State Rep. Rachel Burgin 'Cooking for a Cause' at Copper Bell Cafe

State Rep. Rachel Burgin is set to open the latest round of "Cooking for a Cause" at the in Brandon today. The June 11 celebrity chef offering will benefit the .

Burgin leads the way for celebrity chefs to follow: MaryEllen Elia, Jen Holloway and Tammy Bracewel (see their affiliations and chosen charities below). A complementary round of "Cooking for a Cause" will follow at the Copper Bell Cafe in Riverview, with celebrity chef Guy Boucher, head coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning, set to kick off that event.

Copper Bell proprietor Darren Dennington said of the effort, now in its third year, that he is proud to have donated back to the community some $26,000 as a result of the first two years of Cooking for a Cause.

The aim is for each celebrity chef to draw to the Copper Bell Cafe on their designated day a large — and hungry — crowd. The event is from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Also, orders can be phoned in, with free delivery by TakeOutButler.com.

The premise is simple: Dennington invites community local community leaders to serve as celebrity chefs on their designated day for the fundraiser. Dennington and his staff, sometimes with the aid of the celebrity chef, prepare the ingredients for the meals the night before.

All proceeds and gratuities from the day will be donated to the charity designated by the celebrity chef.

"I'm very proud of what our small cafe has been able to give to charities through this event," Dennington said. "It's been very well-received in the community."

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The Cooking for a Cause III Lineup For Brandon:

• June 11 — State. Rep. Rachel Burgin. Her chosen charity: Brandon Outreach Clinic.

• June 18 — School Superintendent MaryEllen Elia. Her chosen charity: Hillsborough Education Foundation.

• June 25 — Jen Holloway, marketing director for Bright House Networks, the sponsor for this year's event. Her chosen charity: HARC, "one of the oldest and most-respected agencies serving people with disabilities in the Tampa Bay region."

• July 9 — Tammy Bracewell, president and chief executive officer of the Greater Brandon Chamber of Commerce. Her chosen charity: YMCA.

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The Cooking for a Cause III Lineup for Riverview:

• August 25 — Guy Boucher, head coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning. His chosen charity: Susan G. Komen 3-Day Breast Cancer Walk.

• To be announced, three additional celebrity chefs for the Riverview location of the Copper Bell Cafe.

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