Benefit Auction Ideas – A Great Auction Item For Your Dining Category is a Chef’s Table

A popular item to sell at benefit auctions is the opportunity to dine at the Chef’s Table in a restaurant.

What is the Chef’s Table?

Perhaps not every restaurant has one, but a Chef’s Table is a table situated within the kitchen of the restaurant. And as with real estate, what makes this table unique is the location, location, location.

By virtue of where it sits (in the kitchen), the table allows the guests to see how their food is being prepared, observe communication among the kitchen staff, and generally experience the inner workings of a busy restaurant kitchen. The uniqueness of the experience is what makes this auction item popular at fundraisers.

It is always nice to go out for a good meal. But it’s even a more fascinating experience to eat out when you are literally in the middle of the hustle and bustle of a busy kitchen. It puts a silent auction ideas new dimension on the experience. You are dining in the kitchen, while dining out of your home.

Sometimes a restaurant will book the Chef’s Table when the restaurant is at capacity. Other times the table might be left vacant unless a special customer arrives.

A few years ago while attending a conference in Pittsburgh, PA, my colleagues and I headed down to an Italian restaurant on the South Side. I have since forgotten the name of the restaurant, but I haven’t forgotten the experience. The restaurant was packed, and the only table large enough to accommodate our entire group was the Chef’s Table in the kitchen. “Would you mind eating there,” the hostess inquired.

We were ecstatic! We got to enjoy a fabulous meal and have a unique view of the restaurant which no one else did.

When soliciting for donations from restaurants, ask if they would mind donating a dinner at the Chef’s Table. This is a better donation for you, and doesn’t “cost” the restaurant any additional money.