Tickets still available for Perfect Pairings fund-raising event on Thursday

Ed Semmler, South Bend Tribune
·2 min read

It was a tough task, but a small group of volunteers recently met up at Ivy Tech in South Bend to make some final decisions for the Perfect Pairing fund-raising event that is set for Thursday Feb. 23 at the Aloft Hotel in downtown South Bend.

So what beverage goes best with a French curry soup that was devised by Brent Spring, an assistant professor of hospitality administration and culinary arts at Ivy Tech? Though there was a nice California Chenin Blanc wine, the taste testers agreed that the Marigold Chai cider produced by Indianapolis-based Ash & Elm Cider Co. paired up even better.

Chef Brent Spring, head of the Ivy Tech culinary arts program, completes the creation of Beef Wellington bites Monday, Feb. 13, 2023, at a gathering at Ivy Tech’s culinary arts area for a food tasting and food pairing with wine and spirits.
Chef Brent Spring, head of the Ivy Tech culinary arts program, completes the creation of Beef Wellington bites Monday, Feb. 13, 2023, at a gathering at Ivy Tech’s culinary arts area for a food tasting and food pairing with wine and spirits.

Other choices were made for the other savory selection ― Beef Wellington bites on puff pastry ― as well as the sweet offerings that were devised by Christopher Pitt, program chair of hospitality administration at Ivy Tech ― namely a gooey but delicious Baba au Rhum and a pistachio sponge cake with Cremieux.

We won’t reveal everything that City-Wide Liquors will be offering with those bites.

But the four pairings will follow an hour of hors d’oeuvres and an open bar.

Baba au Rhum will be one of the sweet servings at the Perfect Pairings event.
Baba au Rhum will be one of the sweet servings at the Perfect Pairings event.

Proceeds from the event, which is largely supported by donations of food, labor and beverages from City-Wide, are split between the American Culinary Federation, which aims to support and enhance the education of the Ivy Tech students, and Unity Gardens, which has the simple goal of providing free vegetables, gardening education and social glue in the community.

This is one of the bigger fundraisers for both organizations, but it was put on hold the past couple of years because of the pandemic.

City-Wide Liquors is providing the pairing for the Perfect Pairings event at the Aloft on Feb. 23.
City-Wide Liquors is providing the pairing for the Perfect Pairings event at the Aloft on Feb. 23.

“We don’t have a large budget,” says Sara Stewart, founder of Unity Gardens, explaining that the group is largely dependent on donations, grants, product sales and fund-raising events such as Perfect Pairings. “But we still have a budget.”

Besides the pairing designed by experts from City-Wide and the Ivy Tech chefs, there also will an auction for a chef’s dinner at Unity Gardens.

Tickets are $50 each and can be purchased at the Unity Gardens Welcome Center, at the South Bend Farmers' Market Unity Gardens booth or at this online site.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Perfect-Pairings event in South Bend will help Unity Gardens, Ivy Tech