China Red Gala Dinner with celebrity chef Ching-He Huang MBE

Celebrity chef Ching-He Huang MBE is coming to Guernsey in October to host a gala dinner at China Red that will raise vital funds for the financial inclusion charity Guernsey Community Savings.

The renowned TV chef and author will also hold a separate ‘Chinese food on a budget’ demonstration for catering students at the College of Further Education.

Guernsey Community Savings relies entirely on grants and donations to fund its services, and this is its first major fundraiser event.

GCS founder and chair Peter Neville said: “We are thrilled to have secured Ching to host our gala dinner at such a special venue and grateful to Eddie Sum of China Red who we’ve worked closely with since the idea first came up.

“It’s a unique opportunity to enjoy top-class Chinese food and to meet Ching, who will visit every table and greet our guests. When we spoke to her, she was very interested to learn about our charity and keen to get involved, including holding a demonstration of cooking on a budget at the College of FE.

“We are very grateful for the generous sponsorship we’ve received from Kirkwood Properties, the RED Fund and Ravenscroft, and for the excellent support being provided by Handpicked Hotels and the Liberation Group.’

Born in Taiwan and raised in South Africa and the UK, Ching is an International Emmy nominated, award winning TV chef and cookery author who has become an ambassador of Chinese cooking around the world. She received an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours 2020 list for services to the culinary arts.

She has published ten best-selling cookbooks to date and will be signing copies of her latest books, ‘Stir crazy’, ‘Asian Green’ and ‘Wok On’, at the event with the proceeds going to GCS.

There are tables of ten, eight and four available for the gala dinner on Saturday 14 October, with tickets costing £160 per person. Tickets available via email.

Since it was set up in September 2020, GCS has helped more than 120 islanders who had previously been financially excluded from society because they didn’t have a bank account. The charity ensures that each of its clients has access to an easy-to-use online account, a debit card, and a means of building up savings.

As well as supporting its clients, the charity also offers financial management education to those who need it, including running six-week programmes at Guernsey Prison.