Despite Monday’s heavy rainstorm, UpStairs on the Square’s Haitian Earthquake Relief fundraiser was no washout. “We were mobbed,” says the Harvard Square restaurant’s co-proprietor Mary-Catherine Deibel.
All tips and proceeds from the complimentary breakfast, where donations were solicited and raffle tickets sold, lunch, and chef Susan Regis’ Haitian-influenced dinner, benefited Boston-based Partners In Health. “The initial tally is $25,000,” says Deibel. “But more was raised by the PIH volunteers here.”
The following evening, chef Evan Deluty hosted a benefit for Wyclef Jean’s Yele Haiti fund at his South End restaurant, Stella. Notable chefs Michael Schlow (Radius), Anthony Caturano (Prezza), Marc Orfaly (Pigalle), Dante de Magistris (Dante, Il Casale), and Stephen Sherman (Union Bar and Grill) united to cook for the cause.
“The restaurant industry is used to fund-raising,” says Sherman. “Doing something for what’s happening in Haiti, it’s a logical progression. The earthquake makes you realize how precarious things are no matter where you’re living.”
Jason Owens, chef and co-owner of Newton’s Biltmore agrees. “It’s Mother Nature, you never know. The good that comes out of this is that people come together.”
Owens and his friend Matthew Thayer’s Super Bowl Sunday benefit for Habitat For Humanity Greater Boston at the Biltmore is a no-brainer. “Just like anyone else, I felt the need to do what I could,” says Owens. “Whether people can give a few bucks, you do what you can. I have these resources, so I’m no different in that respect.”
