Toga Hospitality’s Rachel Argaman and Tourism Accommodation Australia’s Rodger Powell joined CEOs from across the nation in the inaugural CEOCookOff, presented by OzHarvest and Qantas, in Sydney on Monday night.
The event took place at Cathedral Square in front of St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney and the aim of the first CEOCookOff was to create awareness about people in need, while raising funds for OzHarvest and Mission Australia.
Partnering with 30 celebrity chefs from Australia’s top kitchens, directed by Neil Perry, small groups of 10 CEOs worked together in teams to prepare meals and feed the homeless. Along with Perry, other big name chefs involved were Peter Gilmore, Guillaume Brahimi, Bill Granger and Maggie Beer.
“In 2010, 4.6 million people in Australia reported they were without a permanent place to live at some time in their lives,” Argaman said. “Being in the business of shelter, the Toga Team and I are dedicated to helping people in need because no one should have to know what it feels like to sleep rough.
“It was great to cook up a storm with the help of celebrity chefs and CEOs.”
Argaman and Powell were joined by Alan Joyce from Qantas, David Gallop from the National Rugby League, David Hall from Jetstar, Elizabeth Ann Macgregor from the Museum of Contemporary Art, JaapJonkman from NAB, Nicholas Collishaw from Mirvac and Terry Davis from Coca-Cola Amatil Limited.