Meet The Chefs!

Would you like to spend a fantastic evening in the company of some of Ottawa’s finest chefs all in the name of helping the homeless?

A Taste for Hope is an extraordinary culinary event in celebration of Shepherds of Good Hope’s service to the most vulnerable men and women in our community.  You will be able to sample dishes prepared by many talented local Ottawa chefs ranging from signature creations to the exotic, as well as fine wines and local beers. All proceeds from this event will be used to serve the 1,600 men and women that come through our doors every day.

Jean Pigott Hall, Ottawa City Hall, 110 Laurier Avenue West (Ottawa) 

Wednesday, March 25, 6pm to 9 pm

$150.00 Each ticket will receive a $100.00 tax receipt.

FIND OUT MORE HERE!

Some of the amazing chefs in attendance will be:

 Chef Jason Laurin, Essence Catering

A Cordon Bleu Cuisine and Pastry graduate, Chef Jason Laurin has been honing his craft for over 20 years. Having worked in Montreal, Toronto and Dallas before arriving in Ottawa, he brings his food memories from each of his stops along his career journey. His contemporary style is based in classical training. Chef Jason is able to design and execute menus that reflect the unique qualities and tastes of each of Essence Catering’s clients.

Chef Briana Kim, Café My House

Chef/Owner Briana Kim opened her plant-based restaurant Cafe My House in winter 2009 in hopes to provide creative and approachable vegan food to people who wouldn't normally seek out a vegan restaurant. The new location in Hintonburg focuses in seasonal, changing menu, tasty artisanal cocktails & fun special events like Speakeasy Night, Nut Cheese & Wine event & Pizza and Beer Night.

 Chef John Morris, NAC

Chef John Morris was born in Bathgate, Scotland, and raised in Ontario. John, who has been cooking for more than 18 years, began his career as an apprentice at the Kananaskis Lodge in Alberta. He was a key part of the team who achieved the CAA Four Diamond awarded to Perspectives restaurant at the Brookstreet Hotel in Ottawa. Later, after a culinary stage in Bermuda, John joined the team at Caesars Hotel and Casino in Windsor. He was executive sous chef at the Ottawa Marriott Hotel prior to joining the National Arts Centre in 2009, the same year he received the 2009 Gold Medal Escoffier Society of Toronto Culinary Salon.

GET YOUR TICKETS HERE!

FIND OUT MORE HERE!

#JOEYCupOfCare

Yesterday was an exciting day in the soup kitchen!  This time with amazing soup from JOEY Lansdowne!

JOEY Restaurants has an initiative called JOEY Cup of Care where staff from the restaurants prep and prepare thousands of bowls of soup for hungry people in the community.  We had the pleasure of having the JOEY staff in our kitchen to serve lunch and dinner for our wonderful clients.

The JOEY staff also pitched in with day to day chores of prepping vegetables

And we also had special guest server, Mayor Jim Watson there at dinner to serve the delicious soup to our clients.

 

Thank you so much to JOEY Lansdowne and Mayor Jim Watson for helping us help those in our community!

Ladies Who Lunch

I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to all of the ladies that attended the Ladies Who Lunch event yesterday at the Ottawa Convention Centre. There were 300 women that joined together for good food, laughs, Christmas cheer and helping those less fortunate than themselves.

 

 

In raising funds for #GiftofHope, the women managed to raise $5100 towards our Christmas Hamper Program! The Christmas Hamper Program helps over 1100 families per year provide a Christmas meal as well as extras such as children's toys during the holiday season.  What an amazing gift to those that have so little but need so much!

 

If you would like to contribute to the #GiftOfHope, please:

 

#GiftOfHope

Shepherds of Good Hope will be the recipient of Ladies Who Lunch Holiday Event at the Ottawa Convention Centre at 55 Colonel By Drive on November 12^th at noon.  The Ladies will be purchasing items to fill a Christmas Hamper at each table with an entire Christmas Meal and all of the trimmings. All items will go towards the 30^th Annual Christmas Hamper Program at Shepherds of Good Hope. We are calling the event #GiftOfHope

 

 

Today I had the pleasure of being on Daytime Ottawa to discuss the Christmas Hamper Program as well as everything else we do for the community in Ottawa.  Please check out the show tonight at 5PM and 11PM on Rogers (ch. 22) or if you have a MyRogers account,  you can watch online HERE.

 

 

If you would like to contribute to the #GiftOfHope:

 

 

Brighter Tomorrows

I just got back from a press conference in our Community Room at 256 King Edward Ave.  Our building there has 7 innovative programs that serve the needs of our clients and on average, 270 individuals spend the night in the programs.

I am thrilled that Hydro Ottawa and Ottawa United Way have generously given us a grant from the Brighter Tomorrows Fund to replace our lights with LED light fixtures.  This grant was for more than $42,000 and we couldn't be more grateful. 

This will reduce our electricity bills in the building by 66% as well as increase safety, comfort and moods of all that stay in our programs.  This will most notably help clients who are prone to sensitivity issues such as mental illness and epilepsy.

Shepherds of Good Hope CEO, Deirdre Freiheit




Hydro Ottawa, Bryce Conrad



United Way, Carole Gagnon

Hope Living 1st Anniversary Party

 


Today I attended the 1 year anniversary BBQ at Hope Living in Kanata. We were blessed with absolutely perfect weather for the occasion. It was so nice to see clients and their families mingling with staff members, community partners and longtime supporters. Everyone pitched in to help make the event a big success. The food was tasty and I kept hearing what a good time people were having. Some attendees were seeing the facility for the first time and got to hear directly from clients what an amazing impact the space has made in their lives.

If you are interested in learning more about Hope Living or wish to tour the facility please contact Micah Garten.

Dragon Boat 2014!

If you went by Mooney’s Bay last weekend you couldn’t help but notice North America’s largest dragon boat festival in full swing. With free concerts, great food and non-stop races the Dragon Boat festival was the place to be! What you may not have known was that Shepherds of Good Hope was right in the thick of things. As one of five charities chosen to receive financial support from the Dragon Boat Foundation, our staff, clients and volunteers got involved in a big way. The staff put together a team to race and while they didn’t end up as the fastest boat they may have had the most fun. Shepherds of Good Hope also arranged to provide volunteers to sell popcorn during the entire festival. The popcorn was delicious and it gave us a great chance to say hello to old friends and make new ones as we thanked everyone who attended for supporting our work.

 

Over all the weekend was a huge success and the Festival proved to be one of Ottawa’s can’t miss events. To see more photos from Dragon Boat check out our facebook page by clicking HERE.  

Helping the Hungry

Yesterday I went to visit Holy Redeemer School with Shepherds of Good Hope CEO, Dierdre Freiheit.  The kids had a huge morning planned where they would make sandwiches for the hungry and homeless.  Mayor Jim Watson and Councillor Allan Hubley were also there to help make sandwiches and visit the kids.

Later on that evening I attended the Catholic Education Foundation of Ottawa's Gala.  Such a lovely evening for a community partner that means so much to us. 

Thank you so much to  Catholic Education Foundation of Ottawa, Ottawa Catholic School Board and Holy Redeemer School!  You really make a difference in the lives of those in our care!

To read more about this event on Country 101.1's website click HERE

To make a donation to Shepherds of Good Hope, click HERE

A Big Welcome to Deirdre!

 

 

I just wanted to take some time to share with you a fantastic article that our friend, Kelly Egan, wrote for the Ottawa Citizen.

 

Deirdre Freiheit joined Shepherds of Good Hope as Chief Executive Officer on March 3, 2014.  This article is a fantastic introduction.

 

 http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Shepherd+charge/9550340/story.html