MONTREAL – Food Now – The task of preparing a major luncheon takes an enormous amount of food, personel, and logistics. Quebecers were treated to a small taste of the enormous effort going into the May 22 fundraiser luncheon featuring keynote speaker Dr. Jacques Rogge, President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The event is taking place during the heart of the prestigious SportAccord International Conference which Dr. Rogge is attending, accompanied by a number of senior leaders of the IOC.
Canadian Olympic Committee President Marcel Aubut outlined just some of the details behind the massive fundraising event in support of young Quebec and Canadian high performance athletes.
“Preparations for this event are in their final stages and with each passing day, I grow more inspired by the generosity and determination of those working on this monumental task,” said Mr. Aubut. “I am especially proud to report that the Quebec business community has exceeded even my dearest hopes in terms of their generosity towards this worthwhile cause.”
The luncheon will be attended by 120 Canadian athletes, who between them boast 33 gold, 31 silver and 19 bronze Olympic medals. Also attending will be over 4000 participants, including business leaders from Quebec and Eastern Canada. The President and CEO of Bell Canada and BCE, Geoge Cope is the Honourary Chair of this impressive event.
Mr. Aubut highlighted just some of the metrics surrounding the preparation, including:
delicacies prepared using:
- 650 kg of meat;
- 175 kg cheese;
- 250 kg of fish, lobster and seafood;
- 425 kg of fresh vegetables;
- 75 liters of premium maple syrup; and
- 4,200 quail eggs;
- the heat of 24 ovens and the chill of four 53-foot refrigerator trucks;
- the culinary skills of 7 chefs, 120 cooks and the dexterity of 275 servers;
- the help and support of over 200 volunteers;
- the comfort of 4,100 chairs and 410 tables in a space the size of four football fields;
- the utilization of 14,300 glasses, 24,600 pieces of cutlery and 26,600 pieces of crockery;
- the setting up of 124 speakers, more than 100 rigging components, a 750 sq. ft. LED screen, 2000 sq. ft of projection screens, 9 video projectors, 200 motorized projectors, 300 conventional projectors, 100 LED projectors, 8 53-foot truckloads of technical equipment; and,
- all of this necessitating over 3,000 hours of set-up time, as well as 3,000 production hours.
All of these ingredients will be combined to produce an exceptional event, featuring international stars well known in Quebec, such as Stephan Moccio, Nadja and Mario Pelchat. The artistic component of the show will also include a cultural piece from the Cirque du Soleil.
According to Claude Rousseau, Co-Chair of the event’s organizing committee, “For Quebec, this is the grandest event of this kind ever produced. The challenge is huge, but the team behind it all is up to it, and will re-write history.”