DCS Director's Hidden Talents Revealed: Wins Celebrity Chef Fundraising Cookoff

PHOENIX (April 27, 2016) - Revealing award-winning hidden talents, Department of Child Safety Director Greg McKay demonstrated his culinary mastery while raising money to help abused and neglected children. Childhelp, a Phoenix-based non-profit, held the “25 Men Who Think They Can Cook” fundraiser this past weekend to raise money for a variety of child abuse prevention, intervention, and treatment programs.

Photo of DCS logo on cutting board surrounded by food

Held at Aunt Chilada’s Squaw Peak in north Phoenix, McKay donned a chef’s apron and entered the fray against stiff competition from the other celebrity chefs.  His ambitious culinary offering was his brother Chris's secret recipe, entered into the “Best Appetizer” category.  The most information McKay would share about this secret stuffed mushroom recipe was simply the ingredients -  mushrooms, hot Italian sausage, shallots, aged parmesan and gouda cheese, garlic, basil,  ricotta cream, and  pink Himalayan salt.  The gourmet appetizer was a unanimous winner, as judged by professional chefs, but McKay warns the public not to try this at home.  

According to McKay, “I'm just so grateful for the many people who came out to support this worthy cause; winning was just an added bonus."  

While the food was exceptional, and the Director surprising with his hidden culinary skills, the ultimate goal was to raise at least $10,000 for Childhelp programs and services.  According to Childhelp, that goal has been exceeded.  The event, and Director McKay’s involvement illustrates an important point – there are many creative ways to help the over 19,000 Arizona children in out of home care, and often all it takes is to offer the gifts and talents one has to help make a difference.  Information on ways to help Arizona’s most vulnerable children can be found at www.keepazkidssafe.org.

About Childhelp: The organization is one of the largest and oldest national non-profit organizations dedicated to helping victims of child abuse and neglect and at-risk children with a focus on advocacy, prevention, treatment and community outreach.

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