PA Eats is a proud media sponsor of Brandywine Health Foundation’s Annual Garden Party.
If eating for a good cause is wrong, I know quite a few people who don’t want to be right. Nearly 450 people, that is, who attended this year’s Hawaiian-themed Garden Party, complete with hula dancers and fireworks, at Jennifer and Robert McNeil’s Springbank Farm in Coatesville.
A tantalizing array of hors d’oeuvres, a festive tiki bar, a sushi station and a mouthwatering multi-course buffet supper from John Serock Catering made the event one of the tastiest ever. Guests won’t soon forget jambalaya on a stick, crab bites in tiny cones, fresh shrimp gazpacho and ahi tuna, ginger soy glazed salmon and fluffy rice or Polynesian petite tenderloin and fingerlings. And that’s just a sampling.
In addition to all that bounty was the main event: the Battle of the Berries at Brandywine. This epic showdown pit eight local restaurants against each other to see which chef would wow the crowd and the celebrity judges. The Battle 2013 saw a throwdown between Amani’s BYOB, Bordley House Grille, Duling-Kurtz House and Country Inn, Firecreek Restaurant + Bar, General Warren Inne, Northbrook MarketPlace, Station Taproom and The Orangery at Glen Isle. When the dust settled, the General Warren Inne’s unique and summery cake pop took the People’s Choice Award.
After a blind tasting, the celebrity judge panel, sponsored by PA Eats, bestowed the Culinary Excellence Award on The Bordley House Grille for its Strawberry Rhubarb Napoleon. 2013 celebrity judges were Amy Strauss from PA Eats; Chester County Commissioner Terence Farrell; syndicated personal finance columnist Kristen Hagopian; and Jamie Lundmark, a Canadian professional ice hockey forward currently playing with KAC in Klagenfurt, Austria. This year’s Battle was generously sponsored by Univest Bank and Trust Co.
When the noshing and sipping are done, however, it’s the good work of the Brandywine Health Foundation that steals the show. Proceeds from both the Garden Party and last weekend’s Strawberry Festival benefit this worthy cause, which initiates and supports programs to improve and sustain the health and well being of its community. The board and staff work diligently each day toward a shared vision: ensuring that all children and their families in the greater Coatesville area have access to quality primary healthcare services, dental care, behavioral health services and youth development programs so that our young people can grow up safely and prepared to serve as productive citizens in our community. The goal is to make Coatesville the healthiest community in Chester County and in Pennsylvania.
I’ll drink (and eat) to that!
Drool over photos from the Garden Party here, and the Strawberry Festival here. Learn more about the Brandywine Health Foundation’s good works and upcoming events.
Photographs credited to Bonsai Doll Fern Photography.
