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Chefs know secrets to flavor, fundraising
By John W. Goodwin Jr.
YOUNGSTOWN
Trudy Gastaldo spent Sunday afternoon learning to make an appetizer that would make her father smile from ear to ear and raising money for a local charity at the same time.
Gastaldo was one of more than 200 people who donated $50 to attend the seventh annual Chefs’ Secrets event at the MetroPlex Center in Liberty Township. Proceeds from the event benefit the Sojourner House Domestic Violence Program.
The event featured 18 chefs from around the Mahoning Valley teaching partici-pants to make appetizers, a main course and a dessert. Participants got the opportunity to enjoy their creations in an open dining area during the event.
Gastaldo elected to attend a class featuring Mediterranean roasted stuffed grape leaves and was a volunteer in preparing the dish alongside the chef. She said the dish has a special place in her heart.
“I picked the grape leaves because my father loved them and I just didn’t know how to make them. They seem easy to make now,” she said.
Yvonne Seitz of Cortland, Debbie Bitzer of Canfield and Kaitlynn Bitzer, also of Canfield, came to the cooking event as a trio and spent the evening learning how to make various dishes and sampling what each woman created.
Seitz said the Thai shrimp she learned to make will be reproduced at a later date in her kitchen at home.
“I’ve always liked to cook, and I love seafood,” she said. “I chose classes that I thought I would like to try at home, and I think I would try the shrimp.”
The event was fun and educational for more than just those taking the classes. Joe Sylvester and Jeff Keel, both local private chefs, have taught a class at the cooking event every year and said interacting with the participants is a highlight of the event.
“I happen to love cooking, and when they asked me to come out and do this, I said absolutely,” said Sylvester. “We have a blast doing this and can’t wait to come out and do it every year.”
The annual cooking event, however, is about more than fun. Joe Caruso, executive director of Burdman Group, which supports the Sojourner House, said proceeds from the event make up about a third of the group’s fund-raising efforts.
Caruso said the shelter needs to provide daily supplies such as hygiene items, diapers and clothes to those at the facility, and grant funds do not always cover those costs.
“We need to earn, through fundraising, about $75,000 a year, and this is our major fundraiser that helps us get a third of that goal. This helps us meet the basic needs of women and children coming to the shelter throughout the year,” Caruso said.
In addition to the cooking classes, the event featured a bucket auction, a silent auction and a 50/50 raffle.
Caruso said the fundraiser is a way to socialize with others in the community and support a needed organization.
“It’s an evening of learning, enjoying the company of others and supporting the Sojourner House,” he said.
The Sojourner House has operated 24 hours a day since opening in 1991, providing emergency services to more than 1,100 women and 2,300 children. The organization provides short-term refuge, allowing battered women to examine options before moving on.