He and Red Mesa chef Chris Fernandez have a special six-course meal at Z Grille planned for Oct. 25. The dinner, set to offer wine with each course, will benefit Gross’s friends, the Senekers.
Last month, a GoFundMe page was created for Darla Seneker and the family to help offset the costs of her impending breast cancer treatment. Darla’s husband, Don, of Evil Don Tattoos, has been pals with Gross for 12 years, and both their families are now close.
While nearly $2,000 has been donated to the Senekers through GoFundMe, Gross says the ticket sales from the 50-seat event will help them with expenses outside the treatment, including their two children. If all goes well, Gross may partner with other chefs on benefits for the family in the future.
“I know [Don] would do it for me,” Gross says. “It’s for a really good cause. They’re really not people who would ask for this.”
Guests can expect a collaborative feast from Fernandez and Gross, who describes the featured menu as heavily Latin, Mexican-American. The chefs will prepare two courses of their own, plus two more together. But rather than creating dishes that could stand alone, the pair’s making sure the meal is cohesive and has a good flow.
Around 20 seats to the cash-only dinner are still up for grabs, and tickets cost $100 per person. Reservations may be made by calling Z Grille.
This article appears in Oct 8-14, 2015.