A Fundraising Paradise

Restaurant Paradis hosts Prohibition Repeal Wine Dinner benefiting Food For Thought organization

BY OLIVIA RONCHETTI

Coastal Luxury had the honor of attending Restaurant Paradis’ seventh annual Prohibition Repeal Wine Dinner presented by 30A Luxury Vacations to benefit Food For Thought. Restaurant Paradis is a premier fine dining restaurant located in South Barrett Square in the charming center of Rosemary Beach. The evening made for a quintessential finale to a bustling year full of both challenges and blessings.

The lavish event was inspired by the Prohibition era and all guests were encouraged to embrace the theme and dress to the nines in 1920s-themed attire for a night full of delight. With the windows marked out in police tape and a guarded entrance, entering the restaurant truly felt like you were stepping foot into a different era. The night began with a cocktail hour in the lounge which featured vintage-inspired cocktails made with Distillery 98’s

Dune Laker vodka and classic French 75s. The champagne and live music flowed through the rooms as the guests were invited into the main dining room. A luxurious dinner awaited with exceptional wines specifically curated for the event as well as a delicious four-course meal prepared by chef Mark Eichin and his culinary team.

Dinner began with a first course of shrimp and cabbage potstickers paired with Miguel Torres Estelado Sparkling Rosé. Flawlessly following from the first, the second course included a remarkable lobster Newburg paired with 2021 Turning Point Russian River chardonnay. For the main event, guests enjoyed a grilled lamb rack with 2021 Turning Point Alexander Valley cabernet to sip on. Icebox Cake was served for dessert, perfectly paired with 2020 Kara Tara South Africa Western Cape pinot noir.

The menu for the evening focused on local produce, fresh Gulf seafood and quality meats, staying true to the Restaurant’s mission. Each plate was carefully prepared and thoroughly presented with detailed descriptions of every element, including the thoughtfully selected wines. The dinner service left nothing to be desired and fully captured the opulent, Gatsby-like energy of the roaring ’20s.

Our Coastal Luxury team spent the night dancing to live music, sharing laughs and enjoying quality time with one another. Nights like these, surrounded by close friends in the heart of the community we love so much, are near and dear to each of us.

We are so grateful to have attended this memorable event to benefit such a worthy cause, Food For Thought — an organization with a mission to “remove the negative impacts of hunger and empower a child to get the most out of their education and development by providing them weekly access to healthy, easy-to-prepare meals.”

The story of how they began is something special. The organization started out as a small family project to serve food insecure students in one school for one year, and the budget for this project was $300. The Founder, Tiffanie Nelson, partnered with her son’s school to provide access to food for children in need. Since 2010, Food For Thought has grown into a larger organization to fight childhood hunger. The organization now provides weekly access to food for 3,400 food-insecure school-aged children across 32 school locations in Walton and Okaloosa Counties.

The organization focuses on four main values. Fostering respect, being health focused, promoting volunteerism and establishing roots. They offer their services to every student on a free or reduced meal plan in the schools they serve. They ensure that each backpack provided includes healthy grains, fruits, vegetables and protein so the children and their families can easily prepare the healthiest meal possible.

Food For Thought strengthens their volunteer-base frequently, which brings new ideas, support and love into the organization. They welcome volunteers of all ages and encourage student and team volunteerism. These important volunteers pack and distribute food, help to organize the pantry and support the events. Volunteers are what keep For Thought running and able to serve the community’s children in need.

Over the 2021–2022 service year, Food For Thought distributed 1.28 million food items, served 156,000 classroom snacks and delivered 96,000 backpacks. They also reached 100 hours of kitchen classes, acquired 5,000 volunteer hours and served 700 Christmas meals and 700 Thanksgiving meals.

A recipient parent stated that, "Receiving a backpack with food provided by community members is about more than easing food insecurity. The outreach provided a sense of comfort, support and encouragement.

It enabled me to push forward and not be defeated by the obstacles of providing daily basic needs for my family. The program has left a lasting impression on my children as well.”

Food For Thought is such an important organization serving our 30A community and children. We are so thankful to have supported them at the seventh annual Restaurant Paradis Prohibition Repeal Wine Dinner where proceeds were able to benefit their organization.

For more information on Food For Thought and opportunities to serve, please visit FFTFL.org or email support@fftfl.org.

Volunteering with Food for Thought

Volunteering with Food for Thought is such an impactful way to give directly back to the community. They are always in need of volunteers to pack backpacks, organize and maintain the pantry, deliver and distribute, and drive the vans. The Food for Thought team is also growing other opportunities to serve, including garden support, kitchen instruction classes, and bag returns. Packing Backpacks was a great way for the Coastal Luxury team to volunteer as a team and work together. We were able to pack over 100 backpacks together filled with soup, cereal, pretzels, apples and more!