CHEF’S CHALLENGE 2018

Thanks to the support of our presenting sponsors Lake Health and Sodexo and our generous lead sponsors PS Lifestyle, Huntington Bank, Hospice of the Western Reserve, Brunner Funeral Home, Christine Benner & Baird Financial, Farmers Insurance/Mark Nacht and Miles/Mclellan Construction, we had a very successful inaugural Chef’s Challenge Event!

Nana had a deep love for food and a passion for people. The foundation brought them together for our inaugural fund raising event.

On June 2nd, 2018 at the American Croatian Lodge, Chefs Eva Udris (Hofbrauhaus), Scott Burgen (University Hospital), Jamie Saunders (Johnny Ds South Carolina), John Selick (Sodexo), Josephine Todd & Michael Serdula (Pastina) Marion Smith (Marion’s Meditrranean) Brett Zubek (SOL) Michael Longo (Brim) and Christian Haffey (Lobster Pot) created amazing signature dishes for the competition. 

Our emcee for the evening, Andrea Vecchio kicked of the festivities with a VIP reception followed by the main event.  

The room was filled to capacity with 240 guests enjoying the music from Joey and the Shotskis band, sampling and voting on the unbelievable culinary dishes that were created, participating in a silent auction, gambling boards and Shotski’s for charity! 

The celebrity judges, Stefanie Schaefer (Fox 8), Mark Johnson (News 5), Loretta Paganini (International Culinary Arts and Sciences Institute) Mike Fratello (Sports Broadcaster and former Cleveland Cavaliers Coach) and Bridget Linton (ESPN-CLE) selected the Judge’s Choice Award winner while attendees selected the People’s Choice Award.

Thanks to your generous donations and support, the foundation is in the process of creating partnerships with colleges to offer service learning projects that bring students together with seniors to complete projects. Research will be conducted to evaluate the impact of the generational programs on isolation, loneliness and bias for both the seniors and the student. 

We will also bring together seniors and youth who share a passion for baseball. With a partnership with the Boys and Girls Club and the Baseball Heritage Museum, we will be able to provide opportunities to bring generations of all ages together to support sports programs that foster leadership and team building.