UHN Foundation hosts 21st Grand Cru Culinary Wine Festival, raising $4.6M for Canada's #1 hospital

TORONTO, Oct. 28, 2025 /CNW/ - UHN Foundation hosted its annual Grand Cru Culinary Wine Festival over the weekend, raising $4.6M in support of University Health Network (UHN). The two-day event united esteemed chefs and wine producers from Toronto and around the world with the brightest minds in medical research to support UHN's world-leading programs and the new surgical tower being built at Toronto Western Hospital. The largest event of its kind, Grand Cru is the top fundraising food and wine festival in the world and is a marquee event on the UHN Foundation calendar year after year.

"Every year, I'm more and more inspired by the generosity of our community and the tangible impact Grand Cru has on advancing care and research at UHN," said Todd Halpern, Grand Cru founder and UHN Trustee. "It's a privilege to see how philanthropy continues to transform the future of health care in Canada, and I'm proud to be a part of it."

The festival kicked off with a spectacular opening night celebration at Casa Loma to thank key supporters including dinner hosts, wine makers, chefs, sponsors and donors. Guests experienced a variety of foods from participating chefs, rare vintages from the Halpern portfolio, live entertainment, and even a live stream of the first World Series game.

"Grand Cru is helping us redefine the future of health care in Canada, and its impact reaches far beyond a single weekend," said Julie Quenneville, CEO of UHN Foundation. "Through the power of philanthropy, and thanks to Todd Halpern's extraordinary vision, we are building new spaces, advancing groundbreaking research, and attracting the world's top talent to Canada's #1 hospital. Thank you to our sponsors, hosts, guests, chefs, and wine producers for making Grand Cru such an outstanding success."

The dazzling party was followed by Grand Cru's signature Wine & Dine Experiences, the most exclusive and anticipated element of the festival, where 12 private homes across Toronto and the GTA opened their doors for once-in-a-lifetime dinners by some of the world's most celebrated chefs, including multi-Michelin-starred Daniel Boulud (Daniel), Jason Bangerter (Langdon Hall) and Massimo Renzi (Sotto Sotto).

At the dinner hosted by Ellen and Todd Halpern, a remarkable $1M was raised for a painting by Canadian artist Jane Waterous titled Healing Hands. Donors had the opportunity to contribute to the piece themselves by leaving their handprint in paint with their signature, and the piece will be displayed at a UHN site.

Marisa Rocca, owner of Toronto's prestigious Sotto Sotto and longtime Grand Cru supporter, was among the hosts. "It's an honour to open our home and our kitchen in support of such an extraordinary cause," she said. "Grand Cru brings together the very best of Toronto, uniting us through generosity, community and a shared belief in giving back, and it's something we look forward to every single year."

Since its inception, Grand Cru has united philanthropists, chefs and wine producers and raised more than $174M to advance world-leading medical research and care at UHN. Funds raised have fuelled breakthroughs across UHN's many program areas and will help support the new state-of-the art surgical tower under construction at Toronto Western Hospital, UHN's largest capital project to date. Through this extraordinary partnership between philanthropy and culinary excellence, Grand Cru continues to demonstrate how the power of community can change the future of health care in Canada.

Special thanks to event sponsors including Grand Touring Automobiles, BMO and Miele, among others.

For more information about the UHN Grand Cru Culinary Wine Festival, please visit grandcru.ca.

More about UHN Foundation

Part of University Health Network (UHN), Canada's #1 hospital and the world's #1 publicly funded hospital, UHN Foundation raises funds for Toronto General Hospital, Toronto Western Hospital, Toronto Rehab and The Michener Institute of Education. No one ever changed the world on their own: Donor support is critical to upholding the excellence in patient care that UHN is known for and changing the status quo of health care – helping to recruit top medical experts from around the world, complete transformational capital projects, train the next generation of health care leaders, and advance bold medical research. UHNfoundation.ca

SOURCE UHN Foundation