Chef Gerry Hayden Teams Up With Love Lane Kitchen To Help Kids in Guatemala

Local chef Gerry Hayden has always had heart, and now, he's teaming up with Love Lane Kitchen for a fundraising event to help Guatemalan kids get the education they deserve.

The event will be held on Thursday, Feb. 27 at 6 p.m. at Love Lane Kitchen and will benefit nonprofit organization Programa Suenos, to aid their education program in the village of San Antonia el Angel, in Guatemala. 

Throughout the evening guests will sample passed hors d'oeuvres from The North Fork Table & Inn, including tuna tartare, smoked salmon on blini with horseradish, potato-truffle crusted scallop, and fluke ceviche.

Love Lane Kitchen plans to serve up some mini lobster rolls and lamb chops. Grace & Grit will provide bacon-wrapped dates and coffee rubbed steak. Local beer from Greenport Harbor and wines from Roanoke, Bedell, and McCall will also be served.

The program's founder and Love Lane Kitchen assistant manager Jazmin Carrillo will discuss her mission throughout the evening. Carrillo founded Programa Sueños in November, 2012 after a trip to her hometown in the small village of San Antonio el Angel.

While she there, she visited friends and family she hadn't seen in years, and also visited the small school she attended as a child, and saw firsthand that the passage of time had taken a negative toll on the building.

The school had fallen into despair, classrooms were overcrowded, and facilities were rundown and neglected, Carillo said.

"Despite all of the dismal conditions, the students and teachers had not changed. The building was alive with hope and potential," she said.

Carrillo was inspired to help the school, and what started as a small scholarship program soon blossomed into a 501 (c)3 non-profit organization. 

A raffle and auction will also take place with prizes including dinner at The North Fork Table & Inn, gift certificate from First & South, a gift certificate from Crystal Clear company, and more. The cost is $100 per ticket and must be purchased in advance by clicking here.