More
than
a meal
Iron Chef Goes Coastal raises
funds for local agencies
BY KATHERINE LACAZE
When local chefs take the stage during
United Way of Clatsop County’s Iron Chef
Goes Coastal event, they’re not only com-
peting for the title and bragging rights, but
also channeling their culinary skills into an
event that raises funds for numerous agen-
cies that impact local residents in a conse-
quential way.
The annual fund-
raiser harnesses the
skills of local culinary
professionals to raise
money for over a dozen
organizations through-
out the county.
As opposed to sup-
porting hefty over-
head costs or salaries of
upper management, as
is typical in the restau-
rant business, “so much
of [the money] actu-
ally trickles down and is dollars within our
local Clatsop County community that feed,
house and care for people in need,” said
Josh Archibald, executive chef at The Way-
farer Restaurant in Cannon Beach and one
of four individuals who will team up for
a competition fashioned after the popular
American cooking show.
The 12th annual Iron Chef Goes Coastal
will take place Tuesday, Nov. 5, at the Sea-
14 // COASTWEEKEND.COM
side Civic and Convention Center. As the
United Way of Clatsop County’s signature
fundraiser, the event’s profi ts are channeled
through the organization to the diverse
agencies it supports including the Clat-
sop CASA Program, Clatsop Community
Action, The Harbor and 11 others.
“We’re fi ghting for improving lives
in Clatsop County,” Jennifer Holen, the
event’s executive director, said, “and it
works.”
Pulling off the event requires the
involvement of about two dozen local
restaurants, chefs and
hospitality partners.
Year after year, many
of the same ones return,
bringing enough food
for hundreds of peo-
ple to sample. Even this
year, with the capac-
ity of the event increas-
ing from 600 to 700,
the restaurants were
amenable and will
bring larger portions of
their dish.
“It’s really not a
hard sell to them,” Holen said, “because
they know the funding that goes through
United Way to these partners really makes a
difference.”
A premier culinary event
Iron Chef Goes Coastal is comprised
of two competitive elements. During the
See Page 20
In addition to
witnessing the
live cook-off on
stage, attendees
get to sample and
vote on savory and
sweet dishes from
over a dozen local
restaurants.