Charity begins in the kitchen

BY KAREN TAY

MANY OF us who work long hours during the week are far too frazzled by the weekend to think of helping ourselves, let alone others.

Yet a good proportion of New Zealanders are on the ball when it comes to charity work. According to figures from Auckland City Mission, we punch above our weight when it comes to volunteerism – our tiny nation has a whopping 1.2 million volunteers, who do everything from fight fires to lifeguard duty, deliver Meals on Wheels, visit rest homes and host fundraising balls.

We are, it seems, people of a caring, sharing nature. It's certainly true of celebrity chefs Jo Seagar, Mark Gregory and Peter Gordon, for whom charity work is part of life. But, do they do it out of a sense of duty, love for their community or because they enjoy the warm, fuzzy glow that comes with helping others?

Seagar, a former nurse turned TV chef who owns Seagars at Oxford, part restaurant, part B&B and part cook school, has been an ambassador for hospice for more than 10 years. She says she does something for the organisation nearly every week. For her, the association was part of a personal journey.

"My own father had been a hospice patient – in fact, he never had to leave home. He was looked after at home and an awful lot of hospice work is at people's houses. They made it possible for him to have a very comfortable, pain-free, well cared-for last part of his life. As a nurse, I've also seen the work of hospice and what a wonderful situation it provided for a lot of people."

When Seagar first went on television in 1999, she received 7000 letters of requests from charities, but hospice was the one that most touched her.

"I spent some time in Wellington with the Philanthropic Trust people and they said hospice was appallingly funded and really needed a champion... so I jumped in and said `pick me'."

She is now the spokeswoman and face for hospice and goes around the country presenting talks, doing charity cooking classes, raffles, garden visits, fundraising, visiting patients and even hosting them at her cook school.

"When I get asked to be a public speaker, I always make that into a donation to hospice. I get a number of people who come [to Seagars] because it's on their `bucket list'. Of course, it's very sad, but uplifting too because any truly charitable person will tell you that what you get out of these things are so much more than what you put in. I find their stories inspiring and I feel strongly that you can have a good birth, a good life and a good death."

UK-based celebrity chef Peter Gordon, who works as executive chef at Auckland's dine restaurant in SkyCity and co-owns The Providores and Tapa Room in London, is also a great believer in charity work.

He regularly supports four charities: the Leukaemia and Blood Foundation of New Zealand, the Leuka foundation in the UK, the New Zealand LAM Charitable Trust and the Children's Fire and Burn Trust in London.

Gordon's youngest sister Tracey was diagnosed with leukaemia 14 years ago and he became a bone marrow donor.

"I was thrilled as it was such a wonderful opportunity to be able to do something constructive, and, with so many emotions around at the time of diagnosis, it is good to be able to focus on a physical process. Tracey's transplant was a success and she inspired me to create the annual Leuka charity `Who's Cooking Dinner?' and the NZ version `Dining For A Difference'."

His involvement with the Children's Fire and Burn Trust also came about because of a personal connection – he was burnt badly as a seven-year-old child while helping his father cook dinner.

"I believe everyone should try to do what they can, if they can, to help others who need it," says Gordon. "It doesn't have to be money, it can be time. My paternal gran, Molly Gordon, received a QSM from the Queen herself for her charitable work, so she's my inspiration."

So are chefs more prone to altruism because their profession provides the perfect opportunity, or are they simply part of a larger, nurturing national psyche?

Kiwi chef Mark Gregory, the founder of the annual Dineaid event, in which participating restaurants around the country help raise funds for City Mission Food Banks, reckons it's a bit of both.

"I think we are [more altruistic] but I think it's also because in restaurants and hotels, you get asked so many times each week to do something that it actually helps you become that way. There are over 95,000 not-for-profit organisations in New Zealand, so that makes us one of the world's best when it comes to charity. New Zealand wouldn't be New Zealand without an awful lot of people quietly helping out."

Seagar thinks that altruism is more linked to someone's personality, rather than their chosen career path.

"There's a kind of person in society who's a giver. And I think some succesful people are all about what's in it for me, and others are what can I do to help others? That's how it works, and I'm one of those who enjoy helping others."

But Gordon warns that despite the appeal of doing good, chefs should be wary of saying yes to everything.

"Chefs are often asked to donate dinners for this or that charity. We get asked to donate at least 200 dinners a year. No one would ever ask a car dealer, a painter, a teacher, a potter or a fireman to donate so much of their time or profits, but, for some reason, chefs and restaurants get targeted. It can cost a restaurant a lot of money, so chefs and restaurants need to be selective."

DINING OUT FOR GOOD

DineAid is a charity supported by the New Zealand restaurant community.

This month and next, diners are given the option of adding $2 to the table bill at more than 200 restaurants across the country, so whether there are two people dining or 12, the donation remains $2 per table.

DineAid is the restaurant community working together with customers with the goal of raising funds for City Mission Food Banks throughout New Zealand.

This year's target is to raise $100,000, with every cent going to City Mission.

To find a DineAid restaurant – which include favourites such as The French Cafe, Millbrook Resort, Logan Brown and Le Canard – go to www.menumania.co.nz/dineaid

- © Fairfax NZ News