Charity for injured chef on the menu

An act of carelessness the day after Christmas paralyzed one of the region's most celebrated chefs, leaving him in a motorized wheelchair and struggling just to breathe.

If that wasn't bad enough, every morsel he eats must be carefully pureed or he will choke.

David Hartung, 50, was at the top of his profession. A celebrated graduate of the Baltimore International College, he had toiled more than two decades at various restaurants in Anne Arundel County: Carrol's Creek Waterfront Restaurant, Historic Inns of Annapolis, Spring House and Pirates Cove.

Six years ago, then Gov. Parris Glendening hired him to cook...