Restaurant association to raise money for scholarship program during event
The event raised about $14,000 last year, according to Tim Tatgenhorst, a local chapter member, who works as the food and beverage operations manager at Nemacolin Woodlands.Tatgenhorst said the local chapter has awarded more than $43,000 to their educational recipients during the past few years. The majority of the award recipients are working in the Laurel Highlands area. “It’s something that people look forward to attending each year,” Tatgenhorst said. “It has grown every year. Guests will have an opportunity to sample signature dishes prepared by 19 chefs. We also offer live entertainment and dancing. People realize that it’s a worthwhile event because of the scholarship fund and the money we raise for culinary students.”
Each year, students, who are pursuing culinary arts careers, are invited to apply for scholarship money. The restaurant committee reviews the applications and selects the winners each year. Last year, Tatgenhorst said five winners were selected, and each winner was awarded at least $1,000 in scholarship money.
“The amount of money that is awarded to each student depending on how much money we raise during the event each year,” he said. “Applications are sent out to regional schools and hotels. Anyone, who is pursing a culinary arts education, is encouraged to apply for the scholarship funds.”
Tatgenhorst said the event offers an opportunity for local restaurants to come to one place to showcase their cuisines.
“The event attracts a lot of repeat guests,” he said. “We get people who come from the Uniontown, Connellsville and Perryopolis areas, but some people come from as far away as Ohio because they found out about the event one year when they were guests at Nemacolin Woodlands. They enjoyed the event so much that they keep coming back year after year.”
For the last five years, Tatgenhorst said Nemacolin Woodlands has hosted the event because it’s large and usually attracts about 225 people.
“The resort is a very nice venue for the event,” he said. “Most of the planning for the event is done by the Laurel Highlands Chapter of the Pennsylvania Restaurant Association. But Nemacolin Woodlands is gracious enough to let us host the event in the ballroom each year. Nemacolin’s restaurants participate in the event and follow the same procedures that the other restaurants follow.”
Scott Cape, executive chef at Nemacolin Woodlands, said each participating restaurant sets up a station during the event.
“It’s a competition to see who can do something different or unique,” he said. “Each guest grabs a plate. They visit the various stations and sample the restaurant’s signature dishes. It’s a social event, and the guests also have an opportunity to mingle with each other.”
When the chefs sign their restaurants up for the event, Cape said they usually offer two dishes – a first and second choice – that are willing to prepare.
“The chefs want to make sure that two restaurants aren’t preparing the same dish because we like to offer a lot of variety for the guests,” he said. “They want to make sure that each dish is a little different. They try to make dishes that are unique, and people haven’t seen them or tasted them before. We also decorate our booths with themes that reflect the menu or the restaurant in some way.”
Prior to the event, Cape said the chefs talk to each other about what they are planning to do.
“It’s very competitive with the set up, which makes it more fun,” Cape said. “The event starts out small, but it ends up large. It has a snowball effect. It’s fun for us, and it breaks the normal routine.”
Cape said one of the highlights of the event is the live chef auction. Guests have an opportunity to bid on chefs, who will prepare dinner for four at the guest’s home or the chef’s restaurant. “Basically, they put us on the auction block, go over our resumes and start the bidding,” Cape said. “The hands start to fly, and it’s really a good time.”
Call Nemacolin Woodlands at 724-329-8555, extension 6031, chef Bernie Glad at 724-583-2380, Gene Doria at 724-736-4356 or Fiore Piccolomini at 724-438-1410.