BATH — Andrew Omo, executive chef of Linda Bean’s Perfect Maine in Freeport, joins the lineup of chefs participating in Spectrum Generations first Meals on Wheels Celebrity Challenge, a benefit dining event being held on Wednesday, Sept. 25, at the scenic Maine Maritime Museum in Bath, starting at 5:15 p.m.
Top chefs from coastal and central Maine will compete by preparing a main dish using Meals on Wheels guidelines and ingredients.
Tickets are $75 per person or $600 for a table of eight. There will also be a reception, cash bar and silent auction. Tickets can be reserved online at www.spectrumgenerations.org/celebrity or by phone at 620-1677. Space is limited, so early reservations are encouraged to help end senior hunger.
Joining Omo will be chef Ray Franklyn of Solo Bistro in Bath, owner and chef Tim O’Brien of Trattoria Athena in Brunswick, and owner and head chef Wendy Larson of Slates Restaurant & Bakery in Hallowell.
Kelly LaBrecque, meteorologist with WCSH News Center 6, will be the emcee for the evening while Cheryl Rust, owner and operator of Le Garage in Wiscasset, will provide the keynote address.
Proceeds from the evening will benefit Spectrum Generations’ Meals on Wheels program. Recent federal budget cuts have forced the nonprofit, for the first time in 40 years, to create a waiting list of those in need. For many who are homebound, there is no other place to turn for help.
Funds also will support Spectrum Generations’ We Sustain Maine senior nutrition initiative, which incorporates Maine food products in its Meals on Wheels and community dining programs. By bringing food from the fields of Maine farms to the plates of Maine’s seniors, We Sustain Maine reduces senior hunger, supports Maine farmers, and ultimately helps Maine’s economy by reinvesting local dollars back into local communities. 
“The community is coming together in full force to support Spectrum Generations’ goal of ending senior hunger,” said Diane Woodworth, Spectrum Generations’ director of development. “It’s wonderful to see so many people committed to helping community members who need the Meals on Wheels program.”
In addition to the top chef challenge, local celebrities in the community will don aprons and act as Meals on Wheels volunteers, delivering meals to guests’ tables while celebrity judges pick a champion.
The celebrity judges are Nancy Heiser, independent writer and bi-monthly restaurant critic for the Maine Sunday Telegram; Susan Axelrod, food writer for the Portland Press Herald and founding editor of Eater Maine; and Christine Burns Rudalevige, chef instructor and culinary lead at Stonewall Kitchen and recipe developer at Cooking Light magazine.
For more information about the event or sponsorship opportunities, contact Diane Woodworth at 620-1684 or dwoodworth@spectrumgenerations.org. 

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