Kids First ‘Chef for the Night’ slated

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to sneak into the kitchen at a wonderful restaurant to see how they pull everything together into what appears on your plate?

If you are lucky enough to win “Chef for the Night at Charles Street” at the Kids First June Jubilee auction, on June 1, 2024, you could do just that.

Wednesday, March 13, is the date for “Chef for the Night” at Charles Street Restaurant in downtown Mariposa. John and Joan McCamman will greet folks at the door, explain the menu, and hob-nob with all the former Charles Street chefs in attendance.

Thirty years ago, a handful of people who wanted to enrich the instruction in school classrooms formed a group called “Kids First,” also known as the Mariposa County Schools Foundation, to raise funds.

For years, the group held a very special dinner and silent auction at Earle and Anna Mae Jorgensen’s Brooklake Ranch. One of the key supporters was Janette Uebner, whose son Ed Uebner then owned and was chef at Mariposa’s Charles Street Dinner House. Ed decided to offer “Chef for the Night” as a silent auction item at the event to support children’s education in the county.

The winner of the very first hotly contested competition in 2006 was Dave Lawson, followed by such wanna-be chefs as Bill Yaley, Steve Dahlem, Dana Walton, Jeff Thorsen, Susan Robinson, Troy Foster, Tom Cooke, Chuck Kendall, Randy Brower, Elaine Seymour, Eric Weihe, Dave and Shelly Gerken, and Tom and Lori Ritter. Each year, when the winning chef makes a debut in the Charles Street kitchen, friends gather to offer encouragement and enjoy a meal together.

After the death of Ed Uebner, Charles Street decided to carry on the tradition of providing the new “chef” with an embroidered chef’s jacket, toque (hat) and experience.

To make reservations to be part of the fun, call Charles Street Dinner House at (209) 966-2366.
“Chef for the Night” will be a live-auction item at this year’s Kids’ First June Jubilee, which will be held on June 1 at the Jerseydale Ranch (aka Pumpkin Patch). For more information and tickets, call Susan Robinson at (209) 966-8458.