Top chefs rally round to help Nicholls charity

A charity dinner held last week at London's Jumeirah Carlton Tower raised about £80,000 for Daniel Nicholls, the son of chef David Nicholls who was left a tetraplegic following a swimming accident in Australia in December 2003.

The Champagne and diamond dinner, organised by the hotel's executive head chef Simon Young and supported by fellow chefs Raymond Blanc, Gary Rhodes, Brian Turner and Michel Roux, succeeded in raising funds for the Daniel Nicholls discretionary trust, founded by Roux.

Diners, who had paid £150 for their tickets, were treated to a five-course gastronomic meal comprising tian of Cornish crab with avocado and mango (Young), confit of foie gras with rhubarb and ginger compote, toasted ginger brioche (Blanc), pan-fried sea bass with crème de mure shallots and creamy hollandaise (Rhodes), roasted loin of English veal, rosemary fondant on crushed carrot and swede, liver and sweetbread faggot, Madeira gravy (Turner) and a dessert of banana-flavoured chocolate mousse on a peanut biscuit base with coconut ice-cream (Roux).

Young, the host chef for the event, commented: "After seeing everything David's done for paralysed people around the world, I made it my mission over the last year to organise all aspects of this dinner, from sending out invites, AV, florist, auction and entertainment, specifically to raise funds for Dan."

Rhodes added: "David is a great friend who I've known for many years. I've met Dan many times and he was such an incredible young man with such energy and it's all been taken away. I got involved from day one and when the opportunity cropped up to do this I jumped at it. It's a privilege to be here and I hope we raise lots of money for him."

Nicholls, food and beverage director and executive head chef of London's Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, who operates the Nicholls Spinal Injury Foundation to raise money for research into spinal injuries, said he was amazed and overwhelmed by the generosity of his fellow chefs and diners. "It's unbelievable to be here, but you've got to get up and do something about it. The easiest thing is to wallow, but I can't do that," he added.

Former Australian rugby team captain Michael Lynagh, who attended the dinner, commented: "People need to be made aware of the dangers of the surf, especially if you've not grown up with it. It may look innocuous but it's not, and it's difficult to stop people diving in."

• To make a donation to the Daniel Nicholls discretionary trust, contact Simon Young at simon.young@jumeirah.com or to help the the Nicholls Spinal Injury Foundation, go to www.nichollsfoundation.org.uk.