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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - It's not often one gets an opportunity to feed 2,000 of the NWT's children and youth without having to turn on a stove or do any dishes. Food First Foundation offers that rare opportunity today.

A Taste of Canadian Living in Yellowknife begins at 7 p.m. tonight at Sir John Franklin high school.

Chef Thomas McOuat flambes Gambas a la plancha, also known as garlic prawns, at Thornton's Wine and Tapas Room. McOuat and other chefs from another half dozen restaurants will serve their signature appetizers to visitors to tonight's Canadian Living in Yellowknife fundraiser for Food First. - photo courtesy of Flint Palmer

There will be lots of food, a cash bar and live entertainment from celebrity chefs.

Revenue from ticket sales for the special event and bids in tonight's silent auction will fund the four-year-old non-governmental organization's breakfast, snack and lunch programs. Nutritious food reached students in 21 schools around the NWT last year and this year even more schools and more students will benefit.

"We really believe in the community-driven model," said part-time coordinator Dana Britton.

"What that means is that we think the school and the community knows what's best in their community and that's a really important distinction to make because there are other organizations out there that very much use a top-down colonial aspect. We really believe in building capacity within the community."

In each school, local organizers will decide if they want to offer a simple mid-morning snack cart or a full hot lunch program depending on what works for students, volunteers and teachers.

"The only caveat being that we make sure that the food they serve is healthy," Britton said.

"That's important to us because of our mission statement and also because we're answerable to our donors and we know that our donors want to make sure that their money is going to provide healthy food."

Food First also advocates on behalf of child and youth nutrition and promotes nutritional education.

"Basically anything that would support nutrition and healthier youth in the NWT - we get involved in," Britton said.

"To that end of course we do need to do fundraising and that's what brings us to this event."

Visitors to tonight's fundraiser will learn how to make three tasty appetizers with a lively demonstration by two prominent celebrity food writers and chefs. Elizabeth Baird, executive food editor with Canadian Living Magazine and celebrity chef, cookbook author and CTV cooking show host Pamela Collacott, will make three appetizers.

"They're the kinds of things that would be interesting appetizers for people to make for the holidays or just when they entertain once the lights get dark and the weather turns cold," Baird said.

The menu includes a portobello mushroom croissant with cream cheese pastry, roasted garlic strudel with philo pastry, goat cheese, basil, chives, rosemary and a unique pizza with Calabrese sausage, provolone cheese, tomato sauce and potato.

"We figure that's probably going to take long enough because people will be anxious for us to finish so they can do some eating," Collacott said.

Baird and Collacott have experience working as teachers in economically-depressed neighbourhoods in Toronto and Ottawa respectively. They each got involved many years ago in organizing breakfast programs for their hungry students.

"The statistics were quite frightening about the number of families in Canada living below the poverty line," Baird said.

Today, the two chefs are part of a national organization founded in 1991 called Breakfast For Learning, which supports organizations across Canada, including Food First in Yellowknife.

"Inviting children into the school early so they can have breakfast gives them the opportunity without any kind of discrimination to enjoy something to eat and have the companionship of their friends," Baird said.

"When it gets to be school time they can sit down and learn."

Last year's event raised $3,000 but organizers are hoping tonight's fundraiser exceeds that amount so that more schools and more young people will benefit from the healthy food served up by Food First volunteers.