Limited number of tickets available
By Jalen Maki
Tomahawk Leader Co-Editor
TOMAHAWK – Chef Mark Youngs and his wife, Gail, will host Culinary for a Cause, “an evening of fine food, magnificent wine, craft beer and decadent desserts,” at Inshalla Country Club, N11060 Clear Lake Rd., Tomahawk, Friday, Sept. 27. All proceeds will benefit Honduras Well Projects.
The evening will include a cocktail reception at 5:30 p.m., followed by a five-course gourmet meal at 6 p.m. The dinner will be distinctive cuisine not typically served in a Northwoods supper club and prepared with locally sourced and organically grown ingredients.
Classical guitarist Jeff Calhoun will provide beautiful background music for the evening.
Each $75 ticket will include the gourmet meal, as well as all wine, beer and soda. Only 30 tickets were made available to purchase, and as of press time, there are only 20 tickets remaining.
All proceeds from Culinary for a Cause will benefit Honduras Well Projects. Honduras Well Projects “was created out of a vision shared with Agua Viva Internacional that realizes thousands of people remain in northern Honduras without a clean, safe water source,” says the organization’s website. “God calls us all to do two things: Seek Him & Serve Others. There has been a great call put on our lives to do this by providing clean water to the needy.”
Mark and Gail Youngs are the co-store directors of Great Lakes Foods grocery store in Tomahawk. Mark is an experienced and trained chef with a culinary degree, and Gail has many years of experience in the food industry, including having run two bars in her career. She has also made multiple mission trips to Honduras with Agua Viva Internacional to drill wells in villages without access to safe drinking water.
Gail notes she enjoys being able to integrate her skills with her love of helping others for events like Culinary for a Cause.
“I have learned that there is a big difference between my career and my calling,” Gail says. “My career pays the bills and can fulfill me in a lot of ways, but my calling—helping others, volunteering, giving of my time and talents—that is where I think the biggest impact is made. The sweet spot is when those two worlds can combine, when I can use my skills I have learned in my career and apply them to events like this dinner to make a difference.”
Gail says she has learned a lot on her mission trips to Honduras, not only about the people she met, but about humanity itself, and the things that connect all of us.
“You cannot go on a mission trip like the ones I have taken to Honduras and not be affected. You bring the children, the moms–you bring them home with you in your heart,” she says. “The first time I sat down to visit with some of the mothers, in a home built out of mud and sticks, my first thought was how different we must be. But I realized very quickly that we were so similar–any mother, no matter where she lives, the color of her skin, the money in her bank account—we all want the same things for our children. We want them to be safe, healthy, happy, to thrive.”
When reflecting on the mission trips, Gail notes they have multiple goals.
“Our mission trips aren’t just about bringing clean, safe water to people. They are also about bringing people the Living Water, the word of God, and what an absolute joy it has been to see so many lives changed from the well and the Living Water.”
Mark and Gail look forward to hosting Culinary for a Cause, not only for the opportunity to provide attendees with a unique, five-course gourmet meal, but to raise money and awareness for a cause they are passionate about: providing safe, clean drinking water to the developing country of Honduras.
“I have fallen in love with the country of Honduras and the people there,” Gail says. “They are just like you and me. But I can’t just stand by and love their country and its people, and stay silent about the water crisis they are experiencing. I have to help. We have to help.”
To purchase tickets for Culinary for a Cause, or to volunteer for the event, contact Gail at 715-922-0324, or find Culinary for a Cause on Facebook.