Save the Date: July 14
July 7th, 2008 | Published in tales of the cocktail
Health insurance is a topic that you hear about everywhere these days—right after gas prices—but those who have worked in the food and beverage industry know that one of the downsides of a career as a chef, restaurateur, mixologist, or sommelier is that health insurance is hard to come by, especially when you’re just starting out. Many times this is just an inconvenience, making prescriptions irritatingly costly or basic preventative care more expensive than is feasible, but sometimes the lack of insurance coverage is an insurmountable hurdle.
Billy Walsh, a cook at Craft Restaurant and a waiter at Osteria Latini, was heading to work on his Vespa on May 22, 2008 going westbound on Olympic. A driver heading east, attempting to make a left hand turn, didn’t see Billy and tragically hit him with her car. Billy was treated for swelling and some bleeding in the brain, a collapsed lung, fractured ribs and leg lacerations. After two weeks in a coma and some therapy, Billy was been released and has returned home. He still faces another major surgery to replace part of his skull (!), but his family and friends report that he is recovering well.
Billy had just completed his externship and been hired on at Craft and was uninsured when the accident occurred. As you can imagine, the extent of his injuries has resulted in enormous medical bills. To help alleviate some of the financial burden, chefs and bartenders from all over LA are coming together and putting on a fundraiser next Monday, July 14th.
If you’re in town, please join some of Los Angeles’ very own food and beverage elite as they put on a night of unbelievable cocktails, food and entertainment to help raise money for Billy Walsh:
Balsh-stille Day
Monday, July 14, 2008 | 7pm
The Foundry on Melrose
7465 Melrose Avenue | Los Angeles, CA 90046
Participating Chefs:
- Eric Greenspan – Owner and Executive Chef of The Foundry on Melrose
- Ray England – Sous Chef at Craft Los Angeles
- Lisa Vega – Pastry at Providence Restaurant
Participating Bartenders:
- Eric Alperin – The Doheny (formerly of Little Branch NYC & Osteria Mozza)
- Christine D’Abrosca – Beverage Manager at Malo Restaurant
- Chris Ojeda – Osteria Mozza
- Marcos Tello – Comme Ça and The Edison
- Damian Windsor – Gordon Ramsey at The London
- Plus: Steve Olsen, Andy Seymour, Jacques Bezuidinhout and Leo DeGroff
Entertainment provided by DJ Spider
Each $40 ticket (donation) includes dinner and dessert, entertainment and a cocktail. All further cocktails are available to purchase and all proceeds go to Billy’s medical fund. Tickets can be purchased in advance through PayPal (send money to wisemc at gmail dot com) or you may pay cash at the door, and you can always email for more information.
