The first annual Bagna Cauda fundraiser for non-profit organization Lifetime Adoption Foundation was a wonderful success! Everyone who attended let us know that that they loved being able to experience authentic Italian cuisine, and had so much fun.
Over $2,000 was raised for the Lifetime Adoption Foundation in ticket sales and from the silent auction. The delicious luncheon, which was catered by Granzella’s in Williams, was attended by over 200 people. Granzella’s has been successfully hosting Bagna Cauda events for over 20 years with an authentic recipe. Music for ambiance and dancing was provided by Steve Albini, an accomplished accordion player.
To create Bagna Cauda, meat and vegetables are dipped, one-by-one, into a rich, buttery and garlicky dip. If you weren’t able to make it to this year’s Bagna Cauda feast and celebration, you’ll be excited to hear that we’re hosting it again next year! Plans are already underway to host a Bagna Cauda dinner in March 2019.
Bartenders served fine Italian wines, which paired nicely with the Bagna Cauda cuisine. Wines present on this year’s Bagna Cauda bar menu included Montoliva Barbera, Avanguardia Primotivo, Avanguardia Cristalo, and Avanguardia Due Fiore. The popular Italian lemon liqueur “Limoncello” was served chilled as an after-dinner digestif. And beer drinkers were able to choose from Stella Artois, Sierra Nevada, Modelo Negra, and Samuel Adams.
The silent auction featured items from Come Paint With Us, Scraps Dog Bakery, Aloha Healing Touch Massage, Grass Valley Yoga, Junk in the Trunk, and many more!
“This weekend we enjoyed a ‘staycation’ that was redolent of traveling in Northern Italy by attending the first annual Italian Bagna Cauda at the event center…it was an enjoyable afternoon, thanks to some local ingenuity and culinary talent,” says local award-winning journalist Jeff Pelline in his publication, Sierra Foothills Report.
Here are some comments we received from other attendees at the Bagna Cauda:
“It was lots of fun…and delicious! Look forward to the next one!!”
“The Bagna Cauda fundraiser at the Foothills Event Center was great fun for a wonderful cause with good friends!”
“Beautiful place, fabulous lunch and great company!!!”
If you love garlic, Italian food and drink, this authentic Italian Bagna Cauda was the place to be! As you can see, lots of garlic was eaten and memories were created. We’d like to express a big thank you to everyone who joined us at this year’s fundraiser. We hope to see you at next year’s Bagna Cauda!
I really pray that you will continue this event after Covid. My dad really was looking forward to this dinner once he had heard about it. He wanted us to come with him. Unfortunately, he became to sick to go. He passed away soon after. All he had talked about was going to this dinner event. I didn’t realize that he had grown up going to an Italian family’s party with family and friend where they served this. I would love to to honor my dad by enjoying this dinner and experience Italian food like he had. We will go in his place. I hope it continues.
Thank you for sharing, Janis. That is sweet. We hope to continue our Bagna Cauda event once are able to host large groups once again.