4th Taste of Newark biggest yet
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5:28 p.m., Oct. 12, 2007--Gourmet food and drink, good music, great entertainment and wonderful weather combined to make the fourth Taste of Newark the biggest and best yet.

Hundreds of people filled tents erected on the lawn in front of UD's Old College on Sunday afternoon, Oct. 7, to get a taste of the finest food and drink served by Newark hospitality businesses.

Some of the day's offerings included stuffed grape leaves and olives filled with garlic cloves; crab salad with avocado and grape tomatoes; Bloody Mary marinated shrimp with pickled green beans and celery; spicy fish tacos; chilled cucumber soup with blackfin crab; smoked trout mousse on cucumber rounds; buffalo-milk mozzarella wrapped in prosciutto and pan seared with baby arugula and the gourmet special of the day--pan seared tuna in various combinations.

For the fourth straight year, the event was sold out.

“We had more restaurants, more wineries and more student volunteers this year than ever before. It's scary it's going so well,” said Newark Mayor Vance Funk, the founder of the feast.

Funk said more than 900 tickets were sold. When asked if there was a possibility the event might move to a larger area, the mayor said no. “I think we've reached our limit. The restaurants can't serve many more people than they did today.”

Tara Voigt, the owner of Sweet and Sassy Cupcakes, a new business on Main St., said, she started the day with 300 cupcakes but in less than a half-hour, they were all gone. Voigt said she had to make five trips back to the bakery before the end of the day. “I love to see this many people in the Newark area interested in what's happening here.

Sweet and Sassy Cupcakes joined more than 35 Newark restaurants and several fine wine distributors in the area spreading their wares on tables set up under three huge tents. A separate tent protected silent auction items and another stood over special guests demonstrating their culinary skills.

WJBR radio's morning show host, Michael Waite, emceed cooking and baking demonstrations by David Puser, executive chef of the Swiss School in Chur, Switzerland; Michelle Tampakis with the Center for Advanced Pastries Studies in New York City, a frequent guest on the Food Network and Matt Haley, host of the Comcast Food Show and executive chef at four of the finest beach restaurants.

YoUDee, Baby Blue and the Juggling Hoffmans were there to mix and mingle with folks enjoying the day, and UD's Royal Palm Steel Drum Band provided lively background music.

Kirk's Gifts raffled 10 flower arrangements in vases and the Christina Educational Enrichment Fund had a rubber duck raffle.

“I'm very impressed. I thought the food would be student oriented. This is a nice change,” John O'Connell of Newark said.

Matt and Kristin Bucklen of Newark came two years ago with their infant son. “But it was so much fun, we left him home this year,” Kristin said. “It reminds us of how much there is about Newark we don't know,” she said. When asked about his chili in a pretzel bowl, Matt could only say, “Stellar.”

Four and a half-year old Liam Furlong of Wilmington thought Taste of Newark was “delicious” and said he liked Gelato's ice cream the best. His 2-year old sister Bridget was crazy about the salsa.

“Fabulous,” said Helen Mosi of Newark. It was her first Taste of Newark and she said she'll have to do it again. “It was fun, delicious and easy to do.”

Susan Lesher of Newark was impressed with the way the event was laid out and coordinated. “A lot of work was involved in putting this together,” she said. “It makes us feel part of the University and the students feel part of Newark.”

Polly Weir, director of UD's Office of Conferences, which plans, coordinates and executes the event, said the logistics are done by her event planning staff headed by Jan O'Neill, senior event manager. Weir said her staff sets up the day of the event and instructs the Department of Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Management (HRIM) students.

“We plan for several months,” O'Neill said. “There's so much behind the scenes planning we have to do on this one. It's got to be very orchestrated because one thing depends on another. But, it's the fourth year, so it's been fine-tuned,” she said.

The Taste of Newark is a partnership between the city of Newark, UD and its Department of Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Management (HRIM) and Office of Conferences.

This year the HRIM honor society, Eta Sigma Delta, recruited and coordinated 40-60 student volunteers who worked with the Downtown Newark Partnership to organize the Taste of Newark.

Participating restaurants included: Ali Baba; Bing's Bakery; Blackstone's Restaurant; Blue Crab Grill; Blue & Gold Club; Brewed Awakenings; Caffe Gelato; California Tortilla; Cold Stone Creamery; Courtyard Café at UD; Deer Park Tavern; Doc Magrogan's Oyster House; Eagle Diner; Grotto Pizza; Herman's Quality Meat Shoppe; Home Grown Café; Iron Hill Brewery; Joy Garden; Klondike Kate's; Newark Deli & Bagels; Newark Natural Foods; Pat's Pizza & MVP; Philly Pretzel Factory; Saigon Vietnamese Restaurant; Sante Fe Mexican Grill; Season's Pizza; Shaggy's on Main; The Korner Diner; Timothy's of Newark and Vita Nova.

Funds raised from a silent auction are donated to the city of Newark's Town & Gown Committee and proceeds from the Dine Around Newark raffle go to the Newark Arts Alliance. All other proceeds from the event benefit UD's Department of Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Management and the Downtown Newark Partnership.

Article by Barbara Garrison
Photos by Kevin Quinlan