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

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

The charity relies entirely on grants and donations to fund its services and the £25,000 raised by last year’s dinner has been critical to keeping its doors open in 2024.

Ching will also hold a separate ‘Chinese food on a budget’ demonstration for crew, staff and parents in the Grow café.

Guernsey Community Savings (GCS) founder and chair Peter Neville said: “We are very much looking forward to welcoming Ching back to Guernsey in October.

“Our gala dinner at China Red last year surpassed all our expectations. The standard of the food, the way Ching engaged with our guests, and her enthusiasm for what we do at GCS made it an unforgettable evening. Her cooking demonstration for students at the College of FE was also a tremendous success.

“It is a delight to work with Eddie Sum, China Red’s owner, on the event. He and Ching are old friends and I know they have been working on some exciting new dishes for the menus this year.

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

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 been championing, popularising and demystifying Chinese cuisine since 2003. She received an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours 2020 list for services to the culinary arts.

She has published eleven best-selling cookbooks to date, with the latest ‘Wok For Less’ focusing on traditional, clever ways to reduce costs, without scrimping on taste.

Ching said: “I’m very excited to be returning to Guernsey and collaborating with Eddie Sum and his team at China Red in honour of Guernsey Community Savings fundraising gala. It is my honour to support GCS in their cause to help those who have fallen on hard financial times. We have a fabulous celebratory menu in store for everyone.

“I am also very excited to be meeting those working at Grow Café, sharing my top tips for cooking on a budget. With many thanks to GCS founder and chair Peter Neville, China Red owner Eddie Sum, Linda Rolf, all the sponsors and guests. I am counting down to the event and looking forward to seeing everyone very soon.”

Ching will be signing copies of ‘Wok For Less’ at the event as well as other books such as ‘Stir Crazy’, ‘Asian Green’ and ‘Wok On’, with the proceeds going to GCS.