WALNUT CREEK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Civil Service Employees Insurance Group (CSE Insurance, www.cseinsurance.com), held their third annual “Blazing Hot Celebrity Chef Competition” charity event at Butterfly Restaurant in San Francisco on Saturday, April 12. The event brought together a host of local celebrities while raising more than $20,000 for firefighters and their charities.
The event challenged four teams of celebrity chefs and firefighters to see whose cuisine reigned supreme. The winners were:
- 1st Place: Team White – Sean Lanthier from the Palo Alto Fire Departments and Chef Kathy Fang from Fang Restaurant (www.fangrestaurant.com) won $5,000 for the SF Firefighter Cancer Prevention Foundation (www.sffcpf.org).
- 2nd Place: Team Black – James Brunson from the Vallejo Fire Department and Chef Gaston Alfaro from Half Moon Brewing Company (www.hmbrewingco.com) won $1,500 for the Solano Napa Firefighters Foundation.
- 3rd Place: Team Blue – Danny Gracia from San Francisco Fire Department and Chef David Lawrence from 1300 on Fillmore (www.1300fillmore.com) won $1,000 for the SF Firefighters Cancer Prevention Foundation (www.sffcpf.org).
- 4th Place: Team Red – Bill Douglas from the Oakland Fire Department and Chef Sammy from Butterfly Restaurant (www.butterflysf.com) won $669 in boot donations for Make A Wish Greater Bay Area (https://sf.wish.org).
Liam Mayclem, host of KPIX-TV’s Eye on the Bay and KCBS Radio’s Foodie Chap emceed the event, and chefs and community leaders were on hand to judge the event. The panel included Paige Meyer, Fire Chief of the San Ramon Fire Department; and Harry Crusberg, Jr., owner of Firefighter Insurance Services, as well as San Francisco chef Hoss Zare of Flytrap, and food critic Tamara Palmer from Zagat. Mayor Jean Quan from Oakland was also in attendance.
“Firefighters willingly put themselves in harm’s way every day,” said Mr. Paige Meyer. “The support we receive from our community and from everybody involved in charitable events like this is something that we all appreciate.”
The competition featured two sliders from each team. Entries were judged on a variety of criteria including flavor and creativity. Picking a winner was no easy feat, but ultimately the judges bestowed top honors upon Team White.
CSE Insurance and Firefighter Insurance Services also donated $12,500 to the Fire Family Foundation (www.firefamilyfoundation.org), an organization that assists firefighters, their families, fire victims, and fire departments. To make a donation to the California Fire Foundation or the Fire Family Foundation, please visit www.cseinsurance.com/firefighterevent.
“CSE is proud to raise awareness of the sacrifices that firefighters and their families make every day,” said Richard Rey, CEO of CSE Insurance. “We thank everybody who helped make this event a success, including the firefighters, the chefs, the judges, the volunteers who helped organize the event, Butterfly Restaurant, and everybody who attended.”
About CSE Insurance Group
In business for more than sixty years, CSE Insurance Group (cseinsurance.com) provides top quality property and casualty insurance for teachers and other educators, firefighters, law enforcement personnel, and other government and civil service employees at affordable rates. CSE Insurance has also offered its products and services to the general public for more than two decades.
With a financial strength rating of A- (Excellent) by insurance industry analyst A. M. Best, CSE Insurance offers a wide range of insurance products, including auto, home, liability, boat, and commercial. CSE Insurance products are sold through independent insurance agents in California, Arizona, Nevada, and Utah. Visit CSE on the Web at www.cseinsurance.com on Twitter at twitter.com/cseinsurance on its blog at cseinsurance.com/blog and on Facebook at facebook.com/cseinsurance.
About Firefighter Insurance Services
Firefighter Insurance Services encompass the values of safeguarding the future of firefighters and protecting their property. FIS understands the unique lifestyles of firefighters and their families and offer competitive pricing from dependable insurance providers. Nothing is more important to us than our Firefighters satisfaction. Visit FIS online at www.firefighterinsuranceservices.com.
