Contest: Win two tickets to the Taste of the Nation

Lori Midson

Taste of the Nation at Mile High Station

This year marks the 25th anniversary of Taste of the Nation, a national nonprofit that has its own Colorado chapter, which was started 25 years ago by humanitarian Noel Cunningham, the former owner/chef of Strings, who passed away late last year. The annual event, which features a bounty of foodstuffs from the top restaurants/chefs in the city, benefits the Colorado No Kid Hungry Campaign, a statewide public-private initiative of Hunger Free Colorado, Share Our Strength and the office of Governor John Hickenlooper.

See also:

- Taste of the Nation at Mile High Station
- Humanitarian, father, husband, chef and restaurateur Noel Cunningham dies at age 62

And this year's event, which will take place at Mile High Station on Sunday, October 14, will feature more than forty local restaurants, including TAG, Linger, Root Down, Elway's Cherry Creek, Strings, The Kitchen and Luca d'Italia, along with several mixologists and spirit companies, all of whom will come together to raise funds to eradicate hunger.

There will also be a cocktail contest, wherein the winner will be crowned based on tips, which will also be donated to child hunger programs, and the bartenders competing are a talented crew of familiar names: Sean Kenyon (Squeaky Bean and Williams & Graham); Jimmy Zanon (Big Red F - Lola); Randy and Ryan Layman (ACE, Steuben's and Vesta Dipping Grill); Mike Henderson and Chad Michael George (Linger and Root Down); Alexandra Parks (Bonanno Concepts); Ken Kodys and Kyle West (Breckenridge/Wynkoop); and Bryan Smith, who oversees the bar program at Pinche Tacos.

And speaking of Pinche, owner Kevin Morrison plans to park the Pinche Taco truck on the patio of Mile High Station, as does Biker Jim. And along with plenty of grub, the party will also feature a multitude of various beer stations and live music.

Want to go? Tickets to Taste of the Nation, which goes from 5 to 8 p.m., are $75 each (and the price is absolutely worth it), but we're also giving one Cafe Society reader the chance to win two tickets to the festivities.

Here's what we want to know: How much money has Taste of the Nation raised in Colorado since its founding in 1988?

The person who comes the closest to the actual dollar amount without going over will win the two tickets. Submit your guesses in the comment section below, and we'll announce the winner next Friday, October 7 by 6 p.m. Please make sure you leave a valid e-mail address, so we can contact you if you win.

Ready, set, go!

---

Follow @CafeWestword