Delray Beach Community Event: Pub at the Hub
Laissez les bon temps rouler! Let the good times roll! That’s the mentality behind this year’s New Orleans-themed “Party Gras” Pub at the Hub fundraiser on Saturday, January 20th. The event benefits the Community Classroom Project, a 501c3 non-profit initiative started by Space of Mind with a mission to make learning less stressful for students, parents, families, educators and communities.
Event goers can expect a night filled with Louisiana-inspired dishes prepared by some of the area’s best chefs and restaurants, live music from local musicians, local artists’ displays, local brews and themed cocktails, interactive entertainment and a surprise raffle. Tickets are available here.
Pub at the Hub is the Community Classroom Project’s annual signature fundraising event, with this year’s proceeds going directly toward the programming for the brand new Community Classroom Kitchen.
What is the Community Classroom Kitchen?
The Community Classroom Kitchen (CCK) seeks to ‘bring life skills into the kitchen and kitchen skills into life by tapping into South Florida’s top culinary talent for programming, expertise and collective creativity.’
This community-focused initiative was launched during the Covid-19 lockdown. Founder, Ali Kaufman (Founder and CEO of Space of Mind) and Founding Chef, Blake Malatesta (Executive Chef of The Wine Room Kitchen & Bar) were looking for a way to help solve local food crises. They started the One-for-One Meal Box Project, which donated one meal box to a family in need for each meal box sold. The Community Classroom Kitchen was born, and so many amazing ideas and concepts came along with it.
Almost four years later, Ali and Chef Blake’s dream commercial kitchen build-out is finally complete and ready to take CCK to the next level! With the help of fundraising efforts, the programming promises to ‘connect participants from varied socio-economic backgrounds, neighborhoods, and cultures, allowing everyone to learn – and be nourished – together.’
Programming will include things like cooking classes and workshops, private parties, dinners and various kinds of events. The kitchen will also serve as a full production set for food-related media and a front- and back-of-house workforce training location for teens and young adults. It will be a lending library for students and chefs, commissary and test kitchen for chefs and young food entrepreneurs and a culinary industry ‘Think Tank’ for professionals. The One-for-One Meal Box Project will start up again as well.
What to Expect at Pub at the Hub
This event has been described by previous attendees as ‘the party of the year,’ and ‘like going to a house party with all of your friends.’
Pub at the Hub will take place at The Hub at Space of Mind, located at 101 NW 1st Avenue in Delray Beach, from 7-11pm. General admission tickets include all food, drinks and entertainment. Participating chefs/restaurants include Chef Blake Malatesta/The Wine Room Kitchen & Bar, Billy Himmelrich/Old School Bakery, Deb Dickinson/Space of Mind, Jimmy Everett/Driftwood, Daniel Dore/Dada, Jessie Steele, Red Pine, Farmer’s Table, Papa’s Tapas and more.
There are also ‘VIP Voodoo Lounge’ tickets available that grant you access to the private afterparty until midnight. VIPs also get two raffle tickets ($50 value), a commemorative poster, special late-night drinks, DJ entertainment, and a post-party hangover survival kit – because, well, this is a Mardi Gras theme, after all!
I wasn’t able to attend last year because I was out of town — but everything I have heard has me super excited for this year. I especially can’t wait to see what the chefs will be cooking up. Let’s bring all the fun of the French Quarter and Bourbon Street right here to Delray Beach! Click here to purchase tickets.
Interested in learning more? Listen to me, Ali and Chef Blake chat all about the Community Classroom Project and Pub at the Hub on the Take A Bite Out of South Florida podcast here, or watch the episode on YouTube.
Disclosure: This is a sponsored post by the Community Classroom Project.
