Mario Loves Leelanau!---Famous Chef is one of 123 Auction Donors and Underwriters who helped to raise $75,000 for land protection efforts

If you were one of the nearly 800 people who attended our Annual Picnic & Auction on August 3, then you probably already know that a lunch for 12 offered by famed chef Mario Batali went for $42,000. To say that we were all stunned and thrilled was an understatement. The bidding was lively, with four serious parties vying for the opportunity to spend an afternoon cooking, wine tasting and eating with Mario.

By the time the sun was sinking behind the Picnic tents, nearly all of the 800 picnic-goers had gone home. A few staff and board members lingered, doing the last of the clean up and winding down with a glass of wine. We reveled in all the good things that had happened that day and talked about what the Mario offering—and for that matter the proceeds from ALL the other 100-plus items--would mean to us in the coming year. Brian Price, our director, said something about the work we have on our plate right now--12 projects in progress totaling in excess of $4 million and many more on the horizon. And that only time and money are keeping us from accomplishing everything we can and want to do.

What Mario and so many other donors did for us that day was to ease our load and help us in our efforts to protect this place we all love.

A few weeks after the picnic, the Sunday of the big Mario event dawned bright and clear following a rain-filled Saturday. I was told that Mario would arrive at Cherry Basket Farm around 11:30 AM to prep for the day. So, after picking two Mason jars full of flowers for the tables—my small contribution to the day--I headed over to Omena.

Pulling into the Cherry Basket driveway just ahead of me was a modest blue sedan. I wondered if that could be Mario. Sure enough, the car door swung open, and a signature orange-clogged foot appeared from out of the car. With Mario was his good friend and gallery owner Pier Wright, who would help prep and serve the multi-course meal.

I carried in the flowers and checked in with Cammie Buehler of Epicure Catering, who would assist Mario and lend her kitchen at the farm. She was scrubbing a sauté pan as Mario and Pier hauled in a huge cooler. “Buenos sera,” Mario said, and kissed my hand. He opened the cooler and began to unload it. I left and headed for the beach with my family.

As I relaxed and watched the waves roll in at Good Harbor, I thought about Mario—who was supposed to be vacationing here in Leelanau, not working. Instead, he’d left his own family for a good part of the day to help our cause. I thought about how lucky we are that Mario and so many others are willing to give time, talent and energy.

That evening I got a hint of how the day had gone, when I drove past the farm and saw the cars still there at 8 p.m. Later, the buyers of the lunch, who wish to remain anonymous, said, “It was a wonderful feast and a lot of fun. Mario Batali is a lovely man, very gracious and down to earth…and treated us to a truly unforgettable afternoon of great food, wine, and laughs.” While they were thrilled with the lunch, the bidders, who are also Conservancy Sustainers, said it was doubly great that they could get something they dearly wanted while also helping an organization they revere.

As for Mario, he had a great time too. “Just cooking at Cherry Basket Farm with and for a bunch of cool like-minded people is fun enough,” said Mario. “But to do that and raise both money and awareness for the Leelanau Conservancy makes the whole thing twice as tasty. This is my favorite fund raiser all year because it is more fun than work.”

--written by Carolyn Faught, September, 2006