Rain couldn't stop Taste the Future

2016 Event Pics

Despite a weather-related change of venue, Taste the Future raised more than $220,000 for student success at Columbus State.

Taste the Future is the Columbus State Foundation's annual fundraising gala. For the price of a ticket, attendees got to sample more than 100 different dishes served by local chefs. More than 50 restaurants, caterers and brewers brought their wares to support the event.

"We are overwhelmed with gratitude toward our volunteers, guests and chefs who helped break the record for most money ever raised at a Taste the Future event," said Pam Bishop, executive director of the Columbus State Foundation. "Together, we are changing students' lives."

The event presented several awards: The Wasserstrom Companies, a leading restaurant supplier based in Columbus, was honored for its support of Taste the Future and student scholarships. Chef Hartmut Handke, a nationally known chef and former apprenticeship chair for the American Culinary Federation in Columbus, was honored for his lifetime of advocacy for young culinarians.

Finally, Columbus State got to honor one of its own as James Taylor, chair of the college's Hospitality Management Department, received the ACF's prestigious Hermann G. Rusch Chef's Achievement Award. President David Harrison described it as the "Heisman Trophy of the culinary world."