The Starboard Grill owner and staff asked the public for an assist with its Ukrainian feast fundraiser and scored a winner.
Chef Brad DeClercq, right-hand person Gaylene Ruel and all the rest of the staff have held several nights of a full Ukrainian feast, raising money for the Red Cross. For each meal sold—sit-in or takeout—DeClercq has donated $15. And each night the restaurant has sold out.
The public’s last chance to experience the full Ukrainian feast will be today (Tuesday, March 22) and Wednesday, March 23. Call 778-421-2826 for reservations (Call early, as the meals go fast).
So many pierogi and cabbage rolls have had to be made that “celebrity” chefs have joined in the effort. Lynn Mickalko from Porto Taco helped make cabbage rolls on Monday, March 21, while much-loved former Little Bavaria owner Kathy Krznaric—who recently sold her restaurant so she could retire—was at Starboard Grill to make pierogi on Tuesday.
“On Friday we went through 1,100 perogies (sic), 440 cabbage rolls and one Kitchen Aid mixer,” someone posted on the Starboard Grill’s Facebook page. “A huge thank you to our amazing team of employees…”
The fundraiser began Thursday, March 17. For the past nine years DeClercq has served a popular Ukrainian feast as a feature in January. He felt it would be fitting to bring it back this month to help raise funds to send to Ukraine. The country has been under siege since Russian military forces invaded on Feb. 24. Several million Ukrainian people have fled the country to neighbouring countries like Poland, while millions of others are in need of humanitarian aid.