And what an event it was. Each year guests are awestruck by the effort the school and its personnel put in to make this much-anticipated annual event even better than the previous year. Headmaster Karools Hauptfleisch, the emperor at this year’s Antiqua Roma-themed spectacle, truly made the community of George proud to be a part of this fun-filled fundraising event.
Nineteen restaurants served sumptuous dishes to the somewhat 200 guests and it was clear that no expense was spared. Each year these restaurants generously contribute to the evening and this year they embraced the ancient Roman theme - even going so far as to decorate a table with two whole pig heads.
Delectable wines were served by each restaurant and only the best vineyards were stocked. Upon arrival guests were served cocktails; and no Italian themed evening would be complete without good coffee, sponsored by Lavazza and Beans About Coffee. Tenor Kevin Leo captivated the audience with Italian classics, Elvis Presley and, of course, Gé Korsten.
Prime sponsor Hartman & Sons Butchery made the event possible for the third year running. Raffaele D’Amato Jewellers generously donated a specially designed necklace for the auction and the masterpiece fetched R65 000 - the successful bidder local restaurateur Claudio Nespola, the owner of Pomodoro and Selinas restaurants in Wilderness.
Professional auctioneer Frederick Bekker, a new addition to the Gourmets & Gourmands team, certainly made the evening most entertaining by engaging the guests in the auction process. There were no shortage of clever anecdotes and Bekker had patrons in stitches when he enticed a bidder on the Zambezi Queen African Experience to 'up' her bid to R56 000... with a kiss.
Guests wholeheartedly took part in the auction fun and a staggering amount of R260 000 was raised.
This year’s funds will be allocated to the school’s IT classes to upgrade computer programmes and hardware.
Francois Ferreira, Anne Hadley, Mada Meyer, Agnes Meyer, Michel Nunes (sponsor), Andries Hartman (sponsor), Susan Pretorius, Mimi Finestone and Karools Hauptfleisch. Photo: Kelvin Saunders
'We bring you the latest George, Garden Route news'
