By Sherry conohan
Staff Writer
SHERRY CONOHAN Chris Pells, a representative of A.V. Imports Inc., serves wine to Jackie Arnone of Eatontown and Debbie Sergeant of Little Silver at the Food for Thought food and wine tasting, held at the Sheraton Eatontown hotel June 4 by the Eatontown Foundation for Educational Excellence. EATONTOWN — Specialty dishes from the chefs of 24 area restaurants were served up to an appreciative audience at the second annual Food for Thought food and wine tasting, held at the Sheraton Eatontown Hotel by the Eatontown Foundation for Educational Excellence.
Guests at the $50 per person affair munched on canapés with beef, shrimp in sauce and chicken on skewers, among many of the delicacies, and washed it all down with an assortment of wines and beers from microbreweries.
Proceeds from the event, held June 4, are used for grants given to teachers in the Eatontown school district to fund classroom projects that are not financed in the school budget.
"This is marvelous," said Kevin Gonzalez, a member of the Board of Education. "We do anything we can to support the kids. The money will help with things the budget can’t fund."
SHERRY CONOHAN Eatontown Councilwoman Joyce A. Englehart is served a beef delicacy by Nick Kouvel, chef at Sallee Tee’s Grille in Monmouth Beach, at the Food for Thought food and wine tasting. Gary Mihm stands between Englehart and Kouvel.
Shannon Gaetano of Eatontown said she heard how good the event was last year so she didn’t turn down the invitation she received.
"It’s excellent," she said of the food. "It’s all very good."
Bonnie Sontupe of Eatontown said she came to Food for Thought last year and looked forward to coming back this year. She liked sampling the food prepared by the different chefs.
"And everybody’s so nice," she said. "It might give us a different place to go during the year."
Robert J. Soprano, superintendent of schools for the borough, said he was enjoying the evening.
"I planted the seed three years ago to start this foundation," he said. "They took it and flew. I never dreamed it would be such a success. The credit goes to the people who put it on."
Mayor Gerald Tarantolo also was a big booster of the effort.
"This is a great affair," he said. "I’m so proud of this foundation. They’ve taken off and become an integral part of the community. My accolades to the committee that put this all together."
John Shiels, the president of the foundation, said the event was made possible by a lot of friends who gave a lot of help. He anticipated it would raise in excess of $40,000 for the grants.
"A lot of people are involved," he said. "It’s a wonderful event for the schools. The real heroes are the restaurant sponsors, the wine sponsors, the breweries and the corporate sponsors."
Last year the foundation provided 27 grants to teachers in the schools, he said.
"I see both sides," he added. "I see the good times the people at the event have and I see the kids."
Barbara Van Wagner, coordinator of Food for Thought, observed that there was a mix of the old along with a little of the new this year. She said about half the restaurants that participated in last year’s event returned. Some others wanted to come back, but were unable to fit the later date of this year’s event into their schedules, she said.
The foundation had hoped that by moving the food and wine tasting to June it could be held outdoors, but the weather didn’t cooperate.
Van Wagner said there was also an international flavor this year with participants such as Los Caminos de Don Chucho of Ocean Township, which specializes in Mexican food; Italian eateries Ruffino’s of Eatontown and Piccola of Ocean Township; Sawa of Eatontown, a Japanese restaurant; and King of India, also of Eatontown, which served Indian fare.
For seafood, there was Bahr’s restaurant of Highlands and Trinity Seafood of Asbury Park.
Van Wagner said there also were "fun" restaurants participating — Harry’s Roadhouse of Asbury Park; Redheads of Eatontown; Sallee Tee’s of Monmouth Beach, and the Salt Creek Grille of Rumson.
"We’ve got a good mix this year," Van Wagner said. "We’ve got some of the finest restaurants in the area."
Mark Van Wagner, Barbara’s husband who sits on the Board of Education and is the immediate past president of it, said $22,000 was distributed to teachers from the proceeds of last year’s Food for Thought.
Barbara Van Wagner said the foundation would be unable to hold the event so successfully without the support of the Sheraton, which provided the facilities in which to hold it, the tables, the linens, the silverware, and the wait and bus service. She said the event was special because of the hotel’s elegant surroundings.
Van Wagner said she thought the restaurants wanted to come back because last year’s event was so successful.
"A lot of the people who attended Food for Thought last year went to the participating restaurants afterwards, and the chefs knew that," she said.