"Taste of Essex" Showcases Local Vendors and Raises Money for a Good Cause

The North Essex Chamber of Commerce sponsored its 10th annual “Taste of Essex” Monday night at Mayfair Farms in West Orange. The evening featured offerings from 35 local restaurants across Essex County, including bakeries, specialty supermarkets and even an ice cream shop, which were sampled by the estimated 250 people in attendance.

In addition to the food and drink donated by vendors, local businesses and community organizations donated items to be auctioned off as part of the fundraising effort. A portion of the evening’s proceeds will go toward the Chamber of Commerce college scholarship fund, according to Betty Albanesius, office manager.

“We have a foundation,” she said. “We’ve given a scholarship of up to $5,000 to a chamber member, or their dependent, for over 25 years.” 

Ticket prices were $50 in advance and $60 at the door. Albanesius said she heard only positive comments about the evening. “I think it was a very successful turn out,” she said, estimating that the event raised about $3,000.

North Essex Chamber of Commerce Committee Chair Jonathan Goodgold said he was happy with the evening’s turnout, saying the abundance of gourmet tastings and fine spirits seemed to please all in attendance. 

Each year, “Taste of Essex” is an opportunity for local vendors to showcase their specialties for a large group of appreciative tasters. The evening’s array of dishes included Panko crusted tilapia, specialty pesto, carrot soufflé, Peruvian sashimi, black angus strip steak, chicken marsala, homemade Italian Sunday sauce, double chocolate stuffed cupcakes and layered red velvet cake.

On of the most popular vendors at the event was Stuffed Cupcakes of Nutley, which has been creating a lot of buzz lately. Their bakery was featured on The Cooking Channel, an episode of Cake Boss and shown on segments of Fox and WPIX news. Oprah ordered 15,000 cupcakes for O Magazine's 10th anniversary! 

Owners Maureen and Keith Jaret, who originally began baking to boost profits at their restaurant, now focus exclusively on their renowned stuffed cupcakes. In fact, Keith, a Culinary Institute of America grad, said he’s known everywhere as "the cupcake dude."  

Montclair's Peruvian eatery, Costanera Cocina Peruana, featured its exotic fare.  Costanera’s on-site caterer, Tatiana Macias, said a raw bar, Peruvian sashimi, crusted oyster Po’ Boy are all featured items at the restaurant, in addition to staple offerings of seafood, steak and chicken. 

Another featured Montclair restaurant was the popular Gencarelli's Cucina. Mother-daughter owners Debbie and Nicole Gencarelli have been in business for three-and-a-half years, serving up traditional Italian fare – with the emphasis on tradition. As if to illustrate this, they displayed framed family photos at their booth. 

Several supermarkets and distributors were in attendance as well.

Robert Silvestri, owner of the Essex County restaurant supplier , brought fresh pesto and kalamata olive tapenade to the event. He explained that Romarsi Pesto products are sold in at Whole Foods, Shop Rite and Foodtown, noting that he doesn't use preservatives.

Leslie Johnson from King's Super Markets catering, said some of her more popular items were carrot souffle, crunchy vegetable salad in radicchio cups and a bacon/tomato frittata. King’s cooking studio features the “Experience Food” stage, which offers free how-to and demo classes on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays.   

The popular dishes at the Shop Rite display were black angus strip steak and an impressive array of baked goods. Pastry chef Robert was on hand to give out samples of red velvet cake. 

Towards the end of the evening, ballots were given out to attendees and “Best Of” awards were handed out in five categories.

Awarded Best Appetizer was Gencarelli's delectable olivando crispani with mozzarella, roasted peppers and pesto with balsamic reduction. Best Entree:  Vitanzo Caterers in Roseland for their lobster macaroni and cheese. Best Beverage: Cloverleaf Tavern in Caldwell for unique spiked cucumber sweet tea. The Best Dessert:  The Stuffed Cupcake in Nutley, for a variety of stuffed cupcakes. Best Overall: Gencarelli's Cucina in Montclair.