Chefs Support Fundraising Effort on Behalf of Project Self-Sufficiency

Don Hall, owner of The Chatterbox Drive In, has volunteered to serve as the Culinary Chairperson of this year’s “A Taste of Talent,” the large-scale, epicurean fundraising event which will take place at Perona Farms on Monday, April 20th, beginning at 6:00 p.m. Hall will be working alongside Perona Farms Executive Chef Kirk Avondoglio to coordinate the restaurants participating in the effort. Now in its 19th year, “A Taste of Talent”, will benefit Project Self-Sufficiency, a local non-profit agency specializing in services for low-income families in Sussex, Warren and Hunterdon counties.

A longtime collaborator with Project Self-Sufficiency, Hall is pleased to be able to throw his support behind the agency’s largest fundraising event of the year. “Events such as ‘Taste of Talent’ are important to our Community on many levels. As restaurateurs, we rarely have the chance to visit each other because for the most part we’re always working the same hours and days. ‘Taste of Talent’ gives us a chance to get together, even for a few hours, and say ‘Hi’ to each other and just catch up,” comments Hall. “For the patrons, it is a similar experience; this event is formally informal. Patrons can walk around, bump into folks they haven’t seen in a while. The third and most important aspect of this fine event is the opportunity to participate in and help fund one of the most important organizations in Sussex County, Project Self-Sufficiency! Anyone that has the good fortune to experience firsthand the testimonials of the fine folks that Project Self-Sufficiency helps out understands the impact that this agency has on these individuals, their families and on a grander scale our local Community.”

Stations from more than 25 of the area’s finest restaurants will be placed throughout Perona Farms, allowing patrons to meet and mingle with the chefs while sampling some of their most renowned dishes. Participating restaurants will include The Chatterbox Drive In; Perona Farms; Big Bang Kitchens; Black Forest Inn; Bobolink Dairy; Café Pierrot; The Chocolate Goat Gift Shoppe; The Clay Oven; Cliff’s Homemade Ice Cream; De Bragga & Spitler; Dre’s; Fossil Farms; George’s Wine & Gourmet Gallery; Gourmet Gallery; Hayek’s Market; The Inn at Millrace Pond; Jesse Jones, Chef to the Stars; Krave Café & Caterers; Mosefund Farms; Ninety Acres Culinary Center; Pizza Bistro; Restaurant Il Porto; Restaurant Triomphe; Salt; Springhouse Dairy & Creamery; St. Moritz Grill & Bar; La Strada Ristorante; Tanti Baci Caffe; Topo Restaurant; Upstream Grille; and others.

Perona Farms Executive Chef Kirk Avondoglio adds that Perona Farms enthusiastically embraces ‘A Taste of Talent’ year after year. “What a wonderful event. I look forward to it every year. It’s nice to see all of the chefs come together. There is a lot of camaraderie and it does so much for the people served by Project Self-Sufficiency. It’s their biggest fundraiser of the year.”

“’A Taste of Talent’ is our signature fundraising event and the cornerstone of our annual campaign,” remarked Deborah Berry-Toon, Executive Director of Project Self-Sufficiency. “We are honored by the support we continue to receive from the restaurateurs in our area. Project Self-Sufficiency receives a significant number of requests for assistance from local residents each and every day. ‘A Taste of Talent’ provides a unique opportunity for people to reach out and help their neighbors in need.”

Select donation categories are available for “A Taste of Talent,” ranging from $500 - $25,000. A limited number of tickets for individual donations are available at a cost of $200. Perona Farms is located at 350 Andover-Sparta Road in Andover. To make a contribution to Project Self-Sufficiency, to obtain tickets to “A Taste of Talent,” or to find out more information about the programs and services available at the agency, call 973-940-3500, or visit www.projectselfsufficiency.org.