Celebrating the 10th Annual Coral Gables Tour of Kitchens

On the weekend of Feb. 9th, the City of Coral Gables Community Foundation’s Mary Snow and her team organized the 10th annual Tour of Kitchens event. Taking place throughout the majority of the day, scheduled from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., this unique event allowed guests and ticket holders to experience Coral Gables in a whole new light. Opening at the Infiniti car dealership in the heart of Coral Gables, and with many of our very own seniors volunteering at the venue, Tour of Kitchens kicked off to a great start as participants and guests were able to enjoy a nice catered breakfast while warming up to the occasion and greeting one another before they set off.

Tour of Kitchens serves as a way for residents of the city to become more involved and feel connected to the City Beautiful, by gathering a number of homeowners, shops, restaurants and stores, and having them open up their doors to the public and providing different foods from the restaurants in Coral Gables at each stop. The self-guided tour also enabled those involved to move at their own pace and leisure, going only where their hearts desired.

“I thought helping out with the Tour of Kitchens was a great experience because I got to give back to my community as a volunteer, and at the same time try a variety of great foods,” senior Sutton Payne said.

The “tourists” were able to venture around, visiting shops like Ferguson’s, or strolling around stores such as Miele’s, and examine the quality products on display while being treated to an exquisite snack or sample by one of the various local restaurants. On top of this, various residential homes had been opened up to the ticketed guests for the event. In these homes, they were invited into an open kitchen where the products being sold at many of the sponsored locations were on display in a real-life setting. This, for many, gave the entire trip a more personal experience, moving the products and items off of the store shelves and into actual homes.

As great as the event was profit-wise for all of the featured restaurants and stores, we too at Coral Gables High School were impacted. The proceeds of the event will be deposited to the Coral Gables Community Foundation, which supports the school directly through a variety of scholarships for Senior students and other opportunities.

“It truly was a great experience because I got to see a different side of the Gables I hadn’t seen in all my years at Gables. I also enjoyed getting to try some of the delicious food that was being displayed,” senior Jack Band said.

All in all, the experience was beneficial not only for the Senior students who were given the opportunity to volunteer and helped a community event but also for the experience provided to the hundreds of guests experiencing Gables in a way one cannot always do. We hope this tradition continues and that the events in the future will be as successful as this one!