ON AN EARLY WEEKEND morning along the Fort Bragg coast, what’s better than a serving of French toast bread pudding, hickory-smoked bacon and bagels? This Sunday, renowned local chefs will cook up breakfast delicacies for “A Gala Brunch,” benefiting the food program for a center for seniors on the coast that is currently under threat of losing funding from the federal government.

This Sunday, Margaret Fox, former owner and chef of Mendocino’s famed Café Beaujolais, and Shannon Hughes, former owner and chef of Point Arena’s Pangaea and Lorca, will be serving an elevated brunch with savory and sweet dishes like Coho salmon caper-dill salad on sourdough bagels, roasted red pepper and potato frittata, and baked French toast bread pudding with caramelized apples and whipped cream. 

All proceeds from Sunday’s brunch will go to the Redwood Coast Seniors food program, which serves fresh, locally sourced meals to the senior community every day. 

According to Michael Carroll, board treasurer for Redwood Coast Seniors, the center has received letters indicating it could lose funding administered by the California Department of Aging, which is mostly federally funded and sends its funding to local Area Agencies on Aging, such as the local Mendocino County agency that supports senior centers in the area. 

Fox, who is well-known on the coast for her culinary experience and her many years spent owning and cooking at Café Beaujolais, which she first purchased in 1977, said in an interview that when she learned Redwood Coast Seniors was facing budget cuts, she wanted to help in the one way she knew how — by making great food. 

“I’m very familiar with the insecurity of government funding,” Fox said. “Finally, after listening to everybody be upset about it, I thought let’s do something. Let’s earn some money and that’s the way I know how to do it.” 

Fox also spoke about how bringing folks to the brunch this weekend will show the senior center how much people care and want to support them. 

“I think it’s a way to rally support,” Fox added. “Whether it’s people who come to the senior center for the food, for activities that are offered, or just people with heart in the community who recognize the importance of supporting people who need help. It can’t be anything but good to see that people care, empathy is where it’s at.” 

“A Gala Brunch” to benefit the Redwood Coast Seniors is being held Sunday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Redwood Coast Seniors building at 490 N. Harold St. in Fort Bragg. The price for a brunch ticket is $75, and in addition to one entrée and a choice of sides, there will also be orange juice, coffee and tea. There will also be mimosas available for $10 each. Brunch attendees will be sent home with a to-go piece of wild blackberry chocolate walnut coffee cake.

Tickets for “A Gala Brunch” on Sunday can be purchased online here.

This story originally appeared in The Mendocino Voice.