Pink shawarmas raise nearly US $14k for charity
Pink shawarmas were made and sold in a charity auction in Dubai on Friday, raising US $13,885 (AED51,000) for breast cancer charity Pink Caravan in just two hours.
The money raised at the annual event, held at Galeries Lafayette in The Dubai Mall, equates to the cost of five chemotherapy sessions.
Two teams competed to raise the most funds for the charity by preparing pink shawarma meals and selling them to Galeries Lafayette's visitors.
Pink Caravan ambassador and TV presenter Saoud Al Kaabi led a team comprising artist Faisal Al Jassim and social media activist Mohannad Al Hassoun, which was overseen by Russell Impiazzi, culinary director, food and beverage at Galeries Lafayette, Lafayette Gourmet in The Dubai Mall.
TV presenter Amira Al Fadl led the other team, which included Pink Caravan ambassador, fitness expert and chef Zena Habi, singer Nadia Al Mansouri and Pink Caravan ambassador Vian Shawani, and was overseen by Tony Kitous, chef and founder of London-based restaurant Comptoir Libanais.
Al Kaabi's team raised $7,648 (AED 28,090) while Al Fadl's team raised $6,319 (AED 23,206).
On the sidelines of the 'Pink Bite' event, Kitous had his hand 3D imprinted and donated eight of his cook books to the Pink Caravan to be auctioned. He also offered dinner for 40 people at Comptoir Libanais to be bid on at the auction.
He said: "Cancer awareness is one of the most serious causes that anybody should participate in its events. Cancer is here, cancer is real, cancer is happening.
"I myself lost my cousin who died of cancer at the age of 20, and my mother, two aunts and grandfather who also died of cancer. I also lost one of my best friends with cancer. I think with all the research and the wonderful work the Pink Caravan is doing, it is very important to be all behind this kind of work, which helps save lives, improve lives and support families.
Impiazzi also had his hand 3D imprinted and commented: “We are proud of this great confidence bestowed on us by the Pink Caravan to host this event for the second year. It was a major success, thanks to the Pink Caravan's Higher Steering Committee for giving us this opportunity to be part of its mission of spreading awareness about breast cancer."
Head of the Pink Caravan event committee Reem BinKaram said: "Since its inception in 2011, the Pink Caravan ambassadors have made considerable efforts to draw the attention of thousands of people from various segments of the society to the importance of early detection of breast cancer, capitalising on their strong influence and charisma as prominent community stars."
Last year Pink Bite broke the record for the highest price ever paid for a burger when it raised $7,000 (AED 25,960) for a specially created pink burger. This amount was donated to Pink Caravan.