Table talk

"Buy Local First Week" is Friday-Dec. 6. Participating local businesses will give a 10 percent discount to those who buy local during the week. Shoppers can download a coupon and see a list of 1,800 participating companies at www.localfirst.org.

The week's kick-off takes place Saturday at the "Old World Christmas Market" at the Gallivan Center. An educational panel with the Citizens for Sustainability takes place Dec. 3 at 6:30 p.m. at the King's English Bookshop, 1500 E. 1511 South.

Local First Utah is open to all Utah businesses that are at least 51 percent locally owned and make their business decisions independently. According to the organization, diverting just 10 percent of purchases from national chain stores to locally owned businesses would create 1,300 new jobs each year and yield nearly $200 million in incremental economic activity.

Rumbi Island Grills in Utah are collecting food donations through Dec. 20 for the Utah Food Bank. The goal is to collect 500 pounds of food per store. Through Saturday, Rumbi is offering a free drink to any customer who brings in a food donation (www.rumbi.com).

Metropolitan Restaurant has been selected for the 2008 Best of Salt Lake City Award in the Restaurants category by the U.S. Local Business Association. The association's "Best of Local Business" award program identifies companies that have achieved exceptional marketing success through service to their customers and community.

Metropolitan's owner, Karen Olson, was named vice chairwoman of the Distinguished Restaurants of North America at the group's annual conference held in New Orleans last month. The purpose of the organization is to promote the fine-dining industry.

Utah Food Services chef and co-owner Robert "Sully" Sullivan was recently honored with a Lifetime Achievement award by the Beehive Chef's Chapter of the American Culinary Federation. In addition, Utah Food Services was awarded with the "Best of State" in Catering 2008 and "Best Company to Work For" in 2008 by Utah Business Magazine. The company is the caterer for the Salt Palace Convention Center.

Bambara restaurant is offering a three-course "Red Plate Special" menu Dec. 1-4 in honor of World AIDS Day, which is Dec. 1. A portion of proceeds from each Red Plate Special will be donated to the Utah AIDS Foundation. The menu will change nightly and is priced at $28.

Bambara is also partnering with adjacent Hotel Monaco and the Utah AIDS Foundation on the fourth annual Red Passion Party Dec. 4, 5-8 p.m. Suggested donation is $25 (utahaids.org).

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E-mail: vphillips@desnews.com