Gourmet Fare from Everywhere: St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital 7th Annual Cooking for Kids Event

When the email hit my inbox inviting me to attend the St. Joseph Children’s Hospital Cooking for Kids Event, I immediately replied “YES.”

That’s because this is one of the crème de la crème events appealing to the New Jersey foodie community – and for such an AMAZING cause.

For the past seven years, St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center, based in Paterson, New Jersey, has brought chefs from all corners of the New York/New Jersey Metro Area to offer samplings of their signature dishes. It’s an evening replete with exquisite cuisine, food and wine tastings, assorted brews and much more.

And the BEST part? Every bite benefits the pediatric programs and services at St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital.

This year’s event was held last night at the tony Westmount Country Club, in Woodland Park, New Jersey. Area restaurants and celebrity chefs were in abundance, including Ariane Duarte (Top Chef alum) of Montclair’s CulinAriane, Ryan DePersio (Today show and Chopped) of Montclair’s Fascino, and Eric (Chopped champion) LeVine of Morris Tap & Grill in Randolph. George Oliphant of NBC’s George to the Rescue was even spotted, as he was the event Co-Chair.

Here are some of the highlights of the evening:

The talk of the event was the tasting offered by SO Tasty Vegan. Vegans and carnivores alike all were in favor of vegan chef, Sally Owens’, kale salad, spring risotto and “shitake bacon.”

 

Ironically, the other station that event goers flocked to was none other than the mini Philly cheesesteaks and sliders offered by The Brownstone (for those readers not in New Jersey, this is the catering hall owned by BRAVO’s RHONJ Caroline and Albert Manzo. That aside, they are known for exceptional food.)

 

There was grilled octopus from Ramsey’s VARKA, braised pork belly from Maritime Parc, oysters from Biggie’s Clam Bar.  And wines from allover Napa and Sonoma Valleys.

 

My husband LOVED the chocolate tart from Manhattan’s, The Red Cat. And pastry chef, Colleen Grapes could not have been sweeter.

While I could not get enough of Marc’s Cheesecake — the key lime and triple chocolate truffle varieties were quite delightful, surprisingly light and overall delicious.

The dish of the night for me, was the pulled pork taco offered by Fitzgerald’s 1928. I loved it so much that I outright lied and asked for another sample for my husband….and then kept it for myself. What made it so amazing? The pickled onions, no doubt.

 

As an added bonus, here is a quick tip from the chef at Fitzgerald’s 1928 on how to make pickled onions to top your favorite taco (I highly advise the pulled pork varietal):

 

-Simply slice up a red onion.

-Let it marinate in red wine vinegar for 1 day.

-Drain and serve.

How easy is that?! The pickled onions added another dimension to the pulled pork taco, balancing the sweetness of the bbq sauce with the bite of the vinegar. The sweet-and-sour combo is always a winner in my book.

It was fun to see some familiar faces from the blogging world, including Montclair Food & Wine Festival creator, Melody Kettle of Hot from the Kettle and Angeline Sheridan of Macaroni Kid Northeast Bergen and Judith Wilkens of Macaroni Kid Ramsey.

And my husband was very happy to be going home with a jar of The Brownstone’s famous
marinara sauce.

 

A very special thank you to John Dougherty of St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center, as well as Eric and Christen Gross for inviting us to such a fantastic event.

And for those looking to give back, consider making a donation to St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital. More information can be found here.

 

oxox

-mom a la mode

 

 

{I was not monetarily compensated in any way for this post. I received 2 admission tickets for purposes of reviewing the event. All opinions expressed here are solely mine.}