The fourth annual 'Taste of the Caldwells' fundraising event was once again a gourmet's delight, with everything from shrimp cocktail to crab cakes to much more at the festive event at Caldwell College.
Numerous restaurants showed up to dole out free food for over 400 people, and did so free of charge to support this worthy cause, hosted by the Caldwell-West Caldwell Education Foundation.
The Caldwell - West Caldwell Education Foundation is a not-for-profit organization that raises money for the school district. With state aid for the Caldwell-West Caldwell district accounting for only 5 percent of the total budget, every penny raised via this charitable tasting will go to
assisting our schools during very grim budget times.
Every food table was overflowing with great, delectable food. It was hard to tell which table was most popular, with so many diners lining up to taste each chef's creations.
At Caldwell Seafood, the shrimp cocktail and crabcakes were a big hit, with one local mom saying she "didn;t eat all day so I could eat all the crab cakes".
Coverleaf Tavern dished out a new skirt steak dish with a chimmichurri sauce that will soon be on on their menu - a tender, thinly sliced steak with a fresh herb infused sauce that held a great spicy kick.
Rusillos once again brought their best fare to the Tasting, with farfalle vodka sauce and a great chicken in brown mushroom sauce, served with Caesar salad.
The crispy, cheesy spinach stuffed 'bronzoni', a concoction dreamt up by Chef Joe Albergo of Rose, was also one of the dishes everyone seemed to be raving about, as they sat and enjoyed the many offerings.
Once again, R&R supplied the wine, and Cricket HIll poured the beer.
Desert was also on hand, and much improved from previous years. Shoprite offered a large variety of incredible and delectable looking cakes, and Edible Arrangements dipped strawberries in chocolate but also offered a new twist on the black and white cookie: tiny slivers of banana dipped in white and dark chocolate.
New restaurant Hog Wild BBQ also had long lines, serving up their popular pulled pork and other BBQ delights.
Forte, Luce, and the new restaurant Jersey Mac's also were on hand to wow the foodies, as was a new delivery service for organic meats called
Greater Living Foods.
Organizer and chair of the event Marie LeFrank was busy taking care of her many details, and high school kids including the James Caldwell Soccer team were on hand to help out.
Caldwell Mayor Ann Dassing and West Caldwell Mayor Joe Tempesta were on hand, as were members of both councils. Essex County clerk Chris Durkin was also there, as was Superintendent of Caldwell-West Caldwell Schools Dr. Dan Gerardi, LIncoln School Principal Bigsby, and members and the president of the school board.
This year, since it was just so irresistible, this reporter wanted to award a "Most Creative Presentation" Award to the Caldwell College cafeteria chef, Thomas Duggan, the director of their Gourmet Dining.
His take on the event was to serve tender, tiny pulled pork sandwiches, with a crabmeat stuffed shrimp wrapped in dough, along with a classic glass bottle of Coke.
My favorite?
This year, I surprised myself and had a tie between the Caldwell Seafood food and the Cloverleaf steak.
But every single restaurant served up amazing food, and did so at no cost to the foundation.
Taste of the Caldwells was a true delight!
