitney, Midtown.
- Wolfgang Puck Grille, MGM Grand Detroit.