Despite how it may sound, soup bowls weren’t even close to being empty at the 4th annual Empty Bowls event.
The fund-raiser took place at the Crosby Conference Center within the Toledo Botanical Garden on Friday.
The local non-profit Food for Thought joined with the Toledo Potters Guild to bring this luncheon to life, inviting guests to try homemade soup from area restaurants and chefs out of a handcrafted bowl.
“We try to switch up the restaurants to keep it fresh,” said Tonya Scherf, the executive director for Food for Thought. “We’ve had everyone from Fowl and Fodder to Registry Bistro, [and] SAME Cafe. … We do try to mix it up a bit.”
Participants this year included Walt Churchill’s Market, Smokin’ Olive, The Collective Private Chef & Catering, SAME Cafe, Koto Buki, Inspiration Kitchen, and Chef Michael Armstrong.
Churchill's made Italian wedding soup, Smokin' Olive made a tomato bisque, The Collective made a Parisienne soup, SAME Cafe made a French onion soup with mushrooms, Koto Buki made a miso soup, Inspiration Kitchen made a corn and potato chowder, Chef Armstrong made a seafood chowder, and coffee was provided by Copper Press Roastery.
“Guests will come in and fill their bowl with soup so that way we can keep everyone’s bowl filled,” Scherf added. She explained that proceeds from each ticket purchased will be used to help feed Lucas County families in need.
This year, the Toledo Potters Guild made over 200 bowls in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors, she said, with the attendees able to select a bowl from the lineup to keep. Around 150 tickets were sold for the event, Scherf noted, also mentioning that the event was sold out.
Alongside the soup offerings, homemade bread, and selection of desserts, the Toledo School for the Arts played during the luncheon, bringing the event together with melodies of live music throughout the afternoon.
“TSA is always here playing. Everyone just seems like they’re in a good mood,” said Steve Broseke, one of the artists with the Toledo Potters Guild. “It’s one of those rare opportunities where everyone is happy and nice to each other.”
Broseke said he added personal touch to some of his pottery, carving chefs’ names into the design — like Chef Michael Armstrong who made Hungarian dumplings with his seafood chowder for the event.
Armstrong said he made a soup that he really had fun with — incorporating seafood like salmon, walleye, and shrimp to his chowder.
Carrots, onion, celery, and roasted ancho peppers were also added to the soup, the chef said, with the peppers adding more of a “fullness” to the dish rather than spice.
“Food for Thought is a good organization,” Armstrong said, who works as a private caterer in the area. “What they do is right into the wheelhouse of what I’m trying to do; and that’s feeding and taking care of underprivileged and underserved people.”
The chef, who was also the founder and former owner of Michael’s Cafe and Bakery on Main Street in East Toledo, acknowledged that both Food for Thought and the Toledo Potters Guild put in a lot of work to make this event happen.
“Every year it’s evolved,” Chef Armstrong explained, who has been bringing different soups for guests to try since the first Empty Bowls fund-raiser in 2021.
Similar events, though, go as far back as 2012 when the Toledo Northwestern Ohio Food Bank hosted an event under the same name. Indeed, Empty Bowls events take place worldwide as a project to fight hunger.
“This is really exceptional this year,” he said, looking around the room at the sold-out event.
Jeff Vanderhorst, member of the Toledo Potters Guild, shared that he has also been participating in this event since its inception, adding that “it’s just a way to do good.”
“Everybody that’s involved agreed that it’s a good thing,” he continued. “We do good, the restaurants do good. … We’ve built a lot of camaraderie in the [Toledo Potters] Guild itself and with the other organizations.”
If one thing is clear, the Empty Bowls event continues to fill stomachs with soup and hearts with hope as local organizations come together to feed local families and diminish food insecurity in Toledo.
Contact Maddie Coppel at: mcoppel@theblade.com .
Local News
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