The Cathedral Within by Bill Shore

Author:Bill Shore
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction
ISBN: 9781588361035
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 2002-01-28T16:00:00+00:00

II

On Sunday, August 2, 1998, I flew yet again to Colorado for the annual Taste of the Nation event which was being held at Coors Field for the second year. More than forty-five hundred people showed up, filling an entire deck circling the stadium. It was Denver’s largest Taste event ever. Unfortunately, I wasn’t one of the forty-five hundred. My United Airlines flight from Washington’s Dulles Airport pulled away from the gate and then sat on the runway for three hours.

When we finally landed in Colorado, a forty-dollar taxi ride got me to the stadium exactly one minute after the event ended at 8:00 P.M. Walking in with my suitcase and computer as everyone else was walking out guaranteed a few sympathetic looks that were met by a sheepish smile. The green ball field sparkled behind the now empty restaurant stations, and you could see what a spectacular backdrop it provided under blue skies. But other than someone spilling an entire bottle of Coors on my laptop, I didn’t really have the sense of participating.

Arriving late also gave me my first chance to view those who attended from a slightly different angle and perspective than usual. There were a lot of happy faces coming out of the ballpark, and not just because the food was good. Taste of the Nation always exceeds expectations. I’ve seen more sesame-encrusted salmon and crème brûlée in a month than most people see in a lifetime. We go beyond customer satisfaction, to what management gurus call “customer delight.” Our “customers” get more “value” than they expect. When they see others participating in large numbers, they also get the fulfillment of having genuine impact fighting hunger. The fact that not a penny is kept by SOS, but is instead distributed to nearby antihunger agencies, makes this event even more appealing to those who participate.

The participating chefs and wineries who are literally sharing the strength know that they’ve given in a way that no one else could. Almost anyone can write a twenty-five-dollar check to Share Our Strength. Almost anyone can serve trays or ladle soup at a soup kitchen. But not many of us could cook gourmet food at a fancy event. These chefs can, and they sense how special the contribution is. That’s why for eleven consecutive years now, Taste of the Nation has continued to raise more money than it did the year before.

The committee of volunteers that organized the event reconvened at Strings restaurant afterward for even more terrific food. Chef Noel Cunningham’s waiters put together two long tables, and restaurant critic Pat Miller told everyone where to sit. It was generally understood that her decisions were final. Noel bounced up and down, serving platters straight from the grill as if we were in his home. Grant recipient Jim White of the Volunteers of America, who relied on this event for a substantial percentage of his annual budget, sat at the far end, leaning back in his chair and raising toasts as if the winning Powerball lottery ticket were in his pocket.

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