Local chefs compete in food pantry challenge

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Ten Pittsburgh chefs will compete in the sixth annual Food Pantry Brunch Challenge on Saturday at 11 a.m. at the New Hazlett Theater, 6 Allegheny Square East on the North Side.

Sponsored by Northside Common Ministries, brunch costs $25 per person and all proceeds will benefit the nonprofit’s food pantry.

“We were looking at some kind of fundraiser to highlight the need that food pantries have for additional funding and additional product and at the same time to educate the public about the importance of food pantries to people who struggle economically and depend on them to feed their families,” said Jay Poliziani, director of NCM.

The NCM’s Community Food Pantry is the largest in the city, Mr. Poliziani said, feeding between 850 and 1,000 families each month — everyone from homeless people to families with economic challenges.

This year’s event will feature chefs from Fabled Table, Thai Me Up, Bidwell Culinary School, Community Kitchen Pittsburgh and Franklin Inn Mexican Restaurant.

“We hope that this event will raise awareness for people to see the urgency to help people in need,” said chef Lisa Ferguson of Fabled Table.

Participants will prepare a brunch dish highlighting a secret ingredient selected by the organizers and typically found in a community food pantry. “This year it’s canned cranberry sauce,” Mr. Poliziani said.

The chefs will whip up the special dish as well as an additional meal ahead of time and bring them to the event, where about 250 guests will vote on their favorites and select the winner.

Chef Jordan Eback, culinary director at Community Kitchen Pittsburgh, will be making a cranberry creme brulee with Chambord-infused whipped cream.

“I wanted to do something unique, and I believed using it as a dessert ingredient would be different than others’ entries,” Mr. Eback said. “I also wanted to use the color of the sauce to enhance the presentation of the brulee.”

He also will prepare homemade potato chips, a decision that came from the idea to educate people on what the various staples of the food pantry can turn into.

Ms. Ferguson wants to bring spicy cranberry meatballs as well as maple-bacon barks for a sweet treat. A fun, easy-to-make and costeffective soup is also in the plans.

“We want to show people that you can eat healthy food on a limited budget and options,” Ms. Ferguson said.

She recommends that people think outside the box when looking at foods in a food pantry because healthy, nutritious meals can be made using basic ingredients. But ultimately, “you should never be without food.”

The benefit also strives to make people aware that those who use food pantries tend to have a higher rate of preventable diseases such as high blood pressure, obesity and diabetes, Mr. Poliziani said, often because they have a diet heavy in canned products they get at pantries and fast food. The goal is to offer them more fresh produce and to teach them how to use and store it. “Through education we can help reduce preventable disease in the low-income, food pantryreliant community.”

The event will feature Irish music and dancing and a cash bar, as well as chai tea provided by the Muslim Association of Greater Pittsburgh and coffee from Commonplace Coffeehouse.

Tickets can be purchased at 412- 323- 1163 or at jay.poliziani@ncmin.org. Tickets also will be available at the door on Saturday.