All on board for Golinski
When things get tough, you know who your real mates are. And things don't get much tougher than they have for Queensland chef Matt Golinski, who lost his wife and three daughters in a devastating Boxing Day 2011 house fire.
In the months since, the severely injured chef's colleagues have rallied to his support, staging a Plates for Mates fundraising campaign last year to help his rehabilitation. Now the same close-knit mob - chefs Manu Feildel, George Calombaris, Gary Mehigan, Damian Heads, Alastair McLeod and Janelle Bloom - are donating their time to two charity river cruises.
The first Cruise for Mates voyage will traverse France from June 17 to July 5, with Bloom, Feildel and McLeod aboard the MS Avalon Scenery and MS Avalon Creativity. The 19-day tour ($10,193 twin share, including flights from Australia), will take in Paris, Provence, Lyon, Beaujolais, the French Riviera and Monte Carlo. The second cruise, with Calombaris, Heads and Mehigan on MS Avalon Expression from August 27 to September 13, will start in Amsterdam and end in Budapest ($9185 a person twin share). Food Detective is told the celebrity chefs will mingle with guests throughout, propping up the bar and possibly hitting the dance floor (Dancing With The Stars contestant Feildel has form on this front). There's also the chance of an impromptu cooking demo or two.
It's hoped the initiative will raise up to $50,000 for Golinski and the medical teams and burns charities that have helped him.
Golinski is slowly regaining his health, with an appearance at Noosa International Food & Wine Festival scheduled for this month. The generous chef contributed $100,000 of the funds raised through the Plates for Mates initiative to burns survivor charities, and will do the same with the cruise donations.
"Words can't really express how grateful I am to these mad mates of mine, as well as the community in general for their support to date," Golinski tells Detective. "As well as helping me financially and emotionally, the support has allowed me to help other burns survivors. I'm trying to pay it forward."
cruiseformates.com.au; 1800 373 267.
Source: The Australian, 9 March 2013
