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Grande Provence Hosts Big 5 M.S Luncheon

25 April 2008 - The annual ‘Big 5’ luncheon in aid of The Multiple Sclerosis Society of South Africa (MSSA) will once again take place at the 5-star Grande Provence Heritage Wine Estate in Franschhoek on Sunday, 8 June 2008. Tickets can be purchased at R750.00 per person. However, if guests would like to contribute more towards the organisation, they can do so by paying R1000 or R1500 for their tickets.

The concept behind the ‘Big 5’ theme was launched in 2007 - 5 leading South African Chefs - Bertus Basson from Overture Restaurant, Adrian Buchanan from Monneaux, Roberto de Carvahlo from The Twelve Apostles, Jo van Staden from Dieu Donné Restaurant and Grande Provence Executive Chef Jacques De Jager who'll head up the team of chef’s as they prepare a 5 course gourmet meal complemented by the award winning Grande Provence wines. Well known singer and songwriter Beshara and her band will entertain guests with 5 performances and 5 spectacular items will be auctioned. Master of ceremonies for the second consecutive year will be Good Hope FM’s charming Ryan O’ Connor.

States Non Smit from MSSA: “The R36 000.00 that was raised for the Multiple Sclerosis Society in 2007 assisted our society enormously by enabling us to employ a professional part time social worker to assist with the day to day care of the society members. Immediate results were achieved and this year we would like to extend this service even further. We are grateful to Grande Provence as they have created a great deal of awareness of MS and made the event a great success. Thank you to everybody who contributed last year, your donations have made a remarkable difference.”

The Grande Provence Multiple Sclerosis fundraiser was the brainchild of the owners of Grande Provence and Shani Marais, wife of resident award winning winemaker - Jaco Marais. The Big 5 concept combines Grande Provence' world class wines and cuisine with their ability to make a significant difference within South Africa.

The funds raised for MSSA in 2008 will be used to employ a permanent social worker to support Multiple Sclerosis members, initiate training workshops to inform and empower those suffering from MS, as well as the family members and friends who care for them. Ultimately MSSA would like to establish a Care Centre run by a group of trained professionals to assist and educate those suffering - this centre would be the first of its kind in South Africa.