Chef Center Stage

April 24 was a delicious evening for Springfield Regional Opera. The opera held its fifth annual Chef Center Stage fundraiser at Discovery Center in downtown Springfield. The event featured sample cuisine from nine area chefs representing 13 restaurants and a live charity auction of each chef’s services for an evening. About 425 attended the event; SRO is still calculating the amount raised.

Middle left, auctioneer Nick Sanders, right, solicits bids for Clary’s chef and owner James Clary. The winning bid for Clary was $700.

Bottom right, Alex Kim, left, executive chef of Haruno and Kai After Dark, banters with Sanders while Kim is on the bidding block. Kim’s services sold for $550.