Earlier this week, Denver's Rioja restaurant hosted 150 people for a six-course dinner, with all the proceeds going directly to PROJECT C.U.R.E. to sponsor the delivery of medical relief supplies to Haiti.

With preliminary numbers in, the event raised more than $20,000! This amount will fund a full container of supplies and equipment to the Caribbean nation in this time of need, valued at approximately $400,000.

PROJECT C.U.R.E. thanks Rioja and its staff for volunteering their venue and time to host the event. On behalf of the hundreds of thousands of people in Haiti who will receive the assistance they need as a result of this work, the organization expresses its special thanks to the following chefs, noted on the menu below, from some of Denver and Boulder's top restaurants.

Benefit Dinner for Haiti

Passed hors d'oeuvre
Duck confit sandwiches, lavender-honey, currants
Beef tartare in a pickled cucumber cup, goat cheese mousse, crisp speck
Leopold Brothers peach, blackberry and wild flower liqueur spritzers
-- Chef Matt Anderson, Bistro Vendôme

Appetizer
Tasman King salmon carpaccio
cucumber-lemon balm gelee, potato-chive creme fraiche salad, Black River caviar
2007 Geyser Peak Sauvignon Blanc
-- Chef Max Mackissock, The Squeaky Bean

Salad
Salad of blood orange, pistachio, Catelvetrano olives and baby fennel
2008 Montecillo Albarino
-- Chef John Broening, Duo and Olivéa

Pasta
Potato gnocchetti, roasted poultry brodo and mushrooms
2007 Domaine Drouhin Pinot Noir
-- Chefs Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson and Travis Vaughn, Frasca Food and Wine

Fish
Oven roasted wild striped bass, Meyer lemon and Dungeness crab "cigars," braised baby fennel, fish fume, guanciale
2008 Stump Jump Riesling
-- Chef Jennifer Jasinski, Rioja

Veal
Slow braised veal cheeks, confit sweetbreads, Fruition Farms arugula salad and cauliflower veloute
2007 337 Cabernet Sauvignon
-- Chef Alex Seidel, Fruition

Dessert
Colorado wildflower honey walnut tart with creme fraiche gelato
Torres Aqua d'Or
-- Chef Yasmin Lozada-Hissom, Duo and Olivéa