Both food and fundraising were the scene at Wedgewood Cove Golf Club Friday night.

The 15th annual Gourmet Auction took place beginning at 5:30 p.m. Friday, and two new chefs were serving food — and auctioning some off, too.

Pizza Ranch and the Geneva Bar and Grill were both new chefs this year. Pizza Ranch was serving roasted chicken and cactus bread and Geneva Bar and Grill was serving broccoli salad and boneless pork chops.

Troy LaRue and Andrew Routh were manning the Pizza Ranch table. LaRue said he knows Perry Vining of the Big Island Rendezvous, one of the event coordinators, and Vining asked him if Pizza Ranch could participate this year.

LaRue and Routh said the evening was going pretty well so far, saying that they knew most of the people at the event previously.

In addition to having two new chefs, the auction raised right at about $10,000, Albert Lea-Freeborn County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Randy Kehr said.

The other chefs at the event were Piggy Blues BBQ of Austin serving shredded pork sliders, cornbread with honey butter, green beans and bacon and key lime pie; Green Mill serving artisan flatbread, sausage trottole and desert fire pasta; Wedgewood Cove Golf Club serving mini reubens; Grandma’s Gourmet serving cupcakes; Iron Skillet, Skol Tavern and Cold Stone Creamery serving prime rib, shrimp scampi and Cold Stone samples; Erbert & Gerbert’s serving three types of soup and Julio’s Bar serving ribs and potatoes.

There were both a live auction and a silent auction at the event.

Before eating — or as coordinator Perry Vining called it, a “feeding frenzy” — guests could bid on silent auction items. The live auction began after guests finished tasting the food from the chefs.

“It’s really fun,” Vining said.

There were 82 silent auctions up for bid, including a one night stay, $20 food certificate and two $10 Grand Play certificates at Grand Casino Mille Lacs or Hinckley; a $25 gift certificate to Crescendo; two movie passes to Mall Cinema 7; a wine and sausage basket from Accentra Credit Union; and a 19-inch TV from KIMT, among others.

For the live auction, there were 20 items up for bid. These items included four free adult buffets from Pizza Ranch, two free prime rib dinners with two complimentary beverages from Geneva Bar and Grill, a catered picnic for 20 from MarketPlace Foods, a whole key lime pie from Piggy Blues BBQ and a custom wine rack from Rustic Winery, among others.

The money raised from the auction goes to Chamber projects and the Big Island Rendezvous Education Days, Vining said.