Flavors of the Heart boasts professional chefs, celebrity favorites

The American Heart Association has revamped this year’s Heart & Stroke Ball to feature a new format and unexpected special guests.

Instead of the typical seated dinner, the Columbus organization has completely turned their formula upside down to entice a wider range of attendees.

The event will include a vast array of art, ranging from culinary creations by celebrity chefs to donated paintings by famous artists who are natives of Columbus.

Flavors of the Heart will host three celebrity chefs: Dr. Frank Lipman, Chef Kaimana Chee and Columbus native Landon Thompson. Each chef has been asked to create a heart-healthy meal with two heavy appetizers, a cocktail and a dessert. Patrons will be able to watch the chefs and their teams work as they cook for the judges on the evening of the event.

Local chef Jaime Keating will prepare the same recipes for all 400 patrons.

Lipman is the author and creator of Be Well, a diet and nutritional company endorsed by Gwyneth Paltrow. Kiamana Chee is a Food Network star who earned the grand prize on “Cutthroat Kitchen” in 2016. Thompson is a critically acclaimed chef in Atlanta at the Basque restaurant Cooks & Soldiers. Cooks & Soldiers has been featured in the Atlanta Journal Constitution, the Huffington Post, the Wall Street Journal and USA Today.

Each celebrity chef will be accompanied by a team of local celebrity sous chefs. These local celebrities include Courtney Amos, Dr. Susie Westerlund, Pierce Miller, Cosby Cartledge, Sally Turner, Dr. Vik Chhokar, Katie Waldrep and Mary Roddenberry.

Ivey Evans, a member of the executive leadership team, is thrilled about the changes to this year’s event.

“We’ve completely reinvented the event this year to engage and entertain audiences of all ages,” he said. “Each of the chefs bring something a little bit different. Landon is local, and is super excited about helping out his community. He’s had great success in Atlanta and we’re so glad to have him on board. Dr. Frank Lipman is a nationally renown author and health and wellness guru. Getting him to Columbus is a big deal. Chef Kaimana Chee is our fun Hawaiian wild card. He’s been known to play the ukulele while cooking.”

Evans is looking forward to witnessing the teams in action as they work side by side with celebrity chefs.

“The teams supporting our celebrity chefs are a really diverse group of people,” he said. “Their cooking skills are really varied across the board. There’s a real range of experience in the kitchen represented by our sous chefs.”

Fine art was donated to the auction by Columbus natives Teil Duncan, Kate Waddell, Erin Gregory, Katie Jacobson and Sally Bradley. Other artists involved include graphic designers Cam Addison and Ashley Cartledge, who both contributed to the design work for the event’s marketing strategies.

Although the event’s makeup may have changed this year, the focus remains the same. The Heart Ball is about educating patrons of the importance of awareness and preventative measures when it comes to heart and brain health.

Evans knows too well how serious these issues can be.

“So many people think that heart disease and stroke won’t affect them, but in reality, it affects people of all ages,” he said. “We are hoping by getting a wide range of patrons there, people will get it. I experienced that heart disease can impact people at any age. I experienced this firsthand when a good friend had a massive heart attack and almost didn’t survive. He was 38 at the time.”

This story was originally published February 6, 2017 at 11:32 AM with the headline "Flavors of the Heart boasts professional chefs, celebrity favorites."