Les Dames Food Fight!

Field and Feast Les Dames Auction 2012 Play Now | Play in Popup

While presidential candidates duke it out on the campaign trail…food lovers are battling one another during the Fourth Annual Les Dames d’Escoffier online charity auction, which has been dubbed: Food Fight!

Cathy Cochran Lewis is co-chair of this year’s auction, and says while it may seem funny for a group with a “swanky” name like Les Dames to have a food fight themed auction, it makes perfect sense: “The fight comes in where we hope bidders will get in there and fight for these great food and wine packages that we have to offer.”

I am also a member of Les Dames, which is a philanthropic non-profit organization.

The money raised during auction — which is currently underway and runs through Friday October 19, 2012 — funds scholarships for women entering the culinary and hospitality fields. Monies raised also fund the organization’s garden to plate initiative called Green Tables, which provides grants to schools and under-served communities  to construct and grow organic food gardens, which Les Dames considers a vital piece of the food puzzle.

The 2012 auction offers a wide range of food experiences and items for every taste.

You can sign up and bid on a wide array of auction items when you log onto www.austinfoodfight.org.You’ll be notified via email should someone outbid you, giving you an opportunity to fight back and win your favorite item or culinary experience.

Some of the experiences are intended for local bidders, such as the East Austin Urban Farm Tour and Dinner for Four with Chef Sonya Cote,  and the private canning class for two with Stephanie McClenney, head jam maker of the award-winning company, confituras.

However, many other items and experiences are open to all bidders, such as: memberships in an online cooking school called Rouxbe, which captures a professional cooking school curriculum in high-definition video, then repackages it into bite-sized cooking lessons that any food lover can follow at their own pace, on their own schedule online in the comfort of their own homes.

There’s also a cookie baking party for eight with my guest from last week, 2006 Pillsbury Bake-Off champion, Anna Ginsberg. She’ll go to the winning bidders home and teach the art of baking great cookies and the eight people at the party receive a free copy of her new book The Daily Cookie. Just in time for holiday baking season.

For the outdoorsman, there’s a guided coastal fishing trip with meals and lodging at Bay Flats Lodge in Seadrift , Texas – it also includes a cooking lesson with their executive chef, Austin Brown.

Plus there are food and wine experiences being offered in Texas, California and Wisconsin as well.

Food Fight co-chair, Cathy Cochran Lewis says it’s a simple process to take part in the auction. Just go to their website www.austinfoodfight.org and sign up and start bidding.

In the end, the Les Dames d’Escoffier online charity auction, is a way to give back to your community while having fun doing it.