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Business & Tech

Fork Dork: Eating, Drinking and Pampering for Breast Cancer Prevention

Local businesses, including Kirkland's Heathman Hotel, are raising awareness for breast cancer research and prevention in October.

A breast cancer diagnosis can make a patient and the patient's loved ones feel out of control. But that doesn't mean that they can't do anything about it.

Shirley Markman of Spokane was diagnosed with breast cancer five years ago, and across the state, her daughter Jennifer Schmitt, the wine co-director at , tried to come to grips with her mother's vulnerability.

“It was that removed helpless feeling that you can’t do anything to do about the situation,” Schmitt recalled. “I wanted to take away that pain but you can’t do that. I remember that feeling of hearing her upset on the other end of the phone. It was harder to do it over the phone and not give her the warm embrace to comfort her.”

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This month, Markman, a healthy and health-conscious registered nurse, will be celebrating two years of remission with a special dinner at the restaurant where her daughter works, . During October, Barking Frog will be offering a five-course menu paired with wines for $100 with a portion of the proceeds donated to the local chapter of the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

The dinner promotion was Schmitt’s idea. It is one of a number of promotional dinners and experiences benefiting breast cancer research in October.

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at and both locations of (The Civica Building in Bellevue and the Pan Pacific Hotel in Seattle) will be donating $1 to the Young Survival Coalition for every Tomokotini cocktail sold in October.

The Young Survival Coalition is an international, non-profit serving women under 40 who have been diagnosed with breast cancer. The Tomokotini, sold for $10 ($7 during happy hour), is a pink cocktail made with ABSOLUT Wild Tea Vodka, simple syrup, Crème de Cassis and lime. 

The is creating the “Pink Suite for the Cure.” Outfitted in pink from the carpets to the drapes, bedding to the towels, all proceeds from the suite during the month of October will be donated to the local chapter of the Susan G. Komen Foundation. In addition, for every “like” the Heathman Kirkland Facebook page receives, the Hotel will donate $1 (up to $1,000) to Puget Sound Komen.

At Barking Frog, Schmitt and Executive Chef Bobby Moore teamed up to create a five-course dinner featuring dishes made with breast cuts of game and fowl, including Muscovy duck in a baby arugula and frisee salad, black pepper and juniper spiced squab, Jidori chicken roulade, and veal served with garlic infused milk polenta and crispy prosciutto.

Wine pairings will include rosés (as in the breast cancer awareness color pink) and the 2010 Dunham Cellars Shirley Mays Chardonnay. The Dunham Chardonnay is named after Dunham Cellars winemaker Eric Dunham’s grandmother, who passed away of breast cancer. Dunham kicks back a percentage of sales of Shirley Mays wines to the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

For Schmitt, the special dinners are a sign that she has come full circle from five years ago and conquering the vulnerability she faced after her mother’s cancer diagnosis.

“This is a way to feel that you are empowered and you can give back,” Schmitt said “It helps fight that helpless feeling when you feel you can’t do anything about cancer.

“It’s changed the outlooks on our lives, being able to take advantage of life, embrace life and see things in a more positive way. I didn’t have a doubt my mom would survive because my mom is a strong person.”

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