Calgary chefs dish up dinner to fundraise for family of man killed at C-Train station
CBC News | Posted: August 10, 2017 5:25 PM | Last Updated: August 10, 2017
'It's bringing community together, letting people know that it matters, and we do care'
"Heartbroken" by the senseless death of Nicholas Nwonye, three Calgary chefs hosted a five-course, fundraising dinner Wednesday to help his widow and three young children.
Nwonye, 46, was randomly stabbed on June 2 at the City Hall C-Train platform, just eighteen months after leaving his engineering job in Nigeria to forge a better life in Canada.
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"Heartbroken by stories like this, we're not always sure if there is anything we can do to help — so we cook," reads the event website.
"It really hits home for me," said Duncan Ly, chef and owner of Foreign Concept, where the dinner was hosted.
"My family immigrated to Canada 30 years ago in search of a better life," Ly said. "We can't imagine not having my father around while we were growing up."
Ly said he reached out to two of his chef friends in the city, Darren MacLean of Shokunin and Kaede Hirooka of Vintage Chophouse. "Before I could even finish telling them this story, they were like, 'We're in. Let's do it.'"
'Tremendous' support
The Asian-inspired menu incorporated elements of Japanese, Vietnamese and Chinese cuisine and cost $100 per person, with all proceeds going to the Nwonye family.
But it's not just about helping the family financially, Ly said.
"It's also the act of doing something. I think it's bringing community together, letting people know that it matters, and we do care," Ly said.
Ly called the response "tremendous," adding that he considers himself lucky to live in a city with such a strong sense of community.
"That's what I love about Calgary," said Ly.
Other community initiatives to support the Nwonye family include a GoFundMe campaign organized by Nwonye's practical nurse classmates at Bow Valley College, which has to date raised more than $90,000 of it's $150,000 goal.
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