The cold wind was howling, the wet snow coating the ground, and inside the Glebe Community Centre hundreds were getting away from the Saturday night weather with a special bowl of soup.

The Great Bowl of Fire is an annual dinner to raise money for the Ottawa Food Bank, where about 350 people sat down to eat one of nine soups from restaurants across the city.

"It was chunky, it had a little spice. The lamb was flaked," said one of the attendees of their meal.

"It's wonderful, it's about my fourth bowl," said another.

The bowls were part of the appeal, as local artists handmade unique bowls that ticket buyers got to keep.

"None of them are the same, no two are alike," said Linda Taylor, who's been a potter for more than 15 years. "It's a really great cause, it's just a really rewarding way to give back to people."

Making the soup is also an art form for chefs like Jea Rez Boras, executive chef at Canvas in Ottawa's Wellington West neighbourhood.

"I went back to when I was a little boy, my mom use to make a black bean chipotle soup," he said. "I wanted to bring it to the next level so we incorporated coconut cream with cilantro and honey and some corn chips."

Organizers said they hoped to raise $15,000 dollars for the food bank.

With a report from CTV Ottawa's Stefanie Masotti