2013 Taste Of the NFL: The Ultimate Tailgate Party

by Steven Doyle

Huddle up to some advance tickets to the 2013 Taste of the NFL: The Ultimate Tailgate Party Sunday, April 21 from 6:00 to 9:30pm. Event Hosts DeMarcus Ware #94 and Jason Hatcher #97 welcome former Dallas Cowboys Preston Pearson, Chad Hennings and Daryl Johnston, and Abacus Executive Chef/Proprietor Kent Rathbun as co-hosts of this spirited evening, transforming the classic tailgate into a “party with a purpose” benefiting the North Texas Food Bank (NTFB). The ninth annual event, held in conjunction with Abacus and presented by Lockheed Martin, returns this year to the Glass Cactus Nightclub in Grapevine.

These and other star chefs will take time out from their own kitchens to cook for a cause at this year’s event:

Kent Rathbun – Kent Rathbun Concepts: Abacus, Jasper’s & Rathbun’s Blue Plate Kitchen

Graham Dodds – Central 214, Hotel Palomar Dallas

David Holben – Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steak House

Bronwen Weber – Frosted Art Bakery & Studio

Ty Thoren – Gaylord-Riverwalk Cantina

Samir Dhurandhar – Nick & Sam’s Steakhouse

James Johnson – Pappas Bros. Steakhouse

TJ Lengnick – Shinsei

Ernie Mendoza – Suze Restaurant

All event proceeds will go towards supporting NTFB’s children’s programs including: the Food 4 Kids backpack, Kids Cafe and School Pantry programs, which aim to tackle childhood hunger here in North Texas. Guests may also opt to make a night of it and book a special $129 room rate at the Gaylord Texan Resort, valid through April 5. Be sure to reference the event when booking the offer online or calling the reservation line at (877) 491-5138.

The NTFB’s Food 4 Kids program provides backpacks full of nutritious food to chronically hungry children identified by local schools each semester, and for the fifth straight year the organization will continue that outreach during summer school. The Food Bank will also operate a select number of Kids Cafes through programs in at-risk areas during the months of June, July and August. But work remains to be done. According to recent USDA data, Texas continues to have one of the highest rates of food insecure children in the country; currently 1 in 4 live in a household without consistent access to nutrition.