A Taste for Life Is Less Than a Week Away: Do You Have Tickets Yet?

The lead-up to A Taste for Life is one of the busiest times of the year for Project Angel Heart executive chef Jon Emanuel. The event brings together more than twenty restaurants and other local food and beverage companies in a gala fundraiser for the organization, which is  dedicated to cooking and delivering meals to people dealing with life-threatening illnesses. "It's also the kitchen's favorite event because we get to show off," Emanuel says.

The fifteenth annual Taste for Life will take place on Tuesday, October 13, at the Hyatt Regency Denver at the Colorado Convention Center and will include live and silent auctions and food and beverage tasting stations manned by some of Denver's top chefs. Emanuel and his team get in on the fun, too. This year, he's planning sable cured in lapsang souchong tea and a pulled-goat dish. "It's really humbling for a guy like me for all these chefs to come out," Emanuel says with typical modesty.

And while goat and sable aren't part of the chef's everyday repertoire, the meals he and his staff send out to clients throughout Denver and Colorado Springs are nutritionally balanced, seasonal and prepared in a manner compatible with each client's medical condition. Menus are written each week to provide quality and variety. Far from bland institutional dishes, recipes include international flavors and even fresh ingredients from Project Angel Heart's herb and vegetable garden.

The list of participants this year includes returning favorites Annie's, Biker Jim's Gourmet Dogs, Beast + Bottle and Novo Coffee. New this year are bubu, the Chowder Room and Blackbird. For a complete list of participants and to buy tickets, visit the Taste for Life web page.