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Attending the sixth annual Celebrity Chefs’ Beach Brunch may be the best way to get a taste of what the Cape Region’s culinary experts have to offer, especially as the event has drawn more than 30 area chefs waiting to impress patrons with their most popular restaurant items.
The fundraiser, which takes place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 5, on two floors of the Dewey Beach Baycenter, will serve the area once again by satisfying the appetites of attendees and raising much needed funds for Meals on Wheels of Rehoboth Beach.
As in past events, the brunch will include savory entrees and appetizers, wines, cocktails, beer and many other culinary specialties.
Scott Swingle, who serves as the event chairman for the Celebrity Chefs, notes the fundraiser already boasts an impressive list of participating restaurants. These include Big Fish Grill, The Blue Moon, Catchers, Venus on the Half Shell and Victoria’s at the Boardwalk Plaza Hotel.
Live music and a silent auction will also accompany the event, adds Swingle, making it a date that most people will not want to miss.
All money raised at the brunch will go to operational costs of Meals on Wheels, a group dedicated to fighting hunger in Delaware. In the five years of the Celebrity Chefs’ benefit, almost $500,000 has been raised which has helped the organization serve over 600,000 meals to homebound seniors in the state.
In a series leading up to the Celebrity Chefs’ Beach Brunch, the Cape Gazette takes a look at some of the signature chefs who will be attending the event.
Richard Steele
Café Azafrán
Richard Steele is the head chef at Café Azafrán in Lewes.
By becoming the owner of the establishment in 2002, he continues the 60-year legacy of restaurant ownership in the family started by his grandmother in the 1950s.
He brings 20 years of restaurant experience to the table, specializing in Mediterranean cuisine with a Spanish influence.
Bringing one of the most popular dishes to the Celebrity Beach Brunch, Steele will prepare Paella Mixta with chicken, pork and chorizo and a seafood compliment of calamari, shrimp, scallops and clams.
Billy Rawstrom
Fisher Bay Gourmet Foods
Billy Rawstrom was the valedictorian of his class at Johnson-Wales University in Charleston, S. C., where he earned a bachelor’s degree in food service management.
After extensive training and service in kitchens throughout the East and West coasts, he moved to Delaware where he now serves as head chef of Fisher Bay Gourmet Foods in Lewes.
For this year’s event, he plans on preparing a duck confit cooked for three hours and served with a puff pastry, Gouda cheese and caramelized onions.
Bryan Muzik
Northeast Seafood Kitchen
Although Bryan Muzik has served many local restaurants, including Fish On in Lewes and Lupo di Mare in Rehoboth Beach, this year he will represent Northeast Seafood Kitchen’s station at the Beach Brunch.
The executive chef is a native of Bethany Beach where his Pilipino and British parents first introduced him to a variety of cultural foods.
Growing up in his family’s former restaurant served him well during his younger years and after graduation from the Culinary Institute of America, he joined SoDel Concepts, a Sussex County restaurant chain.
In his second appearance at the brunch, he will make lobster roll sliders with plump New England lobster claw meat.
Phil Mastrippolito
Fish On
Hailing from Unionville, Pa., Phil Mastrippolito, the executive chef for Fish On, has always strived to combine the best tasting foods.
After graduating from Delaware Tech’s Culinary Arts program in 2002, he joined SoDel Concepts and has served with them ever since.
Mastrippolito’s specialties are not easily categorized as he prefers to experiment with a wide variety of culinary arenas. In the fall, he is known for preparing hearty dishes with roasted vegetables and local, fresh ingredients.
He plans on preparing a braised pork Bolognese for the Fish On station, complete with tomato sauce, heavy cream butter and penne pasta.
Nino Mancari
Restaurant Solstice
Nino Mancari, the executive chef and owner of Restaurant Solstice in Berlin, Md. has worked in the restaurant business since the 1980s.
Although he has traveled the world, learning his trade as an apprentice in well-known restaurants in Europe and the United States, he is a native of Bethany Beach and a graduate of the University of Delaware.
A true believer in using only the freshest ingredients, Mancari takes pride in providing 14 different menus a week at his restaurant, which is driven by farmers’ markets and availability of local seasonal organic products.
Mancari is not sure what he will prepare for this year’s Beach Brunch, but with an expertise of so many regional dishes, whatever will be featured at the Restaurant Solstice station is sure to be a pleasant surprise.
If you plan to go
Tickets to the brunch are $95 and a packet of 6 tickets costs $75 per diner. For purchasing information, call 302-656-3257 or visit online at www.mealsonwheelsde.org.
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