The third annual MOHI Food & Wine Festival returned to downtown Morgan Hill Oct. 18, with organizers saying all proceeds will again go to culinary programs in the Morgan Hill Unified School District.
Presented by Léal Hospitality and Appellation Hotels, a culinary-focused luxury hospitality brand co-founded by chef Charlie Palmer, the event ran from 1-4pm General admission cost $200, with a VIP hour starting at noon for $400.
Mayor Mark Turner opened the speaking program by welcoming the crowd and saying it is the city’s goal to become “one of the culinary capitals of Silicon Valley.”
Palmer said the festival is part of that effort. “This is just a small taste of what’s happening in this great town we love being in,” he said.
Frank Léal, the Morgan Hill-based owner of Léal Hospitality, said the money from the event supports culinary career technical education pathways at Live Oak and Sobrato high schools. This allows the school district to focus its funding on equipment and facilities, including a recently-unveiled kitchen lab at Live Oak featuring all-new equipment.
In an interview, Léal said last year’s festival raised about $46,000 and this year’s event is about the same size. He said about 60 vendors took part, ranging from local markets, restaurants and wineries.
Léal said the benefit is partly self-interested.
“It’s a win-win,” he said. “We invest money, it goes to a good cause, and in return we get people interested in our art, our trade, our lifestyle. It’s a circle, a community contribution circle.”
Léal said earlier editions of the fundraiser were called Grilling for Growth, but the festival now includes dishes that never touch a grill.
“Now we’re doing more than just grilling, and not every chef has an actual grilled item,” he explained. “We have Region with chicharrones and guacamole, for example. Now we’re going into things like octopus, which never hit the grill. It’s evolving.”
Léal said he envisions a future where the festival extends for multiple days, with the upcoming Hotel MOHI as its centerpoint.
“Every year, it will be a different kind of feel,” he said. “And once we open up the hotel, we want to do it the whole week, or maybe five days.”
