A day of delicious dignity
The dining room at St. Vincent de Paul’s Phoenix Dining Room was rich with the aroma of freshly seared beef. The hubbub of hundreds of hungry guests ready for lunch filled the room as they lined up for hundreds of feet. They were all there, along with the Valley’s preeminent chefs, to celebrate the birthday of late civil rights activist and professional boxer, Muhammad Ali.
Before he passed in 2016, Ali volunteered with SVdP many times, and the event was organized by his friend, Celebrity Fight Night Founder Jimmy Walker, who held the event on what would have been Ali’s 84th birthday. Jimmy, also long-time supporter of SVdP, sponsored the 500 steaks through his connection with Marc Lupino, Chief Executive Chef of Steak 44, Dominick’s Steakhouse and Ocean 44.
“My family and I are really blessed to be able to make choices,” Lupino said, “like deciding what we want for dinner instead of worrying about whether we’ll have a next meal or where it will come from. That’s why I’m here. I get to help provide a meal—and not just any meal. Today, I get to serve steak to our guests, something some of them may have never had before.”
Each steak was split in half so that 1,067 guests could enjoy a steak dinner, a rarity for many experiencing homelessness. Each steak was served with a mushroom gravy, mashed potatoes, greens, and dinner rolls to round out the special meal.
“I loved today’s meal,” said Sahir, a lunch guest. “They don’t always serve steak. It’s been a very long time since I’ve had one, which is why I really appreciate it.”
The steaks were grilled to perfection by an array of the Valley’s best and most well-known chefs, including:
- Marc Lupino, Chief Executive Chef of Steak 44, Dominick’s Steakhouse and Ocean 44
- Christopher Gross, Wrigley Mansion
- Vincent Guerithault, Chef and owner of Vincent on Camelback
- Chris Bianco, Chef-owner of Pizzeria Bianco
- Charlene Dete, Pastry Chef from Chateaux Luxe
- Chris Hoffman, Executive Chef at St. Vincent de Paul
