For the eighth straight year, October is Dining Month on OnMilwaukee.com, presented by Locavore, the newest restaurant at Potawatomi Hotel & Casino. All month, we're stuffed with restaurant reviews, delectable features, chef profiles and unique articles on everything food, as well as the winners of our "Best of Dining 2014."

During Dining Month, it's always a pleasure to celebrate the amazing food and beverages produced by Milwaukee's best purveyors and restaurants.

However, a shadow always looms over the celebration. After all, one out of every six Americans don't have the means to enjoy the meals Dining Month is meant to highlight. And both hunger and food insecurity are very real issues, particularly here in Milwaukee.

That's why I'm pleased to announce that, for the second year in a row, the national volunteer initiative, SERVE 60, will be raising funds to fight hunger with its annual event "Serve Taste Give."

The event, which brings together six of Milwaukee’s best chefs to compete in a competition like no other, will take place on Sunday, Nov. 2 from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Milwaukee Rail Hall, 131 W. Seeboth St.

Chefs will have one hour to create, cook, plate and serve a three course meal that must incorporate the six most preferred food items at area food banks plus one surprise protein ingredient.

Last year’s event stirred up quite a bit of competition between the participating chefs, whose culinary prowess was displayed in dishes made with ingredients like cake mix, boxed pasta and bananas.  

Participating chefs for 2014 include last year’s winner, Chef Matt Kerley of Blue Jacket along with Paul Zerkel of Goodkind, Odd Duck’s Daniel Jacobs, Cole Ersel from Wolf Peach, Dan Van Rite of Hinterland Erie Street Gastropub and Joe Muench of Maxie’s, Blue’s Egg and Story Hill BKC.

Dishes will be judged by a three person panel of judges, which includes the event’s host and emcee, Kyle Cherek

VIP attendees will have the opportunity to taste the chefs’ dishes and vote in a "Peoples’ Choice" category. Meanwhile, all attendees will enjoy samples of signature dishes from Skyline Catering, Mr. B’s-A Bartolotta Steakhouse, Maxie’s Southern Comfort, Blue’s Egg, Morel Restaurant, Vanguard, Zak’s Cafe and Classy Girl Cupcakes.

The idea behind the friendly competition is to bring chefs together to "give back" the extra hour gained during Daylight Saving Time weekend and generate resources for SERVE 60, raise awareness for hunger relief and help provide a minimum of 15,000 meals to families in Milwaukee through SERVE 60’s event partner, Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin.

"It’s always a winning combination when you bring some of the city’s top chefs together for a good cause," says Bonnie Bellehumeur, President of Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin. "Last year, the event provided 20,000 meals for families struggling with hunger and we’re looking forward to another successful event this year."

General admission tickets are $60 and VIP tickets are $100. All proceeds will support the missions and programming of both non-profits, SERVE 60 and Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin.

For more details and information about the event or to purchase tickets, please visit the web address: servetastegive.com or call the SERVE 60 office at (414) 389–9906. You can also find SERVE 60 on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter @serve60.