IN COUNTRY

Chefs on Bikes: A Roaring Success!

By Wally Greeves

July 2008

Local Georgetown Chefs and Friends - Photo by Paul Simkin

Vroom, Vroom, Vroom. Chefs on Bikes was a roaring success for the fifth year in a row, raising over $55,000 for Share our Strength. Sponsored by Fortessa, motorcycles showed up from as far away as New York City to roar around and raise money. The amount of umph and personality in this group could liven up a game of Tiddlywinks, so when you throw in a little of the Virginia Countryside, barbecue, and some beers, you come up with a hard to beat recipe. Breakfast downtown at Bistro Bis, lunch at Clyde’s Willow Creek Farm, and an afternoon listening to The Spark Plugs at L’Auberge Provencale were the icing on the cake, and my wife and I ate four pieces.

As the sun went down in Clarke County, we decided to stay the night at L’Auberge Provencale (below photo), and I cannot say enough nice things about this place. This hidden-away gem of a bed and breakfast, off of route 340, is a must for Washingtonians. Owner and Chefs on Bikes sponsor, Alain Borel and his family go out of their way to save you the money it would take to fly to France for the evening (and even put up with me following them around the kitchen at 5am). Info at www.laubergeprovencale.com.

The sponsors/bikers from Clyde’s Willowcreek Farm hosted a much needed lunch for over 100 bikers that hit the spot. Parts of the building date to the 1700’s, and there are multiple bars and rooms, making it the largest Clyde’s I have ever seen. It feels like a bed and breakfast, but unfortunately you have to drive home from this one. The entire column of bikers also paid a visit to the Burwell-Morgan Mill in Millwood, Virginia to see how millers made flour in the 1700s. Boasting one of the few wooden interior water wheels in the nation, this mill produced flour until the 1960s and is now a historical 4 acre complex that you can visit on weekends. A testament to how interesting a tour of this building and it’s works are was evident to me when I looked around and realized that 100 chefs were standing around together and actually listening to someone talk.

The motorcycles at this event varied as much as the restaurants that participated. Harleys, Hondas, dirtbikes, scooters, V6’s and trikes all rode together for the cause; making sure that no kid goes hungry in America. Chefs are a passionate group, and it was clear to me how much this group cares about feeding people. The 5th annual barbecue contest was a scrumptious success, and left no one hungry. Plans to make Chefs on Bikes a national fundraising event are underway, and if the fun everyone has had at this event over the past 5 years is an indicator, it will be a roaring success.

For more information about this event, or to sponsor a chef, go to www.chefsonbikes.com.