Forkfuls of charity

Meatballs for charity: Diners get an exclusive deal and a party atmosphere at the monthly Beijing Foodies events. [Photo provided to China Daily]

As I dig into a platter of Korean barbecue at a new Beijing restaurant, Jim Boyce is in a bar a few blocks away, enjoying Belgian beer and "liar's dice". At her Shunyi home, Allison Cooke is dreaming of tasty gingerbread houses studded with gumdrops, the roofs made "snowy" with thick white icing.

What such local foodies have in common－besides a rather well-developed fondness for good food and drink－is finding ways to combine our appetites with charity. Proceeds from the "Korean tapas" meal being wolfed down by 80 guests at the just-opened Sulyi restaurant will support refugees who arrive in Greece with literally nothing but the clothes they are wearing. "Maovember" events organized by Boyce and others will generate funds for Chinese orphans. Cooke's gingerbread fantasy－and plenty of hot mulled wine and a freshly roasted whole pig－will be served up at the German Christmas bazaar in late November, which generates hundreds of thousands of yuan for disadvantaged children and families in China.

Christmas bazaars go back 400 years in Germany, but traditions like that－especially those that marry food and fundraising－are much newer in the Middle Kingdom.

The idea, however, has been embraced quickly. Chi Fan for Charity, in Beijing and Hong Kong on Nov 5 and in Shanghai on Nov 12, will attract hundreds to some of the top restaurants in those cities to raise money for those less fortunate.