Jan 12
18
Cheesy goodness brought folks out for Mac Off 2012
Inde Blue serving up spinach mac & cheese samosa w/ tomato raisin chutney
Food Bank of South Jersey hosted this year’s Mac Off at the Collingswood Grand Ballroom. It was a classy setting for a class act event that was made possible by all the volunteer and community support received. Almost 1,000 people came out for the event.
What started two years ago as a small competition among neighborhood chefs challenging each other to craft the best macaroni and cheese has grown into a broader community event bringing people out to mingle, eat, and support the food bank mission to ward off hunger.
14 chefs from 12 restaurants participated in this year’s Mac Off. Included this year were Aunt Berta’s, Bistro di Marino, Blackbird, blueplate, Famous Dave’s, Inde Blue, Little Beef’s, That’s Amore, The Pop Shop, Tortilla Press, Tortilla Press Cantina, West Side Gravy, Whole Foods Marlton, and our very own Chef Mike from FBSJ’s Cooking Matters program.
At 4:55 on Monday, I stood in the ballroom wondering what had been forgotten. There is always something. This time it was the music. Upon peeking into the entrance, I realized dozens of people had already arrived. Were the chefs ready? Would there be enough food? Would people enjoy themselves?
We opened the doors. A friend rushed in with the missing CDs. A crowd washed into the ballroom. Louis Armstrong & Duke Ellington floated into the air. It had begun.
Emcee for the night was a regular volunteer here at FBSJ named Kathy. She always has a smile and has helped enter more than 10,000 accounts into the Hope Mobile database. (Someone should sponsor this lady for every entry to makes!) She kept guests on their toes with announcements about raffle prizes, available beverages, hunger stats, and her graduating class in Collingswood. Adding to the excitement was a great photo opportunity with Chef Aaron McCargo, Jr., of ABC’s daytime show The Chew.
Mac Off raffle table
I had the chance to try some mac as I walked around helping make sure everything ran smoothly. Chef Mike made a healthy Mediterranean version of mac & cheese, which was awesome, and next to his station was Bistro di Marino–whose mac I admit I took twice. Inde Blue’s offering was a clever fried pastry stuffed with macaroni and cheese with an awesome chutney sauce of some sort. Unfortunately, I never had the opportunity to try winner blueplate’s because it was gone so quickly. That’s Amore had what was probably my favorite dish of the night, with jalapenos and shrimp!
Around 7 o’clock, the judging panel–FBSJ Board President Bob Brown, FBSJ CEO Val Traore, & Chef McCargo–had had their blind tastings. It was time to announce the winner. Chef McCargo, who is from Camden, warmly supported the mission to fight hunger in South Jersey and proceeded to name the winners. The Pop Shop came in second place for the night, while blueplate took home first. Although an outage somewhere kept people from seeing the votes they texted in with cell phones, the votes were recorded and That’s Amore won the popular vote by a landslide.
If you or your friends would like to share photos from the Mac Off, please send them to eyerke@foodbanksj.org !
Chef Aaron McCargo with a small fan
